Loved one has prostate cancer? This website is for you
- Newly diagnosed? Start here.
- Cancer has returned? Visit prostate cancer recurrence.
- Struggling with impotence following treatment? Read our helpful articles with tips from medical experts.
- Not sure? Check out our site map.
Getting started
After prostate cancer diagnosis – There’s much to consider
Creating an action plan is important after your loved one’s prostate cancer diagnosis, but it may be hard to focus or think clearly. This page …
Emotions and prostate cancer -They’re often up and down
Coping with your loved one’s prostate cancer is a day-by-day experience. One day you may feel incredible sadness or even despair, but the next day …
Prostate cancer and emotions – What men may feel
Men experience a myriad of different emotions with prostate cancer. For example, your man may: Be afraid of dying Fear that his treatment choice will affect his …
Gathering information about prostate cancer – Exhausting but necessary
The more information you gather to learn about prostate cancer, the more you and your loved one can make informed decisions about prostate cancer treatment options. …
Prostate cancer information – How to organize it all
After your loved one’s diagnosis, it is important to research and gather information about prostate cancer, which you should study before visiting the doctor. It will help …
Searching the Internet – For prostate cancer information
When searching the Internet, you will find many web sites that provide excellent, unbiased information about prostate cancer. Unfortunately, there are just as many web …
Prostate Cancer 101
Prostate cancer symptoms – What are they?
A big challenge to finding prostate cancer symptoms early is that most men do not have any physical problems or discomfort. As prostate cancer advances, …
Prostate-specific antigen – A simple blood test
Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein that the prostate gland produces. A PSA test is a simple test that measures the amount of prostate-specific …
The prostate exam – A quick physical test
A prostate exam typically includes a digital rectal exam (DRE). This is a fancy name for a very simple procedure that allows the doctor to …
Advanced prostate cancer
Advanced prostate cancer means that the cancer has moved beyond the prostate gland. It is not localized cancer (cancer that is only confined to the …
Getting a prostate cancer diagnosis – Doctors often use a prostate biopsy
A prostate cancer diagnosis is commonly confirmed by a prostate biopsy (also called a core needle biopsy), which is a procedure that is usually done in …
The Gleason score – How it adds up
The Gleason score is used to help determine how quickly a tumor may grow or spread. It can be confusing because with the Gleason system (the most …
Treatments
Prostate cancer treatments – Which one is best?
Once you receive the news that your loved one has prostate cancer, you may be anxious for him to start treatment as soon as possible. …
Cryosurgery for prostate cancer – Novel freezing treatment
Cryosurgery for prostate cancer is a special procedure that uses gases, such as liquid nitrogen or argon/helium, that actually freeze and destroy the cancer. It …
Surgery for prostate cancer – What’s the best technique?
If you are considering surgery for prostate cancer, it’s a relief to know that the cancerous prostate gland will be completely removed. The medical term …
Radical retropubic prostatectomy – Mainstay treatment
The first radical retropubic prostatectomy was performed as early as 1947. During this surgical procedure, an incision is made from just below the man’s bellybutton …
Radical perineal prostatectomy – An alernate surgical approach
Radical perineal prostatectomy was the first type of surgical approach used to remove the prostate gland (starting in 1905). Now it is usually reserved for …
Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy – What you need to know
Is laparoscopic radical prostatectomy a better choice than traditional prostate cancer surgery? Although it has been used since 1999 in America there are no long-term …
Your Sex Life
Sex after prostate cancer – Requires persistence and patience
Sex after prostate cancer can be deeply satisfying, but it may be different than it was before. If your loved one did not have any …
Penile rehabilitation – Can it help?
