Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer: Now What?

Dr. Geo Espinosa | Sep 05, 2013 | Comments 0 | 

If you have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may be thinking, “Now what do I do?” The first thing you need to do is take a big breath and relax. You have a very good chance that your prostate cancer is very treatable and is not likely to kill you.

The statistics are in your favor. In the United States, a male has a 16 percent chance of receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer but only a 2.8 percent risk of dying from prostate cancer. Survival rates for prostate cancer, as reported by the American Cancer Society, show that the five-year survival rate is almost 100 percent and the 10-year rate is 91 percent. Most men who find out they have prostate cancer do not die from the cancer itself but from other, concurrent causes.

Now that you are calmer, there are several important steps you can take to help prevent cancer from spreading, minimize the impact of the prostate cancer on your life and help ease your mind, while giving peace of mind to your family.

You do have some work ahead of you in becoming an informed patient and an advocate for your own health. For your best outcome you should follow some guidelines to continue to have a good quality of life and give yourself the best shot at defeating prostate cancer.

Get More Opinions

Before you start any treatment, make sure you get a second and even a third opinion. These consultations are most likely covered by your insurance plan. The other doctor might confirm your diagnosis, but he may have a differing opinion about your diagnosis or treatment plan. One doctor might come up with a treatment the other doctor did not consider. This allows you to be more informed and make more educated decisions about how you want to treat your cancer.

Be Informed

Ask a lot of questions and make sure your doctor fully explains everything about your current health and what you can expect both in the near future and down the road. If you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to speak up. The Internet is a great tool for researching the latest studies and articles about new treatments or developments.

If you are concerned about treatment side effects, look them up online. There are newsletters for which you can sign up and forums in which you can “meet” or chat with other men or their spouses, who are going through the same thing as you and your significant other. You can find comfort in the fact that you are not alone in facing this disease. You can get advice and information about the treatment experience from someone who has just been through it himself.

Make Lifestyle Changes To Promote Prostate Health

It is more important than ever to take a good look at your diet and lifestyle. Make changes to stay as healthy as you can so you can enjoy maximum immunity and the strength to fight this disease. Read up on theProstate Diet to learn how to promote the best prostate health and whole-body health, too.

Here are 19 steps to better prostate health:

• Eat a larger variety of fruits and vegetables.
• Eat heart-healthy fats such as olive oils, nuts and avocados.
• Trade in animal protein for plant-based protein.
• Eat whole foods to get fiber.
• Drink green tea.
• Eat foods rich in omega-3, such as salmon and other fatty fish.
• Avoid food additives.
• Avoid red meat.
• Don’t take calcium supplements.
• Eat cancer-killing foods like tomatoes, cayenne and turmeric.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Lose weight if you need to and maintain a healthy weight.
• Manage your stress.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Look to natural therapies to supplement your health such as Prost-P10x.
• Keep your hormones in balance.
• Maintain a healthy sex life.
• Stay away from chemicals and toxins (such as pesticides).
• Exercise.

Consider Your Treatment Options

Your options for treating your prostate cancer may include both conventional therapies and complementary treatments. Read all you can so you can be informed and so you can get better information when you talk to your doctor. Learn about different ways to treat prostate cancer so you can make the right decision based on your health and stage of cancer. Options may include watchful waiting or active surveillance. Your doctor may recommend this if you have a very early stage of prostate cancer. This option involves using blood tests to keep an eye on your prostate-specific antigen (PSA), getting regular prostate exams and having biopsies performed. Other more active therapies may include hormone therapy, radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.

Maintain Medical Records

You will be dealing with a lot of information. Keeping all your medical records organized makes it much easier for you and your doctors to keep everything straight. Then, if you get a new doctor, you can easily make copies of everything to quickly bring him up to speed. Make sure to get copies of all your test results, and keep them in a file or binder. Ask for digital copies of your radiology scans so they can be compared to any scans you may have in the future. It is also a good idea to keep a record of all the medications, supplements and over-the-counter products you take. If you have a tablet or smartphone, you can keep your test-result numbers and list of mediations in a notebook app for easy reference. Your doctor and pharmacist should have an up-to-date copy of this complete list so they can be sure not to prescribe anything that can cause a harmful drug interaction.

