Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love: Supporting and Caring for Your Partner - Hardcover

Katz PhD RN FAAN; AASECT-certified Sexuality Counselor, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 144221452X ISBN 13: 9781442214521

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012

Synopsis

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer. However this cancer is highly curable and most men live for many years after treatment; only eleven percent of cancer deaths are due to prostate cancer. It is well known that the side effects of the treatment cause more suffering than the disease itself. Side effects of surgery include incontinence and erectile difficulties; radiation therapy leads to urinary and bowel problems; and androgen deprivation (hormone) therapy leads to a broad range of long-term side effects affecting physical and emotional functioning.

But it is not only the man who suffers through treatment and its side effects. The partners and spouses of prostate cancer survivors are known to experience distress as the man they love moves through the various stages of diagnosis, treatment, and survival. While prostate cancer is a couples’ disease, there is much attention paid to the man with cancer and very little to the person and his partner or spouse, who is his prime supporter and who often struggles to make sense of what has happened and why, and how best to support and take care of him.

Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love speaks to the loving partners/spouses of men with prostate cancer, whether soon after diagnosis, or later when the man gets on with the rest of his life. Katz includes both the medical information necessary to understanding the disease and firsthand accounts from cancer patients and survivors and their partners. Tips for communication and problem solving, with both partners and health care teams, are offered throughout. Anyone dealing with prostate cancer will find in these pages comfort and insight, as well as specific advice for coping, healing, and moving forward in the spirit of healing and love.

About this title

About the Author:

Anne Katz, RN, PhD, is the author of four books on cancer and related illnesses, including Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normal. She is also a sexuality counselor at CancerCare Manitoba and adjunct professor with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada.

Review:

This valuable book for the partners of prostate cancer patients gives nuts-and-bolts information about the disease, the tests and treatments for it, and the changes it causes in relationships. Katz, a nurse who works with cancer patients, is an empathic guide who uses the stories of gay and straight couples to illustrate her points (e.g., before he gets his diagnosis, one man gets up five times a night to go to the bathroom, becoming a 'waterworks' that leaves his wife sleepless and grumpy). Despite going through a lot of angst to choose a treatment, most men do not regret their decisions. Still, their partners may disagree with their priorities. For example, sometimes a man may place greater importance on sexual functioning than his partner, 'who would trade sex for his life any day.' Katz provides important tips about why couples should attend all doctor appointments together and about how different treatment options appeal to different personalities. Her chapter on end-of-life care is one she hopes her audience doesn’t need. Sensitively written and packed with information. (Booklist)

Katz tackles this intimate and sensitive subject with the same professionalism and compassion that appear in her four previous books about cancer. And like those earlier titles, her reason for writing Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love, she says, is simple: to help those dealing with prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery not just survive, but thrive....Throughout, Katz mixes firsthand stories with her straightforward, well-thought-out and well-composed prose....for those willing to invest in the time to read and digest this comprehensive reference, Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love provides loving advice, comfort, and insight that any couple facing the disease will benefit from receiving. (Foreword Reviews)

Anne Katz is a widely respected and internationally recognized authority on the subject of sex and cancer in women and men. Of all her many excellent books on this topic, this one may be her finest. With a sure hand, compassionate heart, and profound wisdom based on decades of experience, she leads the reader through every stage of dealing with the diagnosis and making informed treatment choices. Her depth of knowledge about the disease and available therapies is impressive, and her approach is realistic and pragmatic. While she doesn’t mince words or tiptoe around the difficult truths, she maintains a compassionate, basically optimistic attitude. She also combines a gentle sense of humor with wry observations about ironies that are inherent in interacting with the medical establishment or reading between the lines when interpreting information provided by the pharmaceutical industry. Prostate cancer is definitely a couple’s disease. One of the many features that differentiates this book from others in the field is that it is written for the partner of the patient, not just for the patient himself. There are dozens of books that provide medical facts and statistics about the disease but in this book, Dr. Katz also addresses the quality-of-life consequences of difficult decisions a couple will have to make and empathically offers guidance on dealing with the inevitable emotional stressors and avoiding typical communication pitfalls. ... This empowering book should be required reading for couples who have been plunged into the world of prostate cancer. It is written in a down-to-earth, warm, and supportive style and makes a valuable contribution to the reader’s understanding of the disease. According to the author, the primary intended audience for this book is the partner of the cancer patient but in my opinion, it is also invaluable for the patient himself. I advise both members of a couple to read the book together. This book may also be of interest to any other members of the patient’s health care team who wants to understand more about the nonmedical aspects of the experience. Another noteworthy feature of the book is the comprehensive coverage of the issues and the thorough documentation of facts. The author provides an index plus two bibliographies—a thorough alphabetical listing of authors (there are more than eight pages of references) and a listing of references relevant to each chapter, which makes it convenient to read further on individual topics. (Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy)

Anne Katz has done it again! With her skilled writing and knack for description, Dr Katz has managed to discuss a very delicate subject with professionalism and compassion. She has solidified her role as a leader in the field of human sexuality and continues to address the sensitive issues of sexuality and how it affects those living with cancer. (Michael Krychman, M.D., Executive Director of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health, Associate Clinical Professor USC, Associate Clinical Professor UCI, AASECT Certified Sexual Counselor)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 144221452X
• ISBN 13: 9781442214521
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232