The goal of penile rehabilitation is to stimulate blood flow to the penis right after radical prostatectomy to help improve sexual function. During radical prostatectomy, …
Prostate cancer and impotence – How men feel about it
When it comes to prostate cancer and impotence, we would never profess to understand how all men think. But we can share insights about what men may …
Sexual problems after prostate cancer – Insights for wives/partners
Many couples struggle with sexual problems following treatment for prostate cancer. We interviewed Rhonda Fine, PhD, ARNP, MSN, Board Certified Clinical Sex Therapist with The Krongrad …
Self-pleasuring and mutual masturbation – May re-engage your sex life
In this interview, Alicia B. Saunders, PhD discusses ways to help couples enhance their sex life when impotence or loss of libido is a problem …
Penetrative sex after prostate cancer – A researcher’s perspective
Dr. Jo-an Baldwin Peters has a BSc. in Physiotherapy (Physical Therapy), a MSc. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and a PhD in Health Care Administration. Her …
Incontinence
Coping with incontinence – Short and long-term solutions
Urinary incontinence is an unpleasant side effect that can occur after treatment for prostate cancer. While there are different types — and varying levels of leakage …
Kegel exercises for men – May help incontinence
Kegel exercises for men (also called pelvic floor exercises) are an attempt to help strengthen the muscles that support the bladder. These muscles also play a …
Bladder incontinence medications – Urinary control is the goal
Your loved one’s doctor may prescribe one of several bladder incontinence medications, if urinary control doesn’t return as quickly as hoped following treatment for prostate …
Collagen injections – Treatment for bladder incontinence
Collagen injections may be suggested if your loved one has a very mild form of bladder incontinence. They may also be used if he is …
Male sling for bladder incontinence – An option for some men
A male sling available for men who have prolonged incontinence that is often caused by sphincter damage related to treatment for prostate cancer. There are …
Artificial urinary sphincter – A device for bladder incontinence
The artificial urinary sphincter has been available since 1973 for men who experience prolonged bladder incontinence following treatment for prostate cancer. This device typically consists …
Helpful Tips
Talking to doctors about prostate cancer – Great questions to ask
A lot of people feel intimidated when talking to doctors about prostate cancer. Preparing your questions ahead of time can help ease some of your …
Before surgery for prostate cancer – Tips to prepare for “the big day”
There’s a lot to think about before surgery for prostate cancer (such as radical prostatectomy, which is the medical term for prostate removal). Here are some helpful …
Preparing for radiation treatment – Tips to help you
It’s normal to have some apprehension before your loved one starts external beam radiation treatment. He is probably feeling nervous, too. You can offer to …
Support your man with prostate cancer – Little things count
“How can I support my man?” is a common question from wives and partners who are coping with prostate cancer. Here are some tips to …
Sex after prostate cancer treatment – Preparing for your first time
Having sex after prostate cancer treatment can be challenging for a variety of reasons (especially your first time), both physical and psychological. If your loved …
Managing Stress
Stress and prostate cancer – Wives/partners must cope with both
Studies report that spouses and partners suffer just as much — if not more — stress than their men with prostate cancer. It’s not surprising. …
Stress has many sides – Especially with prostate cancer
Stress and prostate cancer often go hand in hand. You may not know that there are actually different types, according to the American Psychological Association. …
Stress and prostate cancer – How do you respond to both?
When it comes to stress, have you ever noticed how one day you may feel like you can take on the world, but the next …
Depression and prostate cancer – The warning signs
Both you and your loved one are likely to have strong feelings of sadness when you first receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer — or …
Meditate for 30 days – And see the change
Coping with prostate cancer can be incredibly stressful. Learning to meditate may be a way to help relax. In fact, many prostate cancer treatment centers …
Stress and prostate cancer – Men and women may react differently
One of the barriers to a happy marriage or relationship may be the expectation that men should react to stress the same way as women. …
Communication
Communication and prostate cancer – Don’t blame
Communication involves sharing. And relationships require give and take, especially when couples are coping with prostate cancer. But when things don’t go the way we …
Avoiding conversation – Some with prostate cancer do it
When a man with prostate cancer completely shuts down it can leave his wife or partner feeling desperate for conversation. For some wives and partners, …
Communicating effectively – With a man with prostate cancer
Communicating with a loved one with prostate cancer can be challenging for a variety of reasons. But if you think that your man should intuitively …
Communication: why is it so hard to understand each other?
Communication between women and men is hard enough. But it can be even more challenging when you add the stress, depression, and treatment side effects that often follow …
Communication – Why is it so hard?
