NEW! CLICK
HERE to listen to an interview "Overcoming Obstacles
to Intimacy" with authors, Ralph & Barbara Alterowitz
from the Mom Radio Network
with Kathleen Kane-Murrell and Marika Szoke
COMING SOON! Articles on Intimacy after Breast Cancer
ARTICLES
ON REGAINING INTIMACY:
The Loving Pie
By Ralph & Barbara Alterowitz
Intimacy and sexual pleasure is known to be essential to good physical and mental well being; it may evenlengthen life. Unfortunately, many couples abandon intimacy after prostate cancer treatment, unaware that their intimacy can not only be revived but possibly made better than before. Often all a couple needs is a vision ofwhat intimacy could and should be for them and how to go about regaining it. >> more
Charles Atlas was able to have great sex. Whether
he did, we do not know. But he was physically fit for sex.
Paraphrasing the old song, sex and marriage go together like
a horse and carriage – except when they don’t. Weight and physical fitness
can get the best of marriages mired in the “no sex” bog,>> more
Recently, a Long Island reader wrote to Ann Landers
about her husband’s impotence. She was upset that he wouldn’t
try a penile implant. He said it wasn’t natural.
Ann Landers printed a response from a man who had had an implant
and it was great. He wrote that the “implant is so natural, her husband
won’t know he has it until he needs it.” >>more
“I don’t understand it,” he said. “In
the morning, I can feel hot and want to make love. But in the evening,
forget it. After dinner, I gradually run out of steam. By 9 or
10 P.M., I am ready for bed. In fact, I’m straining to stay
awake until then. Unfortunately, my wife is completely the opposite.
She’s awake in the evening and not in the morning.”
A prostate patient made this comment during one of our recent “The
Lovin’ Ain’t Over” talks to a support group. His situation
is not unusual. >>more
“We haven’t made love in the 11 years
since I was treated for prostate cancer,” said the man
to the group sitting in a circle discussing their sexuality issues.
Impotence and some stress incontinence embarrassed him the first
time his wife approached him after treatment, and they never
tried again. They also never discuss it.>> more
“I’m
divorced and would like to get remarried. How do I build
a new relationship given that I have been treated for prostate
cancer and am impotent?” That’s a question
Barbara and I had last week when we conducted one of our workshops
for prostate cancer patients and significant others. >> more
Prostate cancer: Coming to terms with the treatment
From CBC News In Depth May 14, 2007
By Georgie Binks, CBC News
Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is upsetting enough, but finding out it's prostate cancer is a double whammy say survivors, therapists and doctors alike. The trouble is that removing prostate cancer usually poses another problem - impotence.
While men don't worry about the side effects of treatment initially, it often becomes an issue afterwards. >> more
Opponents
to screening offer up a number of reasons for their position:
patient anxiety, incontinence and/or impotence caused by
treatment, and the lack of a complete, proven cure for
prostate cancer. And certainly, the cost. All of these are
valid comments. But at best, they are only dealing with the
elephant’s
tail or trunk; in other words, they are not looking at the
whole picture. As a prostate cancer survivor, patient advocate,
and patient counselor, I start with the question, How can
we identify as many men as possible who require treatment without
causing unnecessary anxiety, pain, and cost to the people
who do not need treatment? The answer demands a balanced three-part
system: effective screening, doctors who know how to interpret
the results, and appropriate treatment options. >> more
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As we were flying to Washington, my seatmate asked
whether I liked Atlanta. I was going home, and he was going to
a meeting of clergy to discuss the possible conflict with Iraq.
He told me he was a pastor of 2,000-member congregation. >> more
“Cancer
Think”: Life Ain’t the Same, and Life Is Great
By Ralph Alterowitz
Prostate cancer means change. I certainly did not
think about major changes in my life before treatment. Even after
treatment, I did not think about permanent changes, probably because
I did not expect to be around for long. I dwelled on my life coming
to an end in about six months. My two priorities were getting my
affairs in order and trying to decide which treatment to choose.
But I thought it was kind of stupid to be particular about what
treatment to sign up for if I was not going to be around for long
afterward. >> more
There used to be a class of doctors that we called
diagnosticians. They were the physicians who could put disparate
pieces of medical information into a meaningful pattern and diagnose
the problem. Or people would come to them with an ailment that
the family doctor could not solve. >> more
In June 1995, a man was diagnosed with prostate
cancer. His doctor said there were three treatment options: surgery,
radiation, and hormones. “The decision is yours,” the
doctor said, but very little information was available. Other doctors
confirmed the three choices with recommendations biased by their
respective area of expertise. >> more
Just before
this note went to press, I attended two prostate cancer
conferences. One of them dealt with awareness, early detection,
and post-treatment options and care. In talking with attendees,
one hears stories about their care and their doctors. One
man was angry that his doctor told him he was okay because
his PSA was under 4.0. When the patient saw the result
was 3.98, he pushed for further tests and was found to have
prostate cancer. Had he not pursued it, he would not have been
diagnosed.>> more
Everyone, I suppose everyone knows about
Tony Robbins, that good-looking 6’7” man who motivates
people to climb Kilimanjaro or at least excel in their work,
their relationships and attain the farthest-reaching goals
in their dreams.
Tony is looking to expand whereby you get up in the morning
put on Robbins’ endorsed
exercise clothes and sneakers, do your exercises to a Robbins video or
tape, drive to work listening to the Robbins tape of the day and while
you are doing some of these things you would also be drinking special juices
and drinks…you get the idea. Maybe someday, sit in a Robbins chair
and sleep in a Robbins bed. >> more
It seems
that people are always looking for ways to be happy. One
group that says happiness eludes them are people with serious
diseases such as cancer. Generally, most of us are interested
in the ways and formulas people use to find happiness. Naturally,
I was intrigued when I saw a recent Reuters report “The
Formula for Happiness?” I wondered how one could make
a simple equation that tells us what makes for happiness. Two
British researchers created this equation for happiness after
interviewing 1,000 people: H=P + 5E + 3H >> more
ISBN:
0-7382-0789-6
