Living With A Prostate Cancer Personal Diagnosis
Who should I have in my prostate cancer support group?
Once prostate cancer has been detected, we like the patient to come in and talk to us. Often, it's a good idea to have their spouse or their significant other accompany them to hear all of the discussions between the patient and the doctor. Beyond that, their own personal physician may be able to advise them as to how the prostate cancer should be treated. Trusted individuals such as clergymen, friends, and other relatives may also be helpful to that individual in determining how to deal with their prostate cancer.
What factors will determine my prostate cancer outcome?
There are a number of factors that are important, which include patient's age at the time of diagnosis, other medical factors and medical risks that the patient has, the nature of the prostate cancer itself, how much cancer was detected, the PSA values, Gleeson scores and these sorts of considerations.
How do I handle family members 'playing doctor' with my prostate cancer diagnosis?
Something that we see very commonly is that when an individual is diagnosed with prostate cancer, they get advice from many different individuals. This includes family members and well-meaning friends. Everyone has a friend or a relative that has had prostate cancer and has been treated a certain way, therefore they may guide or advise the patient how they think their cancer should be treated. We think it's important that the patient deals with their individual urologist, and their family doctor in determining how their cancer should be treated and try not to be overly influenced by people who don't have the medical background.
