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Howard shares an excellent and informative personal story, a story that more men who have heard "the C word" from their urologists need to hear/read. There is still a great deal of aggressive treatment given to men with low-risk disease (fear is a powerful motivator). A neophyte new joiner to the reluctant brotherhood will often be deeply susceptible to fear-driven decision-making. Knowledge is power. Sometimes the person in the white coat alone is insufficient input for wise decision-making.
My PSA was a little over 4, growing a bit over the year. Is AS recommended? I was diagnosed after a biopsy that gave me sepsis. I went in for radiation, and a horrible side-effect was proctitis. In brief, it created a very angry colon and rectum. Months of diarrhea and constipation, bleeding, pain and inability to enjoy summer, summing, et. I'm not saying no one should go the radiation route; only be aware of the possibilities. Howard, you should have gotten that Pulitzer. Twice.
I've been on Active Surveillance for 7 years and for the last 4 plus years, I have known Howard as part of the weekly AnCan A.S. Support Group. Howard always brings a wealth of information to the group. With the knowledge that I've gained from Howard and the AnCan group, I find that I can have a meaningful, two way conversation, whenever I see my Urologist. I very much appreciate Howard, the information he shares, and his newsletter "The Active Surveillor". Thank You Howard.
Howard's article is a great example of not rushing in to treatment when first diagnosed. he has provided men who can potentially adopt AS as a management strategy a roadmap to follow
I appreciate the article. It had the right amount of information/detail to give someone a foundation to look into options further while bringing a calmness and hope to their situation.....especially someone new to this roller coaster of emotion and information. Thank you for this article. Howard has been helpful to many people and is truly a wealth of information for others.
Mr. Wolinsky, Thank you for sharing your story with the readers. The information you provided should prove to be a benefit to new men getting a prostate cancer diagnosis. Thank you!
Howard is a fantastic human being who has put his abilities as a journalist and his Gleason 6 prostate cancer diagnosis to great use by helping huge amounts of men come to terms with and understand their own diagnoses. he has done that via his work with Active Surveillance Patients International (ASPI) and also via his excellent newsletter (The Active Surveillor). Thank you Howard!
JoséP
I was lucky to have been given all of the treatment options when first diagnosed, but many men aren’t. This is a very informative piece for the newly diagnosed patient with prostate cancer, and it tells of the possible treatment options that might be available, but may not be mentioned by the doctors. Also, to do your own research, and not rely on just one opinion, but seek a second, and even a third opinion in order to feel comfortable with the treatment chosen. Thank you Howard.
March 19, 2025 • NYC