Establish A Social Network

You don’t have to go through this ordeal alone; it is best if you can get support from a social network of your family, friends, medical professionals and support groups. Online social sites like Facebook have these types of support groups. You can follow Prostate.net on Facebook to stay informed and interact with other prostate cancer patients. Other sites have forums and support groups as well.

Ultimately, you and your loved ones will be making medical decisions for you, so it is important to stay informed. If you understand what is going on in your body and what all your options are, you can feel confident in deciding how to fight this disease. Following the lifestyle and diet changes discussed here will increase your odds, improve your overall health and give you a sense of control over the situation. Doing all this will help you turn all your questions about what to do into answers.

Petey the Prostate Crusader's blog

In 2009 when my husband Ray was diagnosed with prostate cancer we started attending a support group. At one of the meetings our leader passed around a plain old walnut and said...This is the size of a prostate! Well it came to me and having a creative brain I looked at it and was thinking what can I do to give it a face. After a little bit of thinking I came up with eyes, arms, hands and feet.

Now he needed a name! We will call him Petey the Prostate Crusader and is now our mascot for prostate cancer awareness. At first I was just making Petey's as a conservation piece to get others talking about prostate cancer. Then later my creative brain got thinking again. Why not have Petey doing different activities to share with others that even with a diagnosis of prostate cancer you can still have fun in life!

www.peteytheprostatecrusader.blogspot.com

INVITING YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS ON A SITE VISIT OF YOUR LAB OR INSTITUTION

Inviting your member of Congress on a site visit to your lab or institution is an ideal way to make a lasting impression. These visits provide an opportunity to demonstrate to your member, first-hand, the progress occurring in medical research and the breakthrough innovation occurring in their own home state or district.

Meeting Preparation:

• Members of Congress typically return to their home states and districts on weekends and during congressional work periods to visit with constituents.

• Extend an invitation to either your member's Washington, D.C., office or nearest district office. Be sure to include the following information: the location and description of your lab or institution, dates and times you are available to host the member, any specific issues you wish to discuss and the names of any others who will be in attendance.

• If your member is not available, a member of their staff may be available to attend on their behalf. Members rely on staff to advise them on important issues and to make key decisions on their behalf. Building a strong relationship with staff is imperative.

• Once you have received confirmation, give advance notice to anyone who will be involved in the site visit, including your staff as well as any public relations staff for your lab or institution, as they may be interested in coordinating media coverage and publicity.

During the Meeting:

• Focus on the two or three issues specific to your research area or your institution to discuss.

• Lead the member or staff on an interactive tour. Explain how your research is conducted and describe its potential for preventing and curing disease.

• Introduce the members of your staff and explain their roles.

• Emphasize the need for a significant investment in research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and use the visit to demonstrate how federal dollars are invested.

• If possible, describe how your work directly affects the member's district (in terms of lives saved, cost savings, economic stimulus or global competitiveness).

Following-Up:

• Send a thank you note and follow-up information to ensure that the member and staff keep your points in mind.

• Offer your expertise if it is needed in the future.

Tips to keep prostate cancer information organized

• The first few weeks after your loved one's diagnosis, you will probably be gathering information about prostate cancer and visiting doctors. Check at the $1.00 store as I have found many items there.

  
  

  If you are a person who likes to organize things, you can develop a system for keeping track of important dates, medical articles, and other educational materials. Here are some tips that may help you:

  • Buy as expanding file or legal sized folder you can carry with you. Use it to hold all of your loved one's medical records, prescriptions, bills, insurance papers, business cards, important articles, and other educational materials.
  • Buy a notebook and reserve the first few pages for important phone numbers and addresses. This makes it easy to find those numbers when you need them quickly. Use the notebook as you do research, and take notes when you and your loved one visit various doctors.
  • Get a small appointment book or calendar (one that fits in your big folder). Use it to keep track of all your loved one's upcoming appointments.
  • Keep track of every conservation you have with your health insurance company in your notebook. Remember to date the conservation and ask for the name of the person you speak with. By doing this you will be able to document your conservation, and what was discussed, should a problem arise.
  • Ask for copies of every test result and keep them in your folder. You will be surprised how many one doctor will forget to fax test results to another doctor. Doing this will save you precious time, and each doctor can address important issues every visit because they will have the information the need.
  • Also jot down the names of any nurses you meet. Nurses may be easier to get a hold of than doctors. If you have a quick question, the nurse may be able to answer it if the doctor is'nt around.
  • Record the number of miles you drive to every hospital or medical visit. You should be able to deduct this as an expense on your yearly tax return. If you need to stay overnight, you may also be able to deduct the cost of your hotel. Check with your accountant or the IRS.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month!

