PROSTATE CANCER

Here’s a ready-made support group for men facing prostate cancer: the instructive personal stories of ten men at various stages of battling prostate cancer, highlighted with updates on medical treatments and options. Jelsing (a television health and medical reporter) met with a discussion/support group whose members ranged from ages 49 to 67 years at diagnosis. The staging of their disease and prognosis when the disease was discovered varied widely, as did their circumstances, their initial medical/surgical treatment, their ongoing regimens, and the alternative therapies tried. Jelsing relies on the words of each man (and several of their wives) to convey the reaction to their diagnosis and to describe how they gathered their resources to create a plan for treatment and for living with the disease. The group discussions and medical sidebars go on to cover such specifics as choosing a health care team; dealing with side effects of treatments; the thorny issues of sex, love, and intimacy; insurance and finances; and perhaps most important, how to face an uncertain future. The range of life experiences before and after diagnosis is wide enough that fellow sufferers will find company and comfort here, the accompanying medical information is accurate and up-to-date.