Communication between women and men with prostate cancer sometimes ends up being a battle between the sexes. Part of the problem, writes author John Gray, …
Communication: – What men with prostate cancer hear
Communication issues sometime go like this: A wife wants her husband with prostate cancer to make healthier food choices. She lovingly suggests: “Let’s go out …
Stories of Hope
Rabbi Ed Weinsberg: – My prostate cancer treatment journey and my mission
In January of 2007, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Years earlier, while earning my doctorate in gerontology, I had learned that most men will …
Androgen deprivation and role reversal in the bedroom – A wife’s story
This story about androgen deprivation and how it can cause a “role reversal” in the bedroom was written by a wife in collaboration with a …
To my friend with prostate cancer – “I love you”
My dear friend whom I’ve known for 4 years now has prostate cancer. He has been in remission since 1999… before I met him. In …
Prostate cancer recurrence – Keeping the faith
In 1994-5, my PSA ranged from 3.0-5.0, never changing very much. A biopsy in 1994 was negative. But since I was a research scientist at …
Erection problems after prostate cancer – One man’s unique perspective
For most men, not being able to get an erection after treatment for prostate cancer can be devastating. But this man with advanced, recurrent cancer …
Prostate cancer surgery story – “At age 54, I felt surgery was the best option for me”
I am lucky. I have researched small-cap biotechnology stocks for 20 years and in doing so have stayed abreast of cutting edge developments. As far …
Cancer is Back
Prostate cancer recurrence – It’s not the end of the road
When faced with prostate cancer recurrence, you may feel more discouraged than you did when your man was first diagnosed. That’s understandable. With initial treatment, …
Salvage radiation – Treatment for prostate cancer recurrence
It can be a huge blow to learn that your loved one’s prostate cancer has come back following primary treatment (also called first-line treatment). Salvage radiation …
Salvage radical prostatectomy – An option after radiation
Salvage radical prostatectomy after radiation therapy has failed has really only gained favor in recent years. This is because it has been associated with a …
Prostate cancer chemotherapy? – Sometimes it’s used
Unlike other types of cancer, for prostate cancer chemotherapy is generally not used as a first attempt for a cure, especially when the cancer is …
Salvage cryotherapy – Treatment for prostate cancer recurrence
Salvage cryotherapy (or cryosurgery or cyroablation) is a minimally invasive treatment that may be used after radiation treatment for prostate cancer has failed. Gases (such …
Watchful waiting – Safe for prostate cancer?
Watchful waiting is when a man doesn’t start any treatment for prostate cancer, but his doctor carefully monitors the growth of the cancer. It is …
Questions and Answers
Prostate cancer questions and answers – Info at-a-glance
This list of common prostate cancer questions and answers makes it easy for you to quickly understand the disease with key topics you can search …
Earlier signs of prostate cancer? – Yes, there may be urinary problems
We wish there was an abundance of earlier signs of prostate cancer, because then perhaps more men might be diagnosed when the disease is still in …
PSA velocity – How useful is it?
PSA velocity (PSAV) is simply a measure of how fast a man’s PSA score rises from one test to the next over a period of …
Proton therapy for prostate cancer – Better than regular radiation?
Are those ads that claim that proton therapy for prostate cancer is better really true? What we do know is that this type of external …
Late stage prostate cancer – What does it mean?
Late stage prostate cancer is a term that is often used to describe Stage IV prostate cancer. It means the cancer has metastasized (spread) to …
Nutrition
Prostate cancer and nutrition
Despite all that’s been written about prostate cancer and nutrition, researchers really don’t completely understand what role a man’s diet plays in the development or …
Lycopene and prostate cancer – Can it help?
Lycopene (a beta-carotene) is an antioxidant that is rich in “red family” foods like tomatoes, watermelons, and pink grapefruits. It’s also in apricots, persimmons, papaya, …
Pomegranate juice and prostate cancer – Studies are promising
Pomegranate juice has created a stir among medical researchers. There have been multiple clinical trials to explore its benefits in men with prostate cancer, including …
Green tea and prostate cancer – What researchers know
Can drinking green tea help fight prostate cancer? Researchers have conducted both laboratory and human studies to find out. Some believe it is a powerful …
Vitamin D and prostate cancer – A wonder drug?
There’s been a lot of buzz about the benefits of vitamin D, particularly in the prevention of prostate, colon, and breast cancers. We know that …
Should you tell family… – About prostate cancer?
If you have younger children in your family, or grandchildren, you may be wondering if you should discuss your loved one’s prostate cancer with them. …