Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: No More Unnecessary Biopsies, Radical Treatment or Loss of Sexual Potency

by Mark Scholz, Ralph H. Blum

Every year almost a quarter of a million confused and frightened American men are tossed into a prostate cancer cauldron stirred by salespeople representing a multibillion-dollar industry. In this flourishing business, the radical prostatectomy is still the most widely recommended treatment option. Yet a recent and definitive study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that out of the fifty thousand prostate operations performed annually, more than forty thousand are unjustified. But this is no surprise given that 99 percent of all doctors treating this disease are surgeons or radiation therapists. The appalling fact is that men are still being rushed into a major operation that rarely prolongs life and more than half the time leaves them impotent.

Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers is a report on the latest thinking in prostate cancer close monitoring–active surveillance rather than surgery or radiation–should be the initial treatment approach for many men. There are three stages of prostate cancer and this book will provide accurate information about how to distinguish between Low-Risk, which requires no immediate treatment; Intermediate-Risk, which will benefit from surgery, radiation, and/or hormonal therapy; and High-Risk , a type that does require immediate treatment with a combination of therapies. In a unique collaboration, doctor and patient provide a wholly new perspective on managing this disease. Ralph Blum’s account of his personal struggle, together with Dr.Mark Scholz’s presentation of newscientific advances, provides convincing evidence that this noninvasive approach can be crucial in preventing tens of thousands of men from being overtreated every year. Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers serves as an indispensable map through the medical minefield of prostate cancer.

Genres: Health

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book gives a good perspective and offers a lot of insight into not rushing into surgeries and radiation without careful consideration. It defiinitely gives another perspective in how to deal with prostate cancer than the normal procedures. I was able to draw out many questions to ask my father's doctor as well as see other avenues we should go down to assess his overall health prior to making treatment decisions. This is a good book that is opposite to most materials out there that simply explain the benefits of surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy. Every book will usually have a bias depending on what type of doctor wrote the book (oncologist vs. urologist), so this is a good book to fit into the mix of research. It was written well and it kept me interested, as it switched between a patient's personal experience versus the more flat doctorish explinations that we do need to read, but are sometimes hard to muddle through =). The book would be a good one to read for men that have not yet been through biopsies to understand what leads up to needing a biopsy and other options you may have, however I would also suggest reading the urologist perspective in books by Sheldon Marks (Prostate and Cancer: A Family Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Survival) or A Primer on Prostate Cancer: The Empowered Patient's Guide by Stephen Strum. I even started my Dad out on Prostate Cancer for Dummies - I thought that book was simple to understand and talked about all the choices men have.

[Monty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book for all men (especially those over 50) and women who care about men. It covers prostate cancer and treatment options, so this book is a must for any man who is told that his PSA count is too high or that he has prostate cancer. A central theme emphasized by the co-authors (one is a prostate oncologist and the other is a man who has prostate cancer) is that, unless you are among the small percentage of men who have fast growing prostate cancer, you can take your time to decide how to address it since the majority of men with prostate cancer die with it not from it. Plus various treatment methods keep improving over time in terms of positive results and reduction of side effects. The authors recommend that, whenever possible, it is helpful to start with a prostate cancer oncologist, someone who doesn't have a special interest in certain treatments, instead of a urologist whose bias is typically towards using surgery.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a MUST-READ for any man over 50. It's about empowering mature men to take control of their male health and become knowledgeable about treatment options and unintended consequences when facing the complicated issues surrounding prostate cancer treatment. It is [2010] state-of-the-art information about prostate cancer and how it behaves. Too many men are butchered by the aggressive (and often unnecessary), removal surgery when careful "watchful-waiting" (aka: active surveillance) would have allowed them to die (at a ripe old age) WITH prostate cancer and not because of it. Co-written by a successful survivor, this book will be a real eye-opener for most men.

[Ned · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read before diagnosis

The time to learn as much as possible about this disease is before you get it. All men over about 40 are at risk and all men should therefore educate themselves. This is at least the third book I have read on the subject and also the one with the catchiest title. It isn't the best, however. I would recommend The Great Prostate Hoax by Richard Ablin, actual discoverer of the PSA. He is clear and unequivocal in his criticism of using PSA as a diagnostic tool, while this book is not. If you can only read one book, make it Ablin's.

