There are few good things to say about breast cancer-except that, in most cases, there are usually good treatment options. For many men with prostate cancer, however, the decision about how to proceed is often less clear. Many doctors advocate a “let’s see what happens” approach, which can be less than encouraging.
Prostate cancer now often gets detected early, thanks to the PSA blood test. Most cases are slow-growing and many men are diagnosed with it later in life, which mitigates most serious risks to life and well-being. Because treating prostate cancer can result in lifelong side effects, including incontinence and impotence, in many cases doctors advise “watchful waiting” for older men with less aggressive tumors. But the idea of “watch and wait” or even agreeing to just have “active surveillance” (periodic checkups to see whether the cancer is progressing instead of treating the cancer aggressively) isn’t always a comfortable one. Unfortunately, no treatment might be better than any for an older man.
What the Data Says
Studies that compare treatment versus waiting to see how the cancer develops were outdated until recently; the most reliable of which was done all the way back in the days before the PSA blood test was available, when a digital rectal exam was used to diagnose prostate cancer. This meant that cancer wasn’t identified until a tumor had grown to be large enough that doctors could feel it. Now, in a new study from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, researchers looked at records of 14,516 prostate cancer patients (average age 78) diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 who had received no curative therapy (surgery or radiation) for at least six months after they were diagnosed. Men with less aggressive prostate cancer (Gleason scores under 7) had less than 10% likelihood of dying from prostate cancer. For those with the highest initial Gleason scores (8 to 10), the death rate climbed to 25.6%.
What to Make of This
Study author Grace L. Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, told me that the goal of the research was to obtain balanced data that is both current and correct. She agreed that aggressive treatment may be very appropriate for men who are younger and expected to live longer than 10 years — but it’s a far more nuanced decision for older men, especially those with low or moderate Gleason scores. Older men now have a clearer picture of their survival odds one way and another. It’s still not an easy decision, but at least it can now be a more informed one.
Source(s):
Grace L. Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick.
Get involved with the Medifast Diet and make drastic changes to your health. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price with the latest Medifast Coupon Codes.
Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line Publications/Daily Health News
Boardroom Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com
Related posts:
