Jonathan In Words, You can help prevent Prostate Cancer by reading this article by Gina Kolata from "The New York Times." (click here) Send it to a man you care about.

You can help prevent Prostate Cancer by reading this article by Gina Kolata from "The New York Times." (click here) Send it to a man you care about. »

My Personal Story

by Jonathan Freedman

I AM THE SON and grandson of prostate cancer survivors, and have witnessed their terrible anxiety, pain, and suffering. My father had a virulent strain of prostate cancer, battled it with external beam radiation and hormone therapy — and won! He is now 87 years old: an active clinical professor of medicine, who volunteers full time at the medical school, tends a greenhouse, and keeps us on our toes.

I am 59 years old, the father of four children, with two grown up and two young ones still at home. I want to live a long, productive life. And I also want to be vital, athletic, and virile.

My father’s friend and colleague at the University of Colorado medical school, Dr. Michael Glode, a highly respected oncologist specializing in prostate cancer, recommended that I consider hormone therapy. He said the upside was that this might actually reduce my chances of getting prostate cancer. The downside is that it might make me impotent, and I could grow bigger breasts!

This was a daunting choice for a guy with a passion for life and love. It presented the old Freudian dilemma: Eros versus Thanatos. Love versus Death.

After thinking about it a long time, and consulting with my father and supportive wife, I decided to take the hormone pills. At my urologist’s suggestion, I began taking Avodart, which he described as equivalent and perhaps slightly better than finasteride. The side effects? I grew hair on my knees, and experienced diminished sexual potency. Then he lowered the prescription and I returned to a new normal, not perfect, but tolerable. The benefit? My prostrate grew smaller, and my PSA tests remain in the lower range. (The drug halves the PSA, so you have to double it to get a semi-accurate reading.)

I moved to Switzerland, and my Swiss physician never heard of this treatment or the research behind it. He counseled me to reconsider. You’re a young man, why sacrifice this? He has a point, and many men wouldn’t make the sacrifice of even a fraction of their potency. But I persevered. And to date my prostate remains healthy. I cycle commute about 80 kilometers a week, in rain, sleet and snow, and rough house with the kids, and keep our household running.

Which brings me back to the article, “Forty Years War,” by Gina Kolata. I have sent it to my Swiss doctor to show him the research behind hormone treatment as a preventive for prostate cancer. And I hope that by sharing my story other men will consider this treatment. It’s not necessarily choice between Eros and Thanatos. I have both love and life, and I’m grateful for every moment!

— HAUSMANN

http://confessionsofahausmann.tumblr.com

email: confessionsofahausmann@tumblr.com

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Forty Years’ War - Medicines to Deter Some Cancers Are Not Taken - Series - NYTimes.comSource: www.nytimes.comAs the war on cancer continues, with little change in the mortality rate, the few drugs proved to deter cancer are widely ignored, researchers say.