Prostate Cancer: A Non-Surgical Perspective [Large Print] [Paperback]

Kent Wallner (Author), Kent M.D. Waller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Treatment of prostate cancer is one of the most controversial areas in medicine. Considerable disagreement exists among doctors as to what treatment, if any, is best. The decision to accept treatment is ultimately up to you. Your decision about treatment is a difficult one to make, especially when you may get conflicting advice from different specialists.

While the medical intricacies of the field of prostate cancer may be beyond what one could master without formal training, many of the issues to consider when choosing treatment are judgment calls. They require familiarity with general concepts, not with detailed medical procedures and statistics. These general concepts, along with some current medical knowledge, are summarized inside. This book will give you guidance through a potentially bewildering maze of conflicting viewpoints.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This concise guide to treatment options by Wallner of New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who has been treating prostate cancer with radiation since 1987, provides valuable up-to-date information about the bewildering choices facing the patient. Using layman's language, uncomplicated tables, simple line drawings and photographs, Wallner brings remarkable clarity to his subject. He explains what the prostate is, how cancer is diagnosed and its stages defined, and he describes the available treatment options. The pros and cons of surgery, external radiation, radiation implants, cryotherapy and various forms of hormonal therapy are set forth clearly. Wallner considers not only cure rates but also costs and the likelihood of complications, such as incontinence and impotence, that affect quality of life. The book's large type will be especially welcome to older readers.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer of American men and, after lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer death in men. The treatment of PCa is controversial, with choices ranging from benign neglect and watchful waiting to surgery, external radiation, implant radiation, cryotherapy, hormonal therapy, and combinations of all these treatments. Patients often receive different advice from different physicians, who are likely to favor and recommend what they know and do best. In this excellent book, Wallner (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York) succinctly and concisely reviews the pros and cons of the PCa therapies, including brachytherapy (implant radiation), which has gained favor as a minimally invasive treatment of choice in several recent PCa studies. In a field not wanting for good, current coverage, Wallner's book is among the very best. Highly recommended for popular medical collections. [See also "An RX for Men's Health," LJ 1/96, p. 53-56.-Ed.]-James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Ctr., New Yor.
--James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Ctr., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Smartmedicine Pr; 1st edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964899108
• ISBN-13: 978-0964899100
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Large Print > Health, Mind & Body
  • #86 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Cancer > Prostate Disease

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on Prostate Cancer Alternative Treatments, March 27, 2000

By 

Ken Ehlers (Sisters, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prostate Cancer: A Non-Surgical Perspective (Paperback)

I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in January of 1999. After the shock, I started doing research on the web to educate myself. I also went to our public library and read or scanned every book on the shelf about Prostate Cancer. This book is without doubt the best of all the books on the options for treatment for Prostate Cancer that I read. Clear and concise, written for the lay person with just enough technical jargon so that you can discuss PCa with a physician. The book explains PSA results, Gleason Scores and the Partin Tables that every man needs to know about to make an intelligent choice for treatment.

Don't let the comment about large print influence you one way or the other, it doesn't matter. If you want information, this is the book to read. I read it all in one long evening. 5 STARS!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Book With Some Weaknesses, September 2, 2001

By 

Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prostate Cancer : A Non-Surgical Perspective (Paperback)

It is important to realize that the author is a radiation oncologist who is writing with a biased point of view. He does manage, however, to give the reader a fairly balanced overview in spite of his background and training.

Wallner makes an attempt to write a thorough review of the subject in a readable style. The weakest part of the book is the coverage given to the side effects of radiation treatment. Wallner clearly understates this important consequence. Another shortfall is that not enough space is given to a comparison of the disease-free suvival statistics between surgery and radiation. Anyone considering treatment needs to know the disease-free survival records of patients with different stages of disease under all of the major treatment options.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wallner's book, July 24, 2003

By 

Daniel Reed (Seattle, Wa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prostate Cancer : A Non-Surgical Perspective (Paperback)

This is by far the best book on prostate cancer for patients, along with Kent Wallner's book for physician's "Prostate Brachytherapy Made Complicated". Kent has an amazing way of presenting very complicated, scientific material in a straight forward, easy to understand way. I personaly give all my patients a copy of Kent's book to help them understand their disease process, and treatment options.