OK, OK, nobody really knows, but in a new research study there may be an indication – if you’re young enough. If you’re older than 50 when you’re diagnosed the jury is still out.
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan reviewed more than 8,200 cases where men were diagnosed with prostate cancer before they were 50. 
The Study in a Nutshell
"When given the choice between surgery, watchful waiting or external beam radiotherapy, patients younger than 50 with moderately and poorly differentiated prostate cancers have better long-term overall and cancer-specific survival when they opt for surgery," says study author Naveen Pokala, M.D., an urologist with Henry Ford Hospital.
In 5, 10, 15, and 20 year follow-ups those men who opted for radical prostatectomy had a better survival rate than those who received external beam radiation (X-ray) treatment or chose active surveillance (watch and wait).
So tell your younger friends (more and more ‘young’ men are being diagnosed) to check out this study if they are diagnosed and BEFORE they opt for treatment. Long term survival rates keep getting better and better. I consider that pretty good news now that my post-treatment recurrent prostate cancer is at six years and counting. I try to count very slowly.
axman
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