Happily, I had good medical insurance and received some of the best treatment available at that time. The fact that I am writing this article today is a testament to the success of that treatment. I am very thankful for the treatment I received, called brachytherapy.
My treatment involved the complete destruction of my prostate gland by use of high intensity subatomic radiation. My cancer was destroyed along with all the rest of my prostate gland. Brachytherapy is still a treatment option today, but there are now a number of others that are more targeted and thus involve fewer side effects. I didn’t enjoy the side effects of my treatment, but have found them far preferable to progressing into the stages of the disease that would lead to extreme pain and my death.
Before I get into how prostate cancer treatment has changed over the past seventeen years, here are a few pertinent facts:
- Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind number one lung cancer. About one out of 41 American men die of prostate cancer.
- Thanks to detection and treatment, most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die of it.
- More than 3.1 million American men who, like me, have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive today.
The best way to deal with prostate cancer is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. There is no magic charm that is 100% effective at preventing the disease, but there are things you can do to tip the odds in your favor.
- Eat foods containing lycopenes, such as tomatoes
- Eat foods containing isoflavones, such as soybeans
- A balanced diet is to be preferred, including more fruits and vegetables, and less low-nutrition snack foods
- Vitamin D may be protective against the most lethal forms of the disease
- Aspirin may also have a protective effect.
I find it pretty easy to include tomatoes as well as other fruits and vegetables in my diet, and take low dose aspirin and a Vitamin D supplement every day.
- Note to self: Add soy to the foods I eat regularly.
After you have done everything you can to prevent prostate cancer from developing in your body, it still might arise, as it did with me. Your next line of defense is early detection. Be sure your medical provider prescribes a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. That is how I learned that I had a problem before reaching age 60. The PSA test is not perfect, but if it indicates a possible problem, your doctor can take a closer look, possibly with a biopsy.
If you (or someone you know and care about) are diagnosed with prostate cancer, what are your treatment options? Here are a few:
- Surgically remove the prostate gland (a prostatectomy)
- Brachytherapy (internal high-dose radiation treatment)
- Conformal radiation therapy (CRT)
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
- Proton beam radiation
- High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
Other interventions that may help include:
- Engaging in frequent exercise
- Adopting a vegan diet
- Hormone therapies that reduce the production of testosterone
- Some chemotherapy drugs have been shown to help men live longer
- Immunotherapy that boosts a patient’s own immune system
- Vaccines may treat, but not prevent prostate cancer
- Immune checkpoint inhibiters
- Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T therapy)
- Targeted therapy drugs
- PARP inhibitors
- Monoclonal antibodies
As you can see, there are a lot of options today that were not available seventeen years ago when I was first diagnosed. The future is bright for men who are tested, and then retested on a regular basis.
BIO:
Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org