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Five Reasons Why Women Should Care About Prostate Cancer
by Janet Worthington
- Many of the readers of our book are women, because men don't want to
think about prostate cancer, don't want to deal with it, just want it to
be done and over. I just got an e-mail from a woman who filtered every
chapter for her husband, highlighted the parts he should read, and just
told him what he needed to know, because he was overwhelmed and
panicking, and couldn't function.
- During a tough illness, everyone needs a buddy. Especially in the
case of a complicated disease like prostate cancer, it's easy to get
overwhelmed with information, and it's hard to tell the good from the
bad. You need someone to help you figure out the right questions to ask the doctor, to help absorb the information, and help you make
treatment decisions. It doesn't matter whether it's prostate cancer,
heart disease, diabetes -- nobody should face a tough illness alone.
- We now know that young men are affected by prostate cancer -- so
women in their thirties and forties need to know when their husbands,
brothers, or boyfriends need to start thinking about prostate cancer.
They don't need to obsess over it; they just need to think about it a
little bit -- to get one baseline test, at age 40, and then go from
there.
- Women can help men make dietary changes that may delay or prevent the
disease. We discuss these at length -- the ones that may help, and the
dietary strategies (such as taking high doses of vitamins or specific
minerals) that may do more harm than good.
- Prostate cancer and breast cancer are in many ways two sides of the
same coin. If you both start thinking about your health, getting
regular check-ups, screening, and making lifestyle changes, this will be
a positive way to tackle cancer before it ever rears its ugly head.
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