Chapter 6 - Resources

6.1 Supporting a loved one with prostate cancer: What can you do? Get information

Be a support system for your loved one by learning about his specific disease. Not all prostate cancers are the same and can vary largely from patient to patient.

Get involved

Attend appointments, take notes and be prepared to ask questions. Explore treatment options and discover how genetic and genomic testing can help personalize his treatment.

Join in the fight

You are not alone. For additional support, join support communities and advocacy groups.

Prepping for your next doctor's appointment

Attending doctor appointments can be scary and you may feel overwhelmed with information. It is important to gather as much insight as you can about his cancer. If you are attending a doctor appointment with a loved one, here are questions to ask his doctor. These questions can help you both begin making decisions about his prostate cancer care.

□ What is his Gleason score?

□ Has his cancer spread?

□ How aggressive is his cancer?

□ What is his risk group?

□ What genetic and genomic testing options do we have?

□ What is the best treatment based on his risk group and stage?

□ What are side effects associated with treatment options?

□ Are his children or other family members at risk?

Watch story as she follows her husband's prostate cancer journey

Shared decision making

Deciding on which treatment option to pursue should not be taken lightly. This should be a shared decision between a patient, his loved ones, and his healthcare provider. If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough information to make the right decisions, seek out additional expert opinions such as a GU Oncologist and/or Radiation Oncologists.

Leverage your Patient Navigator

Many clinics have access to patient navigators to help patients set up appointments for doctor visits, and get financial, legal, and social support.

Patient advocacy and support groups

You are not alone.

There are various advocacy groups at the local, state, and national level that aim to provide support to patients and families who have been impacted by prostate cancer. Certain groups like ZERO Prostate Cancer, PHEN, ASPI and AnCan connect men with other men going through similar experiences via support groups and webinars, provides education on their current diagnosis, and information on clinical trials and advanced therapies.

Nutrition and Prostate Cancer

Your diet and nutrition are important factors to consider when facing prostate cancer. A good diet can decrease risk of disease and possibly prevent or delay prostate cancer progression. There are many anti-cancer super foods and supplements that you can incorporate into your diet that could contribute to your cancer aggression.

Guidelines for a healthy diet

Your diet should be:

• Primarily plant based

• Include fruits and vegetables

• High in fiber

• Low in fat

• Limit simple sugars

Listen to this episode of The Modern Urologist that focuses on nutrition and prostate cancer. Dr. David Levy, who has done extensive research on prostate cancer nutrition and treatment, discusses measures that can be taken to improve your diet by taking certain vitamins and supplements and mentions which foods to incorporate and those to avoid.

Maintaining good nutrition during and after treatment

A good diet regimen can help prepare you for recovery after treatment and may also prevent your cancer from returning.

Recent studies have shown that the risk of dying from prostate cancer is more than double in obese men diagnosed with the disease compared with men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis. Obese men with local or regional disease have been shown to have nearly four times the risk of their cancer spreading beyond the prostate or metastasizing. 6

Although certain treatments may affect your appetite, weight and eating habits, it is still crucial to do what you can to maintain a healthy diet. If you have difficulty eating due to side effects from treatment, reach out to a registered dietitian/nutritionist (RDN) who can help make sure you are getting the nutrition you need.

When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I weighed 310 pounds. After listening to a session with nutritionists that specialized in cancer patients, and getting approval from my healthcare provider, I switched to a strict plant-based diet, started exercising, and drinking more water. This has contributed to me losing 65 pounds and coming completely off medication that I had to take due to me having uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.”

6.2 Managing anxiety and depression

A prostate cancer diagnosis can take a toll on patients both physically and emotionally. Depending on your cancer stage and treatment, you may be feeling fear, anxiety, sadness, and depression.

If you are struggling with signs of depression or anxiety, you are not alone.

The GeneSight Psychotropic test is a genetic test that shows your provider how your genes may affect medication outcomes. The GeneSight test may reveal which medications to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions require dose adjustments, be less likely to work, or have an increased risk of side effects based on your DNA.

The test is a simple cheek swab taken in your healthcare provider’s office or can be sent by your doctor to be taken in the convenience of your home. Learn more about GeneSight.