A decade ago, Katz published her first edition of this valuable guide for the partners of prostate cancer patients. Like that version, this revision provides important information about the second most common cancer in men (after skin cancer). It’s most often diagnosed in men over 50, it often shows no symptoms, and it is a “couple’s cancer” because choices like surgery, radiation, and androgen-deprivation therapy often cause erectile difficulties. (Partners should go to doctor visits together.) But beyond these basics, Katz, a nurse, also refers to new research. For example, studies show surgery can cause shortening of the penis and loss of some urine when aroused or with orgasm. To illustrate how each treatment option affects men and their loved ones, Katz shares couples’ stories about many choices, including “active surveillance” (delaying treatment). She also gives helpful “reflective questions,” such as, “What would you tell your partner if he is unsure of taking part in a clinical trial?” Like her first go round, this one is sensitively written and reassuring even when it’s covering end-of-life care for men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Booklist

Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love: Supporting and Caring for your Partner (2nd edition) is an extraordinary book detailing up-to-date research through poignant personal stories that will resonate with anyone affected by prostate cancer. Anne Katz skillfully and compassionately weaves critical information, resources, and effective tools to empower patients and their partners to be active participants in shared decision-making processes and to enhance their relationships and quality of life.

Cobie Whitten, PhD, Psycho-Oncology Consultant, Olympia, USA

I had the privilege back in 2014 of reviewing the first edition of this book for the journal Urological Nursing. There I wrote, "this is the best book I have read that addresses the psychological and emotional issues around prostate cancer while concurrently covering the core medical topics of diagnosis, treatment, and disease progression." Not only is that still true, but the second edition is even better than the first.

This is a superb book for all of those concerned about men diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer. I know of no other book that provides a better introduction to the psychological impact of prostate cancer on men and those who care intimately for them.

Richard Wassersug, PhD,Co-Lead for the Androgen Deprivation Educational Program Lead Author on the book Androgen Deprivation Therapy: An Essential Guide for Prostate Cancer Patients and their Loved Ones

For many years, Dr. Anne Katz has helped prostate cancer patients and their partners to manage side effects related to treatment, including problems with sexual health and intimacy. This book provides a full overview of the prostate cancer experience, including diagnosis, treatment options, common side effects, and resources that can help, such as support groups for both the patient and partner. Real-life scenarios illustrate situations that patients and their partners might find very familiar, highlighting common struggles in the journey, problems in communicating, making fully-informed treatment decisions, depression, the need for self-care of the caregiver, and the difficulty associated with end of life care. This is an important and uniquely easy-to-read book on the topic for anyone dealing with prostate cancer.

Tim Mix, Director of Program Marketing ZERO - The End of Prostate Cancer

The second edition of Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love by Dr. Anne Katz is an essential component of any library focused on prostate cancer. Using easily understandable language, it explains prostate cancer basics and its treatments, and how those treatments can affect the one diagnosed, and the one who loves and supports them. It is a phenomenal resource of people living with prostate cancer, but it is also a remarkable reference for those who see and treat people with prostate cancer. Cancer is more than a disease affecting one person- it is a social disease that impacts the lives of those who provide their love and support. Dr. Katz gets that, and her mission to be the voice of the couple living with prostate cancer is extraordinary.

Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Surgery, Brown University, Lifespan Cancer Institute