Let’s Talk About Prostate Cancer …
The “Let’s Talk About Prostate Cancer” video series offers brief, videotaped viewpoints from opinion-makers in the prostate cancer community, including leading prostate cancer specialists, community activists, and support group leaders.
- SERIES A: Eight video interviews recorded in north Miami, Florida, in May 2009, at the second Open Conversation of the Prostate Cancer Mission, including interviews with
Physicians: Paul Schellhammer, MD; Gary Deng, MD, PhD; Gerald Chodak, MD; and Arnon Krongrad, MD
A sexual counsellor: Rhonda Fine, PhD, ARNP
Patients and advocates: Patrick Baxter; Tony Crispino; and Mike Scott - SERIES B: Sixteen video interviews recorded in Los Angeles, California, in September 2009, at the 2009 Prostate Cancer Conference of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute, including interviews with
Physicians: Mark Scholtz, MD; Arthur Lurvey, MD; Charles “Snuffy” Myers, MD; Mark Moyad, MD; David Heber, MD; John Mulhall, MD; Lisa Chaiken, MD; John Blasko, MD; and Stanley Brosman, MD
Patients and advocates: William Cavanaugh; Chuck Maack; Ralph Valle; Betty Gallo; Robert Hess; and Lyle LaRosh (this year’s winner of the Harry Pinchot Award) - SERIES C (still to come): Video interviews recorded at the Prostate.net conference in New York in October 2009.
These videos are not intended to provide definitive information about how to prevent or manage your prostate cancer. Rather, they offer the selected opinions of people with years of experience in the prostate cancer community on specific issues at a specific point in time.
You need a broader range of treatment providers: radiation oncologists, cryo practitioners, etc., need to be represented.
There needs to be more plain talk. More and more, it’s like the PCa community is only talking to itself. Dr. Chodak comes the closest to coming right out and saying it — over-treatment: that even though prostate cancer only kills 3% of men, most men treated for prostate cancer –even early stage prostate cancer — receive a treatment that leaves over half of them with significant ED and/or continence problems.
Steve: We are WELL aware that we need wider representation. This is only a beginning. Tell us when you are going to be somewhere where we can film you!
:O)
Billions has been spent on cancer research over the last 40 years. But the incidence rate, of prostate cancer for example, is the same as it was 40 years ago (in Canada anyway).
Cancer agencies say that 50% of cancers can be prevented. How about some research on how to prevent prostate cancer?
Dear Mr Gentles:
There has, in fact, been extensive research on the potential to prevent prostate cancer, and it is now clear that drugs like finasteride and dutasteride do effectively prevent prostate cancer in some 25% of the men who take these agents.
It is also clear that better diets, with a higher level of fish, vegetables, and fruit, can also impact risk for prostate cancer (compared to the diets high in fats and red meat that have been common in North America over the past 50+ years).
Do we need more research in this area? Certainly we do.
Dear Mr. Sitemaster
I’m sorry but I guess I was not clear in my letter.
I’m not sure what you mean that there’s been extensive research on the potential to prevent prostate cancer. It seems to be agreed that there is a potential to prevent 50% of cancers. But I don’t know of any actual research on that.
If you mean extensive research on the causes of prostate cancer then I certainly agree. So we now know that cancer is caused by additives in food, by household chemicals, by cosmetic chemicals, by pesticides, by close up radiation sources such as cell phones, etc. These facts are pretty well known now.
But it is also fact that the incidence rates of prostate cancer have not been reduced over the last 40 years. So people must be disregarding the proven information that’s available. So what I am suggesting is research on the ACTUAL prevention of cancer. Why all this information on the causes has not had any effect on the actual incidence rates and what might be done to actually prevent cancer.
Dear Mr. Gentles:
Apparently you are confusing the possibility of reducing ALL cancer risk with the possibility of reducing prostate cancer risk specifically.
Stopping all smoking would very probably reduce the overall risk for cancer by something like 50%. However, smoking is a relatively minor risk factor for prostate cancer.
Also the reason that the incidence of prostate cancer hasn’t dropped much in the past 40 years is because we have got so much better at finding it! Even 25 years ago, most of the men who get diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer today wouldn’t have been diagnosed until they had metastatic disease. The incidence of men being diagnosed with metastatic disease is now massively lower than it was 25 years ago. Instead, we are now diagnosing and treating prostate cancer in many men who will probably never actually need treatment.
I suggest you read the material in the section on Risk and Prevention on The “New” Prostate Cancer InfoLink.