Prostate Cancer Surgery Fails 95 Percent of the Time

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics,” said Benjamin Disraeli and Mark Twain. They must have been talking about prostate cancer.

An influential urologist says on his website that “…90% of prostate cancers can be cured if early diagnosis and effective treatments are used appropriately.” Another influential urologist is quoted on a website as saying: “With surgery, 3 out of 4 men [75%] are totally cured.”

However, according to Dr. Bradley Hennenfent, author of the new book, “Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery” (Roseville Books), “In the just published randomized controlled study [Bell-Axelson et al., May 12, 2005] only 20 more men, out of the 347 who underwent prostate cancer surgery, were alive at 8.2 years than in the watchful waiting arm of the study.”

In fact, the authors of the study estimated the 10-year increase in survival for men who underwent surgery for prostate cancer to be only 5 percent after 10 years. Men over age 65 had no increase in survival whatsoever from surgery after 10 years.

Why the discrepancy in statistics? Why do urologists announce sky-high cure rates when Dr. Hennenfent and the study’s authors point out that 95 percent of the time surgery doesn’t extend life?

“Surgeons shamelessly include the men who don’t need surgery for survival in their glowing statistics,” says Dr. Hennenfent.

Because prostate cancer is often slow growing, men often die with prostate cancer inside them, but not from prostate cancer. In a now famous quote, urologist Willet Whitmore described the dilemma poetically: "Is cure possible for men in whom it is necessary? And is cure necessary for men in whom it is possible?"

In the study, more men died from other causes than died from their prostate cancer.

The radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer has serious side effects. The surgery causes all men to be sterile and to have dry orgasms. The surgery also causes many men to suffer from smaller penises, impotence, other forms of sexual dysfunction, incontinence, and urinary strictures.

“There is a high burden of adverse quality of life issues that must be endured for 10 years for a small survival benefit,” says Dr. Hennenfent.

HealthDay News quoted the study’s lead author, urologist Anna Bill-Axelson, as saying that: “The risk of over-treatment is striking.”

“We have to come up with a better treatment for prostate cancer than surgery with its 95% failure rate,” says Dr. Hennenfent, “especially when 100 percent of men will suffer one or more permanent side effects from surgery. We need a treatment with a 100% survival rate and a 0% side effect rate.”

“Surgery is never a ‘total cure,’” adds Dr. Hennenfent. “A cure relieves you of all symptoms and returns you to normal health without any side effects. Prostate cancer surgery is never a cure, as all men are rendered sterile, and many men suffer some other serious side effect.”

In his book, “Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery,” Dr. Hennenfent points out that with such a high failure rate and high adverse reaction rate for surgery, men need to look at brachytherapy, cryoablation, 3-dimensional radiation, herbs, and other forms of treatment, which studies suggest are more successful, while being less harmful than surgery.

Dr. Hennenfent has seen five uncles suffer from prostate cancer and has seen them be treated by various methods. He co-founded the Prostatitis Foundation (www.Prostatitis.org), founded the Epididymitis Foundation (www.EpididymitisFoundation.org), and founded the Acoustic Neuroma Foundation (www.AcousticNeuromaFoundation.org). He previously published "The Prostatitis Syndromes."

"Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery" can be found in fine bookstores everywhere. Biblio Distribution (800-462-6420) and Roseville Books/Rayve Productions (888-492-2665) distribute the book. It’s $19.95, a trade paperback, 334 pages, 34 chapters, ISBN Number: 0-9717454-1-2, and was published January 15, 2005. Twenty-seven illustrations and cartoons are included within the book, which also includes an extensive index.

Website: www.SurvivingProstateCancerWithoutSurgery.org.
Contact: Arnold@RosevilleBooks.com