Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers

My review of the book: Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: No More Unnecessary Biopsies, Radical Treatment or Loss of Sexual Potency by Ralph H. Blum and Mark Scholz, M.D.

Buy this book! I rank this book five stars plus! When I got this book, I was going to read it right away; however, my dad saw the title and asked to read it. “Sure,” I said. A few hours later he said, "That’s a great book." A few days later he said, "Brad, that’s the best book I've read in ages.” And days later when he was at the end of the book, he said, "That’s a whale of a book!" Now that I have finished it, I agree. This book is the new GOLD STANDARD book on prostate cancer. It will now be the one I am advising all men to read first.

I am not surprised at the high quality of this book. I have followed the career, and the writings of Dr. Mark Scholz over the Internet for years, and I think he is a spectacular doctor. He understands statistics far better than most physicians. I BELIEVE almost all his interpretations of the scientific data. I cannot say that about most people in the prostate cancer field. I did not personally know Ralph H. Blum, but I feel like I know him now, because he is an excellent and personable writer. Ralph does something that is extremely valuable; he spills his intimate secrets about sex, boobs, and prostate cancer related indignities, which is exactly what men need to know.

I have been mentoring a prostate cancer support group; because I have had five uncles with prostate cancer, and Ralph gives out the kind of inside information that I wish men would talk about, because most men are so utterly clueless. There is always an elephant in the room in prostate cancer meetings, and Ralph strips that elephant bare. He also takes the reader on a fascinating journey through acupuncture, herbal medicine, alternative medicine, complimentary medicine, new age, and mind-body theories.

Ralph Blum reminds me of another great writer: Dr. Michael Crichton, who wrote Jurassic Park, but also wrote Travels, where he circled the world on a spiritual and physical journey of his own.

Buy this book! To me, this is an important new paradigm in medical writing for the general public. Dr. Scholz keeps to the science and facts, while Ralph Blum roams, speculates, and elaborates on everything prostate cancer related. It’s the personal and the scientific dancing together more perfectly than I have ever seen in a book before. It’s a doctor and a patient writing a concert together—alternating pieces—and it works splendidly. Perhaps it is a template for how all future medical books for the lay public should be written. Clearly, when you properly combine a great doctor with a great patient you get a really great book. If you have prostate cancer, or know someone who has prostate cancer, this is the very first book that I recommend that you buy. And buy a copy for your doctor, because I guarantee you that most of them do not know this information as well as Dr. Scholz.

What else will you learn from this book? You will learn about all the local treatments: surgery, radiation, seed implants, and cryotherapy in an unbiased manner. You will learn about active surveillance, and testosterone inactivating pharmaceuticals (TIPS). You will learn why Color Doppler guided biopsy should almost always be done, but almost never is.

You will learn about the serious flaws of the specialty of urology. In fact, I think urology can only be fixed by splitting urology into two specialties: one medical and one surgical— just like neurology and neurosurgery—that’s the only way to stop the surgery bias. I think this is the best book ever written on prostate cancer that I have come across, and I try to read them all.

Here’s a key quote by Dr. Mark Scholz: "Out of over 50,000 radical prostatectomies performed every year the United States alone, more than 40,000 are unnecessary."
– Bradley Hennenfent, M.D., physician & economist, and author of Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery.