I found this article lately that may offer hope to men.
Millions of American men who get tested regularly for prostate cancer but show no signs of the illness might benefit from taking the drug finasteride to significantly lower their risk of getting the disease, according to new guidelines issued by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association. A study of 18,882 healthy men found those who took finasteride had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those taking sugar pills. A second benefit of taking the drug was it made the most virulent cases stand out more clearly during diagnosis.
"The goal of developing a chemo-preventive agent that can reduce the risk of prostate cancer has been achieved, and that is a major achievement," said National Institutes of Health scientist Barnett Kramer, who headed the group of scientists that issued the guidelines.
Previous studies have questioned the incidence of side effects related to finasteride, but many researchers continue to tout its preventive benefits related to prostate cancer.
Have a good Wednesday. Spring is right around the corner!!
Blessings,
Rick
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Will You Be Able To Choose Your Own Care For Cancer Treatment?
There has been alot of talk lately about the new Stimulus Bill that has added 1.3 trillion dollars to own national debt. Depending on where you are politically, this is either a good or bad idea to saddle children who have not yet been born with this to pay. I guess that last sentence tips you off to my view on this bill.
According to former New York Lt. Gov. Besty McCaughey, there is a new bureaucracy buried in the Stimulus bill called the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. This allows for Washington to "monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what federal government deems appropriate and cost effective".
This means that the government decides who gets life-saving treatment and who doesn't. They will be the ones who determine the cost effectiveness's of your treatment and your worth at receiving it.
This could mean that a man who would like to choose Proton Beam Therapy in order to treat his prostate cancer, might be prevented from doing that because it "costs" more than other options. Those who try to make the argument for this higher cost fail to add in the other treatments that are often needed with other options. Depending on the outcome of surgery to take the cancer, costs can rise significantly if a person has to go through procedures to repair damage to the urinary tract and other problems.
This new national health care bill coming to a town near you, will be paying for your care. Like anything coming out of Washington, you can bet that if they are controlling the money, they will also be controlling how it is spent. You may or may not be able to choose your own treatment for your prostate cancer.
Time will tell, but I believe that last few weeks have spoken volumes as to how things will be going in our country.
Hold on. We're in for a wild ride.
Have a good Tuesday.
Blessings,
Rick
According to former New York Lt. Gov. Besty McCaughey, there is a new bureaucracy buried in the Stimulus bill called the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. This allows for Washington to "monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what federal government deems appropriate and cost effective".
This means that the government decides who gets life-saving treatment and who doesn't. They will be the ones who determine the cost effectiveness's of your treatment and your worth at receiving it.
This could mean that a man who would like to choose Proton Beam Therapy in order to treat his prostate cancer, might be prevented from doing that because it "costs" more than other options. Those who try to make the argument for this higher cost fail to add in the other treatments that are often needed with other options. Depending on the outcome of surgery to take the cancer, costs can rise significantly if a person has to go through procedures to repair damage to the urinary tract and other problems.
This new national health care bill coming to a town near you, will be paying for your care. Like anything coming out of Washington, you can bet that if they are controlling the money, they will also be controlling how it is spent. You may or may not be able to choose your own treatment for your prostate cancer.
Time will tell, but I believe that last few weeks have spoken volumes as to how things will be going in our country.
Hold on. We're in for a wild ride.
Have a good Tuesday.
Blessings,
Rick
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