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This article headline is the title of a book I am going to tell you about, and it is something every man who is diagnosed with prostate cancer should know before deciding on what treatment he will select.
I begin this "Good News" story with the fact that I caught my Prostate Cancer early. I am now halfway through my treatment regimen with the end in site three weeks from now. It is never a happy thing to be diagnosed with cancer of any form; but, the early diagnosis part makes things easier to cope with in the end.
YOU CAN BEAT PROSTRATE CANCER, by Robert Markini, a prostrate cancer survivor, is a book the author wishes had been available when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The information in this book is what every man and his family must know about early detection and treatment. When I was first diagnosed I was frightened, and when I began researching what the biopsy results meant, and what my urologist's consult left me to decide about, I became more confused what the best thing to do was going to be. My 42 year old daughter had just finished 37 radiation treatments in Atlanta, GA, for breast cancer and she was urging me to use her oncologist group.
What to do?
I made a call and sent an email to a Proton Therapy Center in Jacksonville, Florida, and the next day I received the above mentioned book by overnight delivery. I couldn't imagine who could be sending me something by FEDEX at this time. When I began reading this book, it was like someone sent me a gift from heaven. My day was spent reading this incredible book. I was still stressed out when I finished reading it, but at least I knew where and how to begin my information quest.
About the Author
Bob Marckini is a former Management Consultant and Senior V.P. for a Fortune 500 Company. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, an MBA, is a Registered Professional Engineer, and a graduate of the MIT Sloan School Executive Development Program. Bob is a director on three boards; he and his wife are active in local church and community activities.
Bob is a strong advocate for prostate cancer awareness and early detection. He founded and now manages the Brotherhood of the Balloon, an organization that provides support to prostate cancer patients around the world and raises money for cancer research.
What I decided to do
After absorbing all of the options and details in Bob's very helpful book, I followed his list of action to take. This included about twenty telephone calls to people I knew, and that I was referred to, that had gone through prostate cancer therapy. This part of the process helped me determine which one of the ten or so treatment options I would decide to do. Bob's information in a XVI chapter book was invaluable.
Armed with all of the clinical facts, national cure rate statistics of the various treatments, and the incidence of complication probability, I was now ready to meet again with my Urologist and Oncologist. Had I not read this book I would have been like a lamb going to the slaughter. Prostate cancer is one illness that the patient needs to inform himself or herself with all of the information broken-down for the non-medical person; that was he or she can make an intelligent decision, and assess the risks that are known from the thousands of sources available. Absent Bob's wonderful book the medical information world is mostly for physicians, and they do not write for the general public.
Halfway Home
After 25 radiation treatments, which I have completed with just minor bladder and urination problems, I now am ready for my radiation seed implant about two weeks from now. The doctors say that I will experience more difficulty during a period of two to six weeks, and then I will hopefully return to normal. The doctors are very cautious about predicting anything, and they leave the door open to the known worst case scenarios. Now that I know what to expect, it has made the treatment period, and my expectations about my outcome less, stressful than it would otherwise have been.
For anyone that has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I highly recommend Bob's book. Details: You Can Beat Cancer, by Robert J. Marckini; Copyright © 2006; ISBN: 978-0-6151-4022-3; the book has six appendices with email, telephone, website and contact information for all pertinent data.
I hope this information will help anyone in need.
