American Institute for Diseases of the Prostate

Specializing in Comprehensive management of Prostate Cancer
Charles E. Myers, MD

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 195
Earlysville, VA 22936-0195

Physical Address:
690 Bent Oaks Drive
Earlysville, VA 22936-0195

434-964-0212 Voice (For appointments, press option #1)
434-964-0216 Fax

Office Hours:
Tuesday - Friday 8 AM- 6 PM Eastern Standard Time
Janell Headrick, Prescriptions and Pre-Authorizations
Sherry Roberts, Scheduling and New Patient Information
Karen Bartle, Nurse Practitioner

How to get here: click here for map
 

The American Institute for Diseases of the Prostate offers men an approach to their disease that focuses on their overall well-being. There are several problems with the way most patients and many physicians approach prostate cancer. Patients are routinely diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer as a result of PSA-based prostate cancer screening. In fact, within communities where PSA-screening is the rule, a vast majority of men are diagnosed with cancer limited to their prostate or with small amounts of cancer that have spread to their lymph nodes. With modern treatments, approximately 80-90% of these patients will be in remission ten years after diagnosis. Some forms of prostate cancer do best with a very aggressive approach that involves surgery or radiation therapy, possibly combined with hormonal therapy. Other patients have a form of prostate cancer that can be managed very well with a program of diet, nutritional supplements, exercise, and stress reduction. One of our major goals is to help patients determine the nature of their cancer and understand the various treatment options pertinent to their individual diseases. Once a patient chooses a treatment option that best fits his situation, we work closely to execute that treatment plan.

A number of issues make prostate cancer particularly difficult to treat. The biggest problem is that both patients and physicians frequently focus solely on the cancer and fail to address other, often more serious, health issues. In fact, recent Medicare statistics show that only 39% of prostate cancer patients actually die of the cancer, while 31% die of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. Fortunately, epidemiology studies show that the same diet and lifestyle patterns that lead to prostate cancer also lead to the cardiovascular diseases. Randomized controlled trials show that simple changes, such as the nutritional supplements Vitamin E and selenium, can have a marked impact on the number of men who die of prostate cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Another factor that complicates treatment is the use of complimentary medicine. Studies show that most prostate cancer patients seek such therapies but often don‰t tell their physicians. This can be a major problem. Some supplements help prostate cancer patients, but others can severely damage them. Medical guidance is critical.

We offer men an approach to their disease that focuses on their overall well being and integrate nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction with appropriate surgical, radiotherapeutic, or medical management techniques. It is only with a comprehensive approach that patient survival and quality of life can be optimum. The patient‰s use of complementary therapies is also evaluated and, where possible, integrated into the treatment plan.

Typical Evaluation:

1. Characteristics of the cancer at the time of diagnosis: Review

• Pathology
• All imaging studies
• Findings and recommendations of previous physicians

2. All treatments given before the appointment.
3. Current extent and aggressiveness of the cancer.
4. Comprehensive physical exam, review of systems, and past medical history.
5. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension.
6. The possible presence of depression or feelings of helplessness.
7. Effectiveness of current exercise, stress management, and psychosocial Support.
8. Adequacy and safety of current diet and nutritional supplements.
9. Safety and efficacy of complementary medical procedures used by the patient.

Recommend any additional studies to complete the evaluation.

Formulate a treatment plan that integrates surgery or radiation therapy with both the medical management of cancer and cardiovascular risk factors. This program includes, when appropriate, nutrition, exercise, stress management, and treatment for depression. The plan will be integrated with appropriate procedures from complementary medicine.

Time required: This process typically requires two or more hours of contact time between the physician and the patient, as well as several additional hours to set up the new program. Often two visits are required. An initial one to fully evaluate the patient and recommend additional studies, and a second one in which the integrated treatment plan is presented. After completing this process, a follow-up by phone or e-mail is typically required at a minimum of four times over the next six months.

Important Adjuncts to Treatment

I. Seminars These two-day seminars give patients and their significant others detailed instructions on how to use nutrition, stress reduction and exercise to enhance their overall health and prostate cancer management. We also discuss which supplements and drugs are useful in slowing or arresting the growth of prostate cancer. These seminars evaluate these issues in more depth than clinic visits with Dr. Myers, making them an important addition to his medical evaluation. For this reason, patients who attend a seminar are given a high priority for the limited number of clinic appointment slots available.

II. Newsletter. We publish a monthly newsletter, the Prostate Forum, designed to keep patients updated on advances in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Each issue is devoted to one or more topics that are covered in detail and written in language that most readers find easy to understand. We also provide the references to the medical literature so that patients and their physicians can read the material we use to form our conclusions. This newsletter is an important adjunct to the clinic visits.

III. Eating Your Way to Better Health: The Prostate Forum Nutrition Guide Dr. Myers has concluded that nutrition plays a major role in the management of prostate cancer. While he can prescribe drugs to help control prostate cancer, it is up to the patient to take control of his health by adopting a healthy life-style. This book, written by Sara Steck, Rose Myers, and Dr. Myers, provides an account of how nutrition alters the growth and progression of prostate cancer. It also provides detailed instructions and recipes designed to make it easy for you to adopt a healthy diet. The book is an important adjunct to the clinic appointments, seminar and the newsletter.