Review (PDF) The Decision: Your Prostate Biopsy Shows Cancer. Now What?: Medical Insight, Personal Stories, And Humor By A Urologist Who Has Been Where You Are Now.

                
              
Review (PDF) 
The Decision: Your Prostate Biopsy Shows Cancer. Now What?: Medical Insight, Personal Stories, And Humor By A Urologist Who Has Been Where You Are Now.
Over 200,000 times a year in the U.S. a patient will leave his urologist's office having been told he has prostate cancer. What the patient thought to be a disease of old men from which they do not die, now becomes a very complicated and frustrating dilemma about which treatment to pursue. "The Decision" offers the reader an insider's view to the key issues necessary for a well thought-out treatment plan peculiar only to him. Being a urologist who treats prostate cancer and having had the disease as well, uniquely positions the author in offering guidance to the newly diagnosed prostate cancer patient. Dr. McHugh outlines a novel and multifaceted approach, using an eclectic mix of medical insight ,personal stories and humor, to aid the reader in making his "Decision." The US Review of Books - Carolyn Davis A urologist, McHugh, was inspired to write this informative book after he developed prostate cancer and dealt with treatment options as a patient. Part guidebook, part autobiography, it is intended for men who are facing the often perplexing choices of potential treatments. "Prostate stories" and more of McHugh's autobiography complete the book. The Decision is recommended for its combination of empirical tools, personal anecdotes, and overall compassion. Clarion ForeWard Five Star out of Five Book Review: McHugh has written an invaluable tool for the man facing the decision of how to treat his prostate cancer. This reviewer too knows of what he speaks, having been diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly six years ago. He had robotic surgery and is living an active, cancer-free life. John Michael Senger April 28, 2011
Paperback: 230 pages
Publisher: Jennie Cooper Press (February 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 069200565X
ISBN-13: 978-0692005651
Product Dimensions:  6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:  4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #263,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)   #48 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Urology   #82 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Doctors & Medicine
Having just been diagnosed with prostate cancer (Gleason score 6, low volume) and not yet decided on a treatment I ordered this book as part of a number of sources I'm going trough to better understand what I have and the options for treatment.First the positive of Dr. McHugh's book, it doesn't pull punches and provides both an insight of someone who has gone through this themselves as well as laying out the pro's and con's of different treatment options. In particular the worksheets are a good starting point to focus on what therapeutic modality may make the most sense for the reader.Now the reason I gave it a three. No matter how much Dr. McHugh say's that he is trying to be balanced, I felt that as a surgeon himself who chose surgery to treat his prostate cancer, there was a slant toward surgery, unless you are obviously not a candidate for it, as the treatment of choice. At one point in fact he stated that it seemed to him that patients who chose radiation were more unhappy with their choice then those who chose surgery. Left unsaid, is that obviously the radiation patients he would see were the ones who came to him with after the procedure with problems and not the ones who had no problems, whereas, as a surgeon he would see all his patients both with and without problems. Another example is when he lists his "Your are Lucky if" for both treatment options, with the surgery section being much shorter then the radiation section, which makes it seem like a less risky course of treatment, Further, when he discusses radiation options, he lumps (no pun intended) them altogether as a single option, not differentiating between seed implants, or the different types of external radiation therapy, and completely ignores Proton beam therapy.
First let me state that I have not been diagnosed with prostate cancer, yet! Over the last 15 years, since I was 50, I have experienced a roller coaster of PSA levels. The low numbers were still near or above 4 and the highs were above 8! These ups and downs have caused many hours of anxiety for me and my wife. During this emotional ride, I have had 4 prostate biopsies, all were negative!! My last PSA was high again and we are back to the anxiety and deciding on waiting until my next appointment in 6 months or having another biopsy just to be sure?? Then during a routine visit with my primary care doctor I brought him up-to-date on my prostate adventure. He told me about Dr. McHugh's book about his own experience with prostate cancer. He suggested I read the book even though I had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I had read one other book on the subject sometime ago and thought it might be a good idea to read something new on the subject.When I received the book and started reading, I could not put it down. It was such an easy read that it took me just 2 days to finish it! I was generally familiar with most of terms and topics from my own personnel experiences, but Dr. McHugh covered each step with just enough detail and in plain English that provides the reader with all the information and guidance necessary to make "The Decision"!Fortunately, I don't have to make that decision, not yet anyway, but it did provide me with peace-of-mind that if and when that time ever comes I will be able to make "The Decision" without any hesitation. The book provided me with all the information needed to feel empowered no matter what the outcome!Dr.
When my PSA went up and my primary care doctor told me that I may have cancer of the prostate and that I needed to consult with a urologist, it felt like someone had put an end to all of my plans for the future. At this point I should tell the reader that I'm a retired science teacher so I am fairly well able to read medical texts and get some meaning from them. Off we went to the library for anything we could find on prostate cancer and we began talking seriously to friends that had been through the disease and in some cases were still fighting the battle. A friend lent us a copy of Dr. Walsh's book which was great for explaining the nuts and bolts of prostate cancer, but doesn't really help make the decision as to which treatment fit me best. After reading Dr. Walsh's book and a number of others plus doing research on the NIH, and the ACS sites, we felt ready to at least talk to a urologist and ask intelligent questions.The first urologist we (my wife and I) went to wasn't a very good fit for us since he wasn't interested in answering my questions and essentially had the "I'm the doctor so you let me do the thinking". Half way through the appointment, we had decided to forget this guy.The next urologist was Dr. McHugh and am I glad we found this doctor. We went in with a long list of questions and never got a chance to ask most of them. Dr. McHugh answered most of the questions without us ever asking. He did my biopsy a short time latter and it came out positive for prostate cancer. As we were leaving the appointment where Dr. McHugh gave us the results of the biopsy, he mentioned his book or a worksheet on his web site might help me make a decision as to the treatment option I wanted to pursue.Dr.
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