You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do It

Author: Robert J. Marckini
ISBN: 978-0-6151-4022-3
Publisher: Lulu

Prostate Cancer. Those two words strike fear, dread, and panic in a man's heart, cutting to the soul and psyche of any man over the age of 45. While the diagnosis of prostate cancer is not a death sentence and has a very high rate of cure, the standard treatment radical prostectomy has some serious side effects without any guarantee of a cure.

Incontinence, rectal wall damage, infection, and impotence are some of the very real permanent consequences of this "gold standard" procedure. You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do It offers readers information and hope for a new treatment protocol for prostate cancer - Proton Beam Therapy.

Robert Marckini, author and prostate cancer survivor, has created an informative, well researched discussion of an alternative treatment format for prostate cancer. Proton Beam Therapy, a form of external beam radiation therapy, uses proton beams rather than photon beams to provide more localized treatment of the tumor site. Its advantage over standard X-ray/photon radiation is the significantly diminished exposure of healthy tissue to radiation.

Proton beams can be so precisely aimed that it delivers more radiation to the tumor site with little or no "collateral" damage to surrounding tissue and organs. This significantly diminishes possible side effects and quality of life issues faced by those who undergo other treatment options. The disadvantages of proton treatment are minimal; treatment is eight weeks of treatment - five days a week, some possible changes in sexual potency, and the cost is quite expensive compared to other available treatment plans, however, Medicare and most private insurers cover proton therapy.

Marckini's investigation into various treatment plans led to a very personal exploration of the standard and experimental choices available. Some single path treatments, others involving a combination of techniques and procedures, exposed him to a world of medicine he never knew existed.

Surgery, while the most common treatment plan, is still major surgery and not necessarily the best option for most men. Laparoscopic surgery is an option as well. While recovery time is considerably shorter, the complications and side effects can be significant. With a 60-80% chance of impotence from either surgery choice, men become very concerned about the possible outcomes and like the author, seek viable alternatives. Various forms of external radiation therapy, brachytherapy, and hormone ablation therapy are available, and widely used, sometimes in conjunction with other treatments.

The more Marckini read, the more he felt certain that proton therapy was the choice for him.. He located Loma Linda University Medical Center and began a very serious investigation of their treatment. He went so far as to survey those who had completed Proton Beam Therapy at LLUMC. The overwhelming response was no problems with incontinence and bladder control and only minor issues related to erectile dysfunction (and those were responsive to standard ED medication).

For obvious reasons, Marckini chose proton beam therapy to treat his cancer and has never regretted his choice. As a direct result of his personal quest for clear, easy to understand, and frank information on treatment options, You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do It was born.

In a single, easy to use, easy to read format is the type of information that Marckini wished had been available to him at his diagnosis. Compared to other texts on the topic, none of them come close to being as all-inclusive in providing solid information, checklists, guidelines, and a frank discussion of treatment option advantages and disadvantages.

Marckini's You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do It is the new "gold standard" in information available to men at risk or recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is one book that definitely should be in every man's library collection.

Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of http://www.mywritingmentor.com/ lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a "ferry ride from Seattle." She maintains two blogs: http://www.authormarketingtools.wordpress.com/ http://www.mywritingmentor.wordpress.com

She works with her two Labrador assistant editors, Mocha and Luke, and her feline copy edit assistants, Caesar and Yoda. Shannon is widely recognized as one of the top writing coaches for non-fiction authors. With over 17 years editing for native and non-native English speaking authors she knows how to help writers make every word count.