Dr. Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer, Second Edition

This is one of the two best books I reviewed after my prostate cancer diagnosis. At the time the 2nd edition was not yet published. I recently reviewed the 2nd edition (published June 2007) and found it even better with more up to date info, findings, etc. I was operated on at Johns Hopkins (author Walsh is the immediate past chairman of the Urology Dept there) and was MOST impressed. No wonder Hopkins' Brady Center is #1 in Urology per US News. The other outstanding book I found on prostate cancer was Peter Scardino's Prostate Book: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Prostate Cancer, Prostatitis and BPH)(he's at Sloan-Kettering in NYC. It was published in 2005. I do not know when an update is coming for that book.

A friend dropped off the first edition of this book the evening I got my diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. I found the book to be informative and balanced, with very good medical information to guide my decision making steps. After consulting with two surgeons (where their individual recomendations were in total alignment with Dr Walsh's comments) I chose to have a robotic Radical Prostetectomy. This book prepared me for the surgery and has been an invaluable guide for my recovery. I bought several copies of the revised edition and have already given two of them to other people recently diagnosed with Prostate cancer.

This is not the book that I ever wanted to expected to be buying, but it's been an incredibly valuable resource as I make my way through Cancerworld, prostate division. Dr. Walsh is a legendary surgeon and a pioneer in nerve-sparing surgery who also proves to be a lucid and informative writer. He pulls no punches, but he also gives the plausible and practical reasons for being hopeful in the face of a prostate-cancer diagnosis. The book is indexed very well, which I found very helpful in trying to zero in on certain topics rather than reading sequentially, and each chapter starts out with a concise and effective synopsis.

This is an updated edition of what has been the best laymen's book on prostate cancer, something that one of three men will experience in their lifetimes. But prostate cancer is not a death sentence or anywhere close if it's diagnosed early, evenin aggressive cases.Survival ratesfor those caught in the early stages are nearly 100 percent i.e. no recurrence in five years. Walsh is from JOhns Hpkins, considered to be leader in prostate cancer and urlogy generally.

Don't wait until you get prostate cancer to find out something about it, because if you don't ever have it, someone you know will. It will hep if someone knows something about it who isn't in a panic. In the meantime, make sure you follow reasonable advice on being tested.

There are alternative treatments bt there's a number of variables.You'll find most of it here. And ou'll get some idea of what you should look for from your own doctor - including whether you need a second opinion or another physician.

The oter good news is that there are prostate cancerns where treatment can be delayed indefinitely. It's just that most of us aren't qualified to make that judgement. Buy it. Read it.