What women (and their men) need to know about prostate cancer.

Thirteen thousand Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and some 2700 die from the disease during the same period.

Because early prostate cancer tends to be asymptomatic, many men are diagnosed with locally advanced disease, and some with disease that has spread to other organs. Early prostate cancer is curable; advanced cancer is much more difficult to treat successfully. If this situation is to change, healthy men, with no symptoms of the disease, need to be tested for prostate cancer. Because men are reluctant to visit their GPs, and even more reluctant to discuss their prostate gland with them, women might well be the key to helping men overcome their fear and embarrassment in relation to this important health issue.

This book was written to inform women (and men) in the community about the prostate gland, what can go wrong with it, and how men can recognise and manage their risks of developing prostate cancer. Most men will not be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their life time but of the one in ten men who will, the majority will rely on their wives or partners for emotional and practical support. With that support their survival and recovery will be much better than if they lived alone.

But women do not want to be there just to “pick up the pieces” after the diagnosis; many want to be proactive and know what they and their men need to do to ensure that if he is to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the cancer will be detected early and treated successfully.

Based on research, sound medical information, and personal experiences of women who have lived through their husbands’ diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, this book aims to inform, demystify, and encourage its readers to decide what action they need to take to safeguard their own and their partners’ health. The topics include:

• What women need to know about men’s bodies and health

• The prostate gland and why it matters

• What can go wrong with it and why

• What prostate cancer is and what men can do to reduce the risk of developing it

• What is involved in testing for prostate cancer

• What happens if prostate cancer is suspected

• What happens after a diagnosis

• What treatment options are available and who decides

• How might prostate cancer and its treatment affect individual men and women

• How to stay healthy and positive

The topics of age, testosterone, diet, exercise and lifestyle are also discussed. The overall message of the book is positive and optimistic; armed with the necessary information, women can and do make a difference to their men’s health and quality of life. With earlier detection and appropriate treatment more Australian men will survive prostate cancer and be not only free of the disease but free to enjoy a long and healthy life.

Irena Madjar, RN, PhD
in collaboration with Gail Tingle