Prostate Cancer: Treatment & Recovery : Confronting the Emotional and Physical Challenges [Paperback]

Richard Y. Handy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1996

An estimated 200,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1994, yet this 'ignored male disease' has only recently become a topic of polite conversation. It is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer for men and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death. Medical research continues to make progress in diagnosis and treatment, but little is available to help patients and their families face the emotional effects of the cure. Handy shares his most personal story and its profound influence on his self-image and on his relationships with others. Written by a vulnerable person facing impotence and possible death, this book is for all the men, and their caring partners, who must confront the disease and impotence. Handy seeks to provide the understanding that he struggled so long to find during his own healing journey. The epilogue will strike a chord with all who are working through recovery.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 1 edition (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573920746
• ISBN-13: 978-1573920742
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,998,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Epilogue, January 4, 2002

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This review is from: Prostate Cancer: Treatment & Recovery : Confronting the Emotional and Physical Challenges (Paperback)

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in my mid 50s and at least in the near-term saddled with erectile dysfunction after surgery, I am interested in learning more about the male sexuality as it relates to this experience. Handy's book published in 1996 leads the reader through several hundred pages of ruminations about his waning sexual vitality. Males, I learned, are preoccupied with their erections. Handy is no exception. He shares his thoughts, feelings and insights about his medical condition sprinkled with some factual data. There, are, however, other books that tackle the biotechnical aspects of this condition more completely and more currently. It is Handy's rumination that is the focus of the book. One might experience the subtext as his effort to heal himself. The ruminative and erection centered content of the book led me to speed through it and almost put it down before reading the epilogue that fortunately his editor requested. The epilogue is of a nature that the reader might not think that the author actually wrote it. It is authentic and reflective. It provides the reader the answer of what it is like to suffer from erectile dysfunction. There is a real sense of intimacy and eloquence in the epilogue that is not present in the balance of the book. He effectively articulates the confusion and loss of self and personal direction that I am sure many others experience. In particular his discussion of his relationships and marriage provide insight and will perhaps make readers feel less alone. I strongly recommend the epilogue as a good piece of literature.