Publication date:
12 July 2012Length of book:
232 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442214521
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer. However this cancer is highly curable and most men live for many years after treatment; only eleven percent of cancer deaths are due to prostate cancer. It is well known that the side effects of the treatment cause more suffering than the disease itself. Side effects of surgery include incontinence and erectile difficulties; radiation therapy leads to urinary and bowel problems; and androgen deprivation (hormone) therapy leads to a broad range of long-term side effects affecting physical and emotional functioning.
But it is not only the man who suffers through treatment and its side effects. The partners and spouses of prostate cancer survivors are known to experience distress as the man they love moves through the various stages of diagnosis, treatment, and survival. While prostate cancer is a couples’ disease, there is much attention paid to the man with cancer and very little to the person and his partner or spouse, who is his prime supporter and who often struggles to make sense of what has happened and why, and how best to support and take care of him.
Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love speaks to the loving partners/spouses of men with prostate cancer, whether soon after diagnosis, or later when the man gets on with the rest of his life. Katz includes both the medical information necessary to understanding the disease and firsthand accounts from cancer patients and survivors and their partners. Tips for communication and problem solving, with both partners and health care teams, are offered throughout. Anyone dealing with prostate cancer will find in these pages comfort and insight, as well as specific advice for coping, healing, and moving forward in the spirit of healing and love.
But it is not only the man who suffers through treatment and its side effects. The partners and spouses of prostate cancer survivors are known to experience distress as the man they love moves through the various stages of diagnosis, treatment, and survival. While prostate cancer is a couples’ disease, there is much attention paid to the man with cancer and very little to the person and his partner or spouse, who is his prime supporter and who often struggles to make sense of what has happened and why, and how best to support and take care of him.
Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love speaks to the loving partners/spouses of men with prostate cancer, whether soon after diagnosis, or later when the man gets on with the rest of his life. Katz includes both the medical information necessary to understanding the disease and firsthand accounts from cancer patients and survivors and their partners. Tips for communication and problem solving, with both partners and health care teams, are offered throughout. Anyone dealing with prostate cancer will find in these pages comfort and insight, as well as specific advice for coping, healing, and moving forward in the spirit of healing and love.
This valuable book for the partners of prostate cancer patients gives nuts-and-bolts information about the disease, the tests and treatments for it, and the changes it causes in relationships. Katz, a nurse who works with cancer patients, is an empathic guide who uses the stories of gay and straight couples to illustrate her points (e.g., before he gets his diagnosis, one man gets up five times a night to go to the bathroom, becoming a 'waterworks' that leaves his wife sleepless and grumpy). Despite going through a lot of angst to choose a treatment, most men do not regret their decisions. Still, their partners may disagree with their priorities. For example, sometimes a man may place greater importance on sexual functioning than his partner, 'who would trade sex for his life any day.' Katz provides important tips about why couples should attend all doctor appointments together and about how different treatment options appeal to different personalities. Her chapter on end-of-life care is one she hopes her audience doesn’t need. Sensitively written and packed with information.