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Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers (Hardback)

Every year almost a quarter of a million confused and frightened American men are tossed into a prostate cancer cauldron stirred by salespeople representing a multibillion-dollar industry. In this flourishing business, the radical prostatectomy is still the most widely recommended treatment option. Yet a recent and definitive study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that out of the fifty thousand prostate operations performed annually, more than forty thousand are unjustified. But this is no surprise given that 99 percent of all doctors treating this disease are surgeons or radiation therapists. The appalling fact is that men are still being rushed into a major operation that rarely prolongs life and more than half the time leaves them impotent.

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Endorsements
“Prostate cancer, when it is the ‘favorable risk’ variety—about 90% of the time—presents a perfect opportunity to use mainstream and alternative medicine together. In their excellent book, authors Scholz and Blum give a compelling demonstration of this integrative approach to healing.”
– Andrew Weil, MD, Director, University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and author of six New York Times best sellers, including Spontaneous Healing and Natural Health, Natural Medicine
“Ralph Blum’s twenty-year prostate cancer journey shows men how to consider all alternatives in a thoughtful way. Dr. Mark Scholz’s unique medical perspective provides the reassuring scientific support of a prostate oncologist. This book is essential reading for any man newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
– Dean Ornish, MD
"Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers is a must read for anyone who wants to get a glimpse of what the practice of future medicine needs to be. Dr. Scholz cares not only about the scientific and clinical evidence but also, very deeply and very personally, about his many patients. We need professionals like Scholz if ever we are to move forward in our current health care programs."
– T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University, and co-author of The China Study
“A provocative and frank look at the bewildering world of prostate cancer, from the current state of the multibillion-dollar industry to the range of available treatments…prostate cancer is a dark and mysterious country, and Mr. Blum and Dr. Scholz are good, levelheaded guides through these thickets. And in telling men to slow up and take a deep breath after they learn they have prostate cancer, they provide an invaluable service. I wish I had had this book back in 2008.”
– Dana Jennings - The New York Times
“In an informative and entertaining manner, the authors present a uniquely two-sided perspective on prostate cancer. An excellent book for the newly diagnosed.”
– Tanya Dorff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
“Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers is a masterpiece of eye-opening science that promises to enhance the lives of thousands of men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. I give it my highest recommendation."
– Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers: Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause
“If Scholz and Blum do nothing more than change the way so many men think about their prostate cancer from ‘a deadly disease’ to a ‘Low Risk Condition,’ they will have served us well.”
– Larry Raithaus, MD, Urologist
“Some might consider it a mistake to respond with humor when you are faced with cancer. I say it takes courage, and is a sorely needed remedy—especially when the humor is combined with good sense and state-of-the-art information. As a clinical psychologist who specializes in men's health issues, I say, Bravo, Scholz and Blum!”
– Aaron Kipnis, PhD, Author of Knights Without Armor and What Women and Men Really Want
About the Book

Radical prostatectomy is still the most widely recommended treatment for prostate cancer. Yet, according to a recent study, only one out of every forty-eight men who undergo this debilitating procedure survives longer than those who forgo surgery. Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers reports the latest thinking on prostate cancer management in clear, easy-to-understand prose.

Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers is a report on the latest thinking in prostate cancer therapy: close monitoring–active surveillance rather than surgery or radiation–should be the initial treatment approach for many men. There are three stages of prostate cancer and this book will provide accurate information about how to distinguish between them: Low-Risk, which requires no immediate treatment; Intermediate-Risk, which will benefit from surgery, radiation, and/or hormonal therapy; and High-Risk, a type that does require immediate treatment with a combination of therapies. In a unique collaboration, doctor and patient provide a new perspective on managing this disease. Ralph Blum’s surprisingly entertaining twenty-year journey and eventual decision to treat his cancer as a “chronic condition,” together with Dr. Mark Scholz’s presentation of the newest scientific evidence, will liberate thousands of newly diagnosed men to pursue a noninvasive approach and thereby preserve normal sexual and urinary function. Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers serves as an indispensable map through the medical minefield of prostate cancer.

From Publishers Weekly

There are at least half a million reasons–the number of prostate cancer diagnoses in the U.S. and Europe–to read this engaging diary/resource written from the alternating perspectives of doctor and patient. But those who’ve faced any cancer crisis should also take heed–and heart–from cultural anthropologist Blum, who’s lived with prostate cancer for two decades, and oncologist Scholz, an associate clinical professor at USC School of Medicine, who champions “testosterone inactivating pharmaceuticals” for earlystage disease–these reduce levels of testosterone, which prostate cancer cells need to grow. Among cancers, prostate cancer “is the best deal in town,” Blum argues–a slow-growing cancer that demands a slow-go approach, second opinion, and, in his own case, a decision to do no more than watch-and-wait. He then gamely examines his own fear-driven homework on standard and alternative treatments: prostatectomy, cryosurgery, radiation, chemicals, and alternative approaches like Eastern medicine and lifestyle changes. Yet in the end, Blum notes, it’s the “insight and involvement of the individual” that makes the difference in a patient’s outcome. Here’s good advice based on the brave experiences of two compatible souls and medical mavericks.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Each year nearly 500,000 men in both the U.S. and Europe are informed that they have prostate cancer. Along with this frightening news comes pressure from urologists, most of them surgeons, to undergo a radical prostatectomy and avoid a potential death sentence. Yet according to the authors of this eye-opening study of prostate cancer and its current treatment protocols, fully 80 percent of these surgeries are unnecessary. Unlike more lethal cancer varieties, such as breast and lung, prostate cancer is more frequently a milder health condition, and most men live with it for decades, eventually passing away from other causes. Blum, a veteran author and 20-year prostate cancer survivor himself, gives the much-needed patient’s viewpoint here, while Scholz, a board-certified oncologist, presents the medical perspective. Together, in two dozen lucid and engaging chapters, the pair offers a balanced guide to navigating through the thicket of doctors, biopsies, incontinence and impotency risks, and the latest surgical and noninvasive treatment options. An indispensable guide for newly diagnosed and aging males, and their loved ones. –Carl Hays

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About the Author
Mark Scholz

Mark Scholz, MD is the medical director of Prostate Oncology Specialists, Inc. He is also the executive director of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute. He received his medical degree from Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Scholz completed his internal medicine residency and medical oncology fellowship at the University of Southern California Medical Center. He is co-author of Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers. He has authored over 20 scientific publications related to the treatment of prostate cancer.

Details
Author:
Genre: Medical
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Year: 2010
Format: Hardback
Length: 320
ASIN: 1590513428
ISBN: 9781590513422
Rating:

List Price: 24.95
eBook Price: 15.95
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