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A Pause to Decide on Prostate Cancer Treatment
治疗前列腺癌前需一段间去考虑
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer don’t necessarily need to rush for treatment, according to the current issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
根据最新一期哈佛男性健康关注杂志发表的文章认为,被诊断为前列腺癌的男性没必要匆匆决定去治疗。
Men who waited longer between diagnosis of non-aggressive prostate cancer and a decision about treatment didn’t have significantly worse results on a test of PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, than those who sought treatment more quickly, according to studies cited by the newsletter.
根据新闻快讯引述的研究提示,在被诊断为非侵袭性前列腺癌的男性中,那些在决定去治疗前等待稍长时间的患者跟那些迅速决定治疗的患者相比较,治疗前等待稍长时间并没有使PSA(前列腺特异性抗原)的水平明显升高。
For perspective, we checked in with Philip Kantoff, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the leader of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center Prostate Cancer Program.
为了获得更详细的看法,我们咨询了Philip Kantoff教授,他是哈佛医学院的教授,也是Dana-Farber肿瘤所和哈佛肿瘤中心前列腺癌研究组的主任。
Because prostate cancer is often slow growing, he says, it’s “not unreasonable” for men with localized, non-aggressive cancer to take up to three months to make a decision about treatment. It’s not an easy choice because the evidence on which approach is best is inconclusive, according to this recent review in the Annals of Internal Medicine. And the treatments, including surgery, drugs and radiation, can cause serious side effects, such as impotence, incontinence or bowel problems.
由于前列腺癌缓慢生长,他说,所以对于患局部、非侵袭性前列腺癌的男性病人,花费3个月的时间去决定治疗是不合理的。根据最近的内科杂志综述的意见,因为哪种治疗方式是最好的不能确定,所以选择治疗的决定是很难下的。而且诸如手术、药物、放疗的治疗,可以引起诸如阳痿、尿失禁或肠道疾病等严重的副反应。
“Some people feel an urgency because they feel fear with the word ‘cancer’,” Kantoff tells the Health Blog. “I think it’s very healthy to take a deep breath and make a decision about do you need to be treated and if you need to be treated.” Still, men shouldn’t delay necessary treatment, Kantoff says. And in aggressive cases, treatment may need to begin immediately.
Kantoff告诉健康博客,一些病人由于对“癌症”这个词语害怕,所以觉得治疗是迫切的。Kantoff说:“我觉得在作出你到底需要治疗吗和如果你需要治疗的决定前,好好的深呼吸一下,是非常有益的。”他又说,当然不能耽误必需的治疗,对于侵袭性病例,需要立刻开始治疗。
Finally, men who expect to live less than 10 years longer for other reasons, such as age or another medical condition, may choose to monitor the progression of the cancer rather than to undergo treatment right away, Kantoff says.
最后,Kantoff说,对于那些由于存在诸如年龄或者其它内科疾病等原因,其预期生存期少于10年的病人,可以选择监视肿瘤进展的方案,而不需要立刻开始治疗。 |
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