Surviving Prostate Cancer: What You Need to Know to Make Informed Decisions »

E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., is a research psychiatrist and associate director for laboratory research, The Stanley Medical Research Institute. He is also the author of 18 books, including The Roots of Treason: Ezra Pound and the Secrets of St. Elizabeths, a National Book Critics Circle nominee. He lives in Bethesda, MD.

When Dr. E. Fuller Torrey was diagnosed with prostate cancer, none of the books he could find was current enough or comprehensive enough to satisfy his need for information. This book is for the hundreds of thousands of other men who each year receive the same frightening diagnosis. It is the book Dr. Torrey wished he had when he was facing the countless questions that a man with prostate cancer, and his family and friends, all confront.

Complete, up-to-date, and readable, the book explains how to come to terms with the diagnosis of prostate cancer, evaluate the severity of the disease, and assess the variety of treatment options and their complications. Many chapters provide information other books barely consider, such as a full discussion of the causes of prostate cancer and an evaluation of other books on the subject. Also included is a summary of the most useful Web sites.

The author mixes his personal experience with factual material, and he maintains a reassuring sense of humor. His advice is practical, with dozens of tips and lists including “Ten Steps to Sanity for Men Recently Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.” With Dr. Torrey’s book in hand, readers can now tackle all the important decisions about prostate cancer, confident in having the most accurate and complete information available.

Library Journal

After Torrey (research psychiatrist & associate director for laboratory research, Stanley Medical Research Inst.; Surviving Schizophrenia) was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, his top priority was educating himself about the disease so that he could make informed decisions about treatment options. Much of what he found was outdated, contradictory, or incorrect, so he set out to write a book that would answer the questions he and other men have about this condition. Fuller's comprehensive guide describes his own medical and personal experiences while offering detailed explanations of diagnostic and staging procedures, treatment options, potential complications, recurrence, risk factors, possible causes, and other essential topics backed with numerous references to the professional literature. Matter-of-fact discussions about such sensitive issues as sexuality, impotence, incontinence, and the value of support systems are lightened by cartoon illustrations, "prostate trivia," quotes from other men with the disease, and a comprehensive annotated list of books and web sites that will appeal to both male and female readers. Despite its occasional lapses into medical jargon, this is an essential purchase for consumer health collections, along with Peter T. Scardino and Judith Kelman's Dr. Peter Scardino's Prostate Book and Sheldon Marks's Prostate & Cancer. Karen McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Lib., Cleveland Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Acknowledgments     xi
Abbreviations     xiii
On Being Diagnosed     1
How Serious Is Your Cancer?     11
What Is Your PSA?     12
Is Your Cancer Palpable?     15
What Is Your Gleason Score?     18
Additional Predictors of Severity     24
Surgical Treatment     27
Who Are Good Candidates?     28
The Procedure     29
Complications     39
Outcome     42
Radiation Treatment     46
Who Are Good Candidates?     48
The Procedure     51
Seed Therapy     51
Beam Radiation     54
Complications     55
Outcome     59
Hormone Treatment     67
Who Are Good Candidates?     68
The Procedure     69
Complications     72
Outcome     76
Cryotherapy     78
Who Are Good Candidates?     78
The Procedure     79
Complications     79
Outcome     80
Alternative and Experimental Therapies     81
Herbal Therapies     82
PC-SPES: ACautionary Tale     85
Experimental Treatments     87
Treatment Decisions     89
Watchful Waiting     90
Ten Factors to Consider     95
Advantages and Disadvantages of Treatment Options     110
How I Made My Decisions     115
Your Support System     118
Yourself     118
Family and Friends     124
Coworkers and Business Colleagues     128
Support Groups     130
Major Complications and Their Treatment     132
Urinary Incontinence: The Problem     133
Urinary Incontinence: The Solutions     135
Impotence: The Problem     140
Impotence: The Solutions     144
What Happens if the Cancer Spreads or Comes Back?     152
Will It Kill Me, and if So, When?     153
Treatment Options for Recurrent Cancer     159
Weighing Quantity versus Quality of Life     164
What Is Known About the Causes?     169
Clues     169
Genes     175
Viruses and Other Infectious Agents     177
Sexual Activity     178
Hormones     180
Dietary Factors     181
Other Possibilities     183
Summary of Causes     185
Factors That May Prevent Emergence or Recurrence     187
Dietary Factors     188
Vitamins and Minerals     194
Medications     195
Lifestyle Changes     197
So What Should You Do?     198
Science and Politics     199
The National Cancer Institute     200
The Prostate Cancer Research Program     201
Michael Milken's Prostate Cancer Foundation     202
The National Prostate Cancer Coalition     204
Other Players     205
Advice for Men Who Do Not Have Prostate Cancer     208
Should I Be Tested?     208
Biopsies     212
Ten Recommendations     214
Future Research     216
The Anatomy and Function of the Prostate Gland     219
Evaluation of Books About Prostate Cancer     224
Useful Websites on Prostate Cancer     235
Notes     241
Index     167