Prostate Cancer: Sheep or Wolf?: Navigating Systemic Misinformation

by Murray Keith Wadsworth, Carole Wyatt (Foreword)

Murray Wadsworth was a fit and enthusiastic weekend triathlete who included regular checkups and annual screenings for prostate cancer in his overall health and wellness plan. At age forty-seven, though, he was caught off guard by a prostate cancer scare after a routine blood test. The biopsy came back clear, and Wadsworth carried on with his active life. But ten years later, another routine screening raised a concern. This time, the biopsy tested positive for cancer. Prostate Sheep or Wolf? is the riveting story of one man’s parallel Balancing a diagnosis of and treatment for prostate cancer while embarking on multiple RV road trips between treatment regimens throughout the US and Europe. This book offers a revealing and insightful look into how America’s healthcare system leads men into blind alleys, fear traps, and under- and overtreatment. There is considerable confusion and misinformation about prostate cancer screening, including whether men should even screen at all and what to make of the results. But even when men think they’re informed about symptoms and screening, the presence of prostate cancer can be missed. Despite regular PSA and DRE screening, Murray Wadsworth’s cancer went undetected for years. When he was diagnosed at fifty-seven while working in England, he took no solace in the myth that prostate cancer is an old man’s disease. But even a grim outlook and undefined stages couldn’t keep Murray from pursuing the adventures of a lifetime. He understood the statistics, but dismissed immediate treatment. Instead, he took a different path. In this poignant, rigorously referenced narrative, Murray Wadsworth details his exhaustive personal quest—one that took him to Europe several times and saw him living in an RV and venturing through the Rocky Mountains. In Europe, he discovered an entirely different approach than he’d found in the US; European treatments were not propelled by marketing and profit, but rather by cutting-edge medical technologies that may have removed all his disease. READ THIS BOOK and learn in about two hours what it took Murray Wadsworth three years and countless medical consultations on two continents to How to use groundbreaking technologies to thoroughly diagnosis the threat and make treatment decisions that are right for you . Confidence remains high that Wadsworth got all the sheep. With the right information, you can better understand the threat, and possibly beat prostate cancer too.

Genres: Nonfiction

162 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2019

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about prostate cancer that details the author's medical journey through the illness. It provides quite a lot of information about prostate cancer, screening, and treatments, along with their consequences. It goes into details about his life throughout, including lots about various trips he took, people he hung out with, projects he undertook, and so on. I understand that he added these elements (along with some rather interesting line drawings) because it is his story and it also gives context to what he did and what else was going on, but it makes the book read more like a memoir at times and less like an informational book.

Wadsworth was ultimately able to really take charge of his cancer and react very specifically at different times in order to manage the consequences like losing sexual function or bladder control or dealing with chemo and/or radiation. He was able to do this in large part because he owns his own business that has bases in both the US and the UK, and he was able to utilize the UK's medical system (and at least once, doctors in Switzerland I believe). He frequently describes the differences in the medical choices and care you get between the two, and the book is as much a condemnation of our American health care system as it is an informative book about prostate cancer. If not for his privilege in having the money and access to UK health care and sometimes care beyond even that, he would have had very different results. He is very open about this but it also means that the book will be less useful for those who don't have these options. It's still packed with information that will be helpful for all men (not just those who know they have prostate cancer or alarming test scores), but it may be a difficult read for those who just don't have the money to take all the avenues the author did.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

[Elaine Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book on prostate cancer, Murray Wadsworth has done a superb job of describing his own ordeal with prostate cancer and his reasons for choosing surgical treatment. For patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer, deciding on treatment is a huge decision. While focused imaging tests may have shown access to targeted radiation or proton therapy as better options, his decision to initially have surgery makes sense.

The United States is ranked 37th for health care, putting us about on par with third world countries although our treatment is the most expensive. I like the way Wadsworth compares treatments and protocols used in Europe to those used here. Having the opportunity to consult with many different physicians helped him immensely.

In the United States, patients are often swayed into choosing treatment quickly although the necessary tests are not always performed and results that should be followed up on are ignored. The guidance in the United States to forego PSA testing for older men is one of the reasons prostate cancer is often deadly by the time a diagnosis is made.

This book can help patients make thoughtful, well researched decisions that are the best for them rather than best for the treating physician.

While researching prostate cancer for a close relative, I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this excellent book.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murray Wadsworth is a self-described “fit and enthusiastic weekend triathlete who included regular checkups and annual screenings for prostate cancer in his overall health and wellness plan.” At forty-seven years old, he had a prostate scare when a blood test showed elevated PSA levels. However, the biopsy came back clear, and life went on for Murray.

Yet within ten years, another blood screening again showed elevated PSA levels. Unlike the first one, his biopsy tested positive for cancer. Murray then underwent a number of treatments in both the US and abroad, and detailed his journey in this memoir.

After reading the book, I felt like I knew more about prostate cancer than I ever did before. For example, I know Gleason scores had something to do with prostate cancer, but I didn’t understand where they came from or how they were determined. Within the span of a few paragraphs, it finally clicked. I definitely think that this should be a book for all men to reach to understand more about this male-specific cancer.