Prostate cancer patients now have an even better reason to “watch and wait”

The best part of nothing

Is your doctor brave enough to do…nothing?

When the diagnosis is cancer, doing nothing might seem like the worst idea ever. Most cancer treatment guidelines press doctors to be aggressive.

But every cancer is different. For one type in particular, the official guidelines are fuzzy. And that can be especially dangerous if a doctor tries to coax you to “man up” and go to battle.

Breaking and entering

Prostate cancer hits a man right where he lives.

Hearing you have any cancer is devastating, of course. But none are quite as personal as cancer of the prostate gland. In a lot of ways, it’s responsible for what makes you feel like a man.

That’s why a suggestion to “do nothing” might make you think your doctor has lost his mind.

But prostate cancer is unique.

In recent years, we’ve seen proof that older men with localized prostate cancer that’s not advanced do best when they “watch and wait.” Even if these men live for decades, they are much more likely to die with prostate cancer than from it. In many cases, it won’t even make them uncomfortable.

Of course, that doesn’t stop doctors from suggesting aggressive action – and patients from signing on the dotted line.

But the latest evidence confirms that “action” is not the best way to go.

In most cancers, untreated low grade disease progresses to higher grades. In a new study with more than 1,000 men, year after year, low grades did not rise. And many of these guys were followed more than a decade.

According to the lead researcher. “Men with low-grade disease at diagnosis should seriously consider talking with their doctors about active surveillance.”

Now here’s what that means in the real world…

Don’t be pressured into unnecessary surgery, radiation, or chemo. No, not even “to be on the safe side.”

If your Gleason grade is low, you’re already on the safe side.

Sources:
“Low-grade Prostate Cancers May Not Become Aggressive With Time — Adds Support for ‘Watch and Wait’ Approach” American Association for Cancer Research, 8/14/13, aacr.org