Personal Research
When faced with the daunting task of fighting cancer, personal research is critical in your journey towards recovery. Learn how to go about arming yourself with comprehensive data and research to make an informed decision that works for you.
You can also request information from RCOG’s professional team of experts through its patient contact center.
Question 1:
My name is John, and I am 64 years old. I had a routine physical and I’m in excellent health, except my internist discovered my PSA was 6.3 ng/ml. He sent me to a urologist who biopsied my prostate gland and a few days later told me I have stage T1c prostate cancer. He also told me that one of the 12 biopsy needle cores showed Gleason score 6 cancer, involving 10% of the needle with no perineural invasion.
I do not know what any of this means. All my wife and I know is that I have cancer, and we are very scared. My urologist wanted to schedule me for a robotic radical prostatectomy. I saw another urologist for a second opinion, and he recommended freezing my prostate gland through cryosurgery. I also met with two different radiation doctors. One recommended IMRT accelerator radiation, and the other said that seed implant would be the best treatment. Finally, I saw a fifth doctor who said I could be treated by any method and choose my own treatment. None of these doctors said anything about curing my prostate cancer; they talked only about treatment. After seeing all of these doctors, I am now both confused and frightened. I don’t know anything about prostate cancer or how to choose a treatment method. I just want to be cured of this cancer with the least problems.
Answer:
Your experience is typical of what men find when they are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. The single most important thing you and your wife should do is perform your own research on prostate cancer and, above all, focus on curing your disease. There are three important reasons why you should do this:
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You usually get only one chance to be cured of prostate cancer. Some men can be successfully treated after a recurrence, but most cannot. Therefore, you need to be certain that the treatment method and the doctor are the right choices for you.
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Most doctors will recommend the treatment that they perform, but this may not be best for you. Urologists, who are surgeons, typically recommend a radical prostatectomy, and radiation doctors will recommend some type of irradiation. Unfortunately, it’s like buying a car. When you go to a Ford dealership, you will be told about Fords, and only Toyotas will be sold at a Toyota dealership. You should be aware that the treatment recommended by your doctor may not be best for your individual case of prostate cancer.
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Doctors usually only talk about treatment of prostate cancer. They rarely discuss how well they cure this disease. This is because doctors rarely keep up with all the patients they treat. Your focus should be on cure, not just treatment. Any doctor can treat you, but the real question is “can a doctor cure you?”
These are the basic reasons why you should perform your own research. This section of the website will educate you about prostate cancer, but more importantly, it will empower you with an informed decision-making process that enables you to determine treatment based on cure rates for your own case of cancer.
Question 2:
How can I perform my own research? I am not a doctor.
Answer:
You do not have to be a doctor to understand prostate cancer. Learning about cures is easy. Here are things you should do:
(a) When speaking to your urologist or radiation oncologist, always ask these four key questions:
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How many men with prostate cancer have you personally treated?
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Do you have a computerized database of all the men you have treated?
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Of the men you have treated, how many have PSA 0.2 ng/ml 10 years after treatment?
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If you were to treat my particular case of prostate cancer, what is my 10-year Individual Cure Rate?
(b) Get a second opinion from both urologists and radiation oncologists.
(c) Perform an Internet search for “prostate cancer” and “prostate cancer treatment” on Google™, Yahoo™ or other search engines.
(d) Speak with friends and neighbors who have been treated for prostate cancer.
(e) Read medical research papers from peer-reviewed medical journals.
(f) Study this website.
