Rhonda Fine
PhD ARNP

Many factors can adversely affect sexual performance. Physical disability illness, obesity, medications, aging, stress, grief, emotional distress and relationship conflicts may all at times contribute to sexual dysfunction.

Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment may also contribute to sexual dysfunction. To help men and their partners cope with and manage sexual dysfunction, the Krongrad Institute has brought in Rhonda Fine, PhD, ARNP. Dr. Fine will head up the Institute’s efforts to support men and their sexual partners after prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Charles "Chuck" Maack

BY CHARLES (CHUCK) MAACK – Prostate Cancer Advocate

In opening: The capability to have an erection does not define what constitutes the title “Man.”

I’ve become exasperated reading of men claiming they are less a man because they are unable to get an erection or have lost libido/potency. “I’m less a man,” “I’m a eunuch,” “I’m a girly-man.”

Where in God’s name have such ridiculous thoughts come from? This, in my mind, is the perfect example of some men’s brains being enclosed within their penis rather than in their head.

I can agree that loss of capability for erection plus loss of libido are blows that strike at key capabilities associated with being a male.

But I am absolutely no less a man than I was through all the decades of my life before discovery of the prostate cancer made it necessary for me to take medical treatments that resulted in my loss of libido/potency/erection.

Androgen deprivation therapy, heavily-prescribed for men with prostate cancer, may have an unforeseen downside. According to a new study, lack of androgen may make any surviving cancer cells more invasive.

Dr. Snuffy Myers will be the principal speaker at the “Prostate Cancer Symposium” held on Monday September 24th at the Suburban Hospital at 8600 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, Maryland. Registration is required. Reception is at 6:30 PM followed by the presentation at 7PM. The Symposium is free as are the snacks that are served during the reception. Get more info from ProstateSymp9-2007.pdf.

The Third Annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit will be held:
September 27 & 28, 2007 at Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

When Merv Griffin died on August 12, his family said on his website :

Griffin, who turned 82 on July 6th, was recently diagnosed during a routine examination with a recurrence of the prostate cancer that he had overcome more than a decade ago. Its aggressive progression to other organs was unexpected and immediate, according to his doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The notion of a sudden fatal resurgence may mislead other men who are fighting prostate cancer.This description of Griffin as “recently diagnosed” during a “routine examination” with a recurrence of a cancer

Free Prostate Cancer Symposium on October 20, 2007 — The Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas. Speakers are physician-scientists from The Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine and UT.  Focus is on the roles of XRT, Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgeries; Hormone Management and Alternatives to Hormone Therapy and treatments in the pipeline such as Vaccines and Gene Therapy. Save the Date!

The Annie Appleseed Project invites you to its conference on “Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies for Cancer Advocates” aka CAM for Cancer Advocates.
January 10-11, 2008 in West Palm Beach, FL

Results from a Phase 1 study of NEUVENGE, Dendreon’s candidate vaccine for breast cancer, appeared today in Journal of Clinical Oncology. Testing of Neuvenge in clinical trials runs several years behind Provenge, which is in an ongoing Phase 3 trial. Out of 18 patients with advanced breast cancer who received Neuvenge, 1 patient showed partial response for 6 months and 3 patients had stable disease lasting more than a year.

Edap TMS SA (EDAP) said it is currently conducting clinical investigations in France under an approved clinical trial combining the company’s Ablatherm-HIFU device with chemotherapy using docetaxel.

The study is a primary treatment therapy program for men suffering from clinically localized but aggressive high risk prostate cancer typically classified as stage T2c. The study began in late 2006 and the company expects to enroll up to 30 men, of which more than 10 have already been treated. More details — press release.