[Jrohde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after my brother had an elevated PSA and got some alarming statements from docs. As I already suspected, this test is very variable alone and the variability of prostate disease quite remarkable, and usually pretty benign. It is well written, though I must say, the doctor was more impressive than the patient Mark, who seemed to shop around at every possible therapy - no wonder Medicare is broke!

Useful, rather essential read for men with an elevated PSA>

[Karen Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

worth reading if it's something you need; there are actually funny parts!

[Joseph Gendron · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely informative book and the necessary information to have if one of one's doctors is a urologist. It was the primer I needed on my journey "to find out".

[William Nist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A medical oncologist and a patient alternate chapters describing the natural treatment history of Prostate Cancer. This is the story of almost 20 years of active surveillance in a man diagnosed in his late 50's who resisted surgical and radiation treatments. His strategy was to discourage the spread of his low Gleason grade (6) Cancer through lifestyle changes, the drug Proscar (Later Avodart), and a relatively short 1 year Androgen Deprivation Therapy (with one drug instead of the usual 3).

There are a lot of tips and insights built into the reflections of these two men. Anyone who is facing the possibility of PC should find this volume very interesting. It is breezily written and rather delightful in its candor.

The authors advocate not rushing into treatment, and that sort of jives with the studies that have come out since this book was written.

Look, as is mentioned in the volume, if you don't have Prostate Cancers by the time you are 70, you are probably a women. So this is an important read for most men.

[Scott Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hopeful analysis recommending prostate cancer patients with low risk disease do "watchful waiting." They even are recommending watchful waiting for people with intermediate risk disease. I haven't read the new edition but it should have updates from new research in the past decade. The "patient" section is a bit folksy but tolerable.

[Wayne Silverman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly eye opening. Very helpful when I was dealing with this issue. Highly highly recommend.

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book! Asserts that there are three kinds of prostate cancer: low, intermediate, and high risk. That low-risk cancers are common and should not be treated at all because they are “harmless.” They should be watched, but not treated with toxic drugs or irreversible procedures. One of the two authors has lived with his own prostate cancer for two decades. He describes in detail what those two decades were like.

This book emphasizes quality of life, freedom from the collateral damage caused by cancer treatments, for patients whose cancers are not life threatening. It is for men who are being “railroaded into questionable therapies, scared half to death over nonthreatening cancers, and robbed of free choice by a system that is spinning out of control.”

[Jonah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book. I'm really glad that I've read it, and I wish I read it before my dad's prostatectomy.
But I think some of the science in this book is bad. Like about the insulin levels. It is false that type 2 diabetics have lower insulin levels than nondiabetics. And it is false that lower insulin levels and lower glucose levels always go together (especially in the elderly). And it is also false that the only kinds of diets that lower them are macrobiotic (seriously, macrobiotic?).
But it's still a great conversation opener. Thought provoker. For anybody with a prostate and anybody who loves somebody with a prostate.

[Marilyn Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that everyone with prostate cancer should read. It has two viewpoints, that of a doctor and that of a patient with the disease. History of treatment, what strategies are available, drugs that are available, and hope of new discoveries in the field are included in this book. Something to remember from this book is that prostrate cancer has been alarmingly over treated. A more recent book (this book's copyright is 2010) would be greatly appreciated.

[Richard Aston]

Excellent overview and a radical one at that.
Well written , two chapter threads throughout the book a chapter from a senior oncologist, Mark Scholz, and a science fiction writer, Ralph H. Blum. Methodically challenges the convention medical view and approach to prostate cancer. A breath of fresh air and very reassuring if you are, like me, skeptical of the conventional medical advice on prostate cancer.

[Ignatius Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A patient and doctor team up to get you to think more intelligently about this common cancer.
Part of what is helping men to see that monitoring can work, radiation and meds can work and "cut it out" might not always be best.

[Tom & Beverly]

Anyone with PSA rising or high PSA can benefit from reading this book. Things are changing fast so keep looking at new info too. Some fascinating / practical information in the book and I enjoyed the style too

[Sue Klasing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good if not scary reference.

[Doug Luberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely important book for all men over 35. Don't get caught in the medical machine...Know the story, and the options before you encounter this disease.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, fairly easy to follow, and even a fun read.

[Kristen Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening look at overtreatment of prostate cancer. Very well-written.

[Timothy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important book if you have high PSA results and before you submit to more testing and treatment.