This is what I would like to hear at the checkout lines

  September for Prostate Cancer Awareness month!!! 

Who is with me??

My Dream...

When I was growing up my dream was to get married and live happily ever after!

I met this wonderful man when I was 19 and he was 30. Our first date was June 20, 1983 it was love at first sight and my soul mate. On September 28, 1983 we got married and started our family in 1984 with our first son, 1985 our second son was born, 1987 our third son was born, 1990 you guessed it our fourth son was born. 

Fast forward…On September 28, 2008 my husband gave me a surprise of a life time he planned a Vow Renewal Ceremony. He got all our sons and daughter-in-law, the Bishop that married us 25 years earlier, the Bishop’s wife played the music. Ray wanted us to have the Vows renewed in the Church we were married at in Greencastle, Ohio but it is now a City Trustees office. A new Church was built in Canal Winchester, Ohio and the bell from Greencastle was brought over to the new Church. Ray said you know what we should do on our Anniversary? We should go to the Church and see if anyone remembers us. He had this planned out for months. Again I was the happiest wife and Mother yet again!

Each year we celebrate our first date anniversary and wedding anniversary. Now we have added two more anniversaries. 

On June 19, 2009 we were called to the Urologist office at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. So you know it has to be bad news when the receptionist says the doctor has cleared his schedule to talk with you. We are called back to the Urologist office and he has this look on his face that something is really wrong. We all sit down and the doctor starts with I have cleared my schedule so that we will have all the time we need to talk. Ok I am already confused to why we are there! And then the meeting begins. Sergeant Hoetger I am so sorry to tell you this. The biopsy returned and you have an aggressive form of prostate cancer. It got so quite in the office, the feeling that I just had was like being kicked in the stomach. 

And now my emotions begin I started crying our happy life has now changed to a horrible nightmare! Please I want to wake up now!!! But it was not a nightmare I am awake and this is all true. Ray is speechless and then his tears start flowing. Then the questions are starting because we need answers. Why? How? Was it something that I did or did not do? What about our sons? We got some of the answers from the Urologist but he also said we now need to become students and learn everything we can about prostate cancer. We travel back to Columbus that was the longest hour and a half car ride and the quietest! Not the driest I still had tears streaming down my face. And now depression has set in for both of us, a new battle to deal with. 

We get back home and both of us are not ready to talk about the horrible news so we just lie in bed and watch TV or try too. The next day was the anniversary of our first date yea we have been a couple for 26 years. But wait yesterday we got the horrible news how do we have a Happy 1st Date Anniversary. We tried going out to dinner for what should have been a happy day, but it was over shadowed by the day before. I tried to eat but would just burst out crying! We both are not into this anniversary this year so let’s go home. 

I remember what the Urologist had said. We need to become students and learn everything we can about prostate cancer. So I get on the World Wide Web and start searching for any information that I can find. I start printing off at the information to share it with Ray. Except he was not ready to deal with the devastating news we got. But I was not ready to let my husband go yet so we had to find out what the best treatment options for us. I searched for a support group for both of us to attend, but every time I called the response was…I am sorry no women allowed at our meetings. But your husband is more than welcome to join us! But Ray would not go without me; he says we are in this together! August 10, 2009 I found a group that allowed men and women and we have been going there ever since. We attended the group that night I did not feel so alone that night, as I have found a new branch of family called Prostate Cancer. The wives gathered together after the first hour to talk about our feelings, issues or just to socialize. I was a newbie that night and was just going to listen. But when it came time to introduce myself I was going to be strong and no tears. Well I cried like a baby, but it was ok the wives understood and said we know what you are going through we were there once! 

I made a decision that I was not going to sit back and say Oh Poor Me! It’s time to take an active role in advocating for prostate cancer as a wife and mother of 4 young sons! 

I will do whatever it takes to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer! Not only for me but for the other families that are still battling and to remember those who have lost their battle from this horrible disease. I am not afraid to say those dreaded words Prostate Cancer. What about you?