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My grandfather (a doctor) always used to say this. There’s also an aggressive fast growing kind of prostate cancer, but treatment basically does nothing for sur
by slashdev 2y ago
My grandfather (a doctor) always used to say this. There’s also an aggressive fast growing kind of prostate cancer, but treatment basically does nothing for survival rates (or at least that was the case decades ago when he was practicing.)
So his advice was, don’t look, don’t treat. Either you have the slow one and treatment is harmful, or you have the fast one and you’re going to die soon anyway.
- GeekyBear 2y agoYour grandfather's take has become increasingly accepted for prostate cancer. There is more of a watch and see attitude to make sure that the patient doesn't have a rare case of aggressive growth. As you mentioned, the outcomes aren't significantly different, regardless of how you treat it. From the article linked above: > Researchers followed more than 1,600 men with localized prostate cancer who, from 1999 to 2009, received what they called active monitoring, a prostatectomy or radiation with hormone therapy. Over an exceptionally long follow-up averaging 15 years, fewer than 3 percent of the men, whose average age at diagnosis was 62, had died of prostate cancer. The differences between the three treatment groups were not statistically significant.
- slashdev 2y agoThe irony is he died of prostate cancer. He ignored his own advice and treated it. It did not change the outcome or buy him much time, if any.