your balance and being a strong and confident sexual partner and life partner. Some of the things you can do are discussed in Chapter 4. A person needs a good foundation for self-renewal.
The essential tripod of exercise, good diet, and sufficient sleep, along with the motivation for getting and staying well, are covered in Chapter 8. Chapter 5 sheds light on how partners can be helpful, and Chapter 7 has suggestions on how to best get help from your doctor. Chapter 10 has advice and observations for single women. Chapter 11 shows many techniques, exercises, approaches and devices that do not require pills and prescriptions, and Chapter 12 discusses prescription items and supplements that may address sexual dysfunction and you could discuss with your doctor. The very core of the book for couples are Chapters 6 and 9 - the essential question how to communicate with each other, how to regain the magic between you, and how to reinvent loving together.
A good sex life is about a lot more than the release of sexual urges. It is part of being healthy and happy, feeling connected to the person you love, feeling valued and desirable, giving of yourself and receiving love and affection, delighting in all your senses - in short, it is part of feeling fully alive. Isn’t it worth a little effort to get there?
Table 1: Major Cancers and Some Available Treatment Options
| Disease | Surgery | Radiation Therapy | Chemo Therapy | Other |
| Anal Cancer | Wide excision for anal margin tumors. Radical therapy: bdominoperineal resection removal of anus with permanent ostomy for anal tumors where anus cannot be preserved. | External beam or interstitial brachytherapy (seed implants). Radiation combined with chemotherapy to decrease local recurrence rate. | Chemo-radiotherapy has become standard of care for this disease. | |
| Bladder Cancer | Transurethral resection. Cystectomy. Radical cystectomy | External beam. Brachytherapy (interstitial) (seed implants) | Systemic chemotherapy (oral or infusion) | Intravesical immuno- therapy |
| Breast Cancer | Lumpectomy. Mastectomy (with or without reconstruction). Sentinel node (lymph node )biopsy and removal. Lymph node removal not recommended for early stage breast cancer based on recent research. | External beam.Brachytherapy (interstitial) (seed Implants) | Systemic chemotherapy (oral or infusion) | Monoclonal Antibody. Hormonal (selective estrogen response modifiers, i.e., Tamoxifen, or Aromatase inhibitors) |
| Cervical Cancer | Removal of the cervix. Hysterectomy. Radical trachelectomy | External Beam | Systemic chemotherapy (oral or infusion) | Hormone (Progestin).Cryotherapy (freezing) |
| Colo-rectal cancer | Bowel resection (with or without reconstruction). Laparoscopic- assisted. Abdominoperineal resection for anal tumors or low rectal cancer where anus cannot be preserved. Colonoscopy-polyp removal, sessile scraping | External beam. Brachytherapy (Needles, seeds, wires, catheters) | Systemic chemotherapy (oral and IV or IV alone, depending on stage). Chemo given to shrink tumor to try to spare anus. Many chemotherapy drugs are used for colon cancer. | Cryotherapy (freezing). Chemotherapy may be accompanied by a monoclonal antibody |
| Gynecological Cancer - see: Cervical Ovarian Uterine Vaginal | Total pelvic exteneration | External beam. Brachytherapy (intracavitary or interstitial) (seed implants) | Systemic Chemotherapy (oral or infusion). Cytotoxic chemotherapy | Hormone (Progestin). Intraperitoneal chemotherapy (only for ovarian) |
| Ovarian Cancer | Total abdominal hysterectomy, with removal of ovary, tubes and omentum (only for operable disease) | External beam. Brachytherapy (Intracavitary or Interstitial) seed implants | Cytotoxic chemotherapy used adjuvantly and palliatively. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy | |
| Rectal Cancer | See colo-rectal cancer | |||
| Uterine Cancer | Hysterectomy. Radical hysterectomy | External beam.Brachy- therapy (intracavitary or interstitial) (seed implants) | ||
| Vaginal Cancer | Partial or Radical Vulvectomy. Vaginectomy | External beam for those undergoing less radical surgical procedures | ||
| Vulvar Cancer | Vulvectomy Vulvar excision surgery | External beam | Chemo combined with radiation |
©2011 Ralph Alterowitz & Barbara Alterowitz
GLOSSARY for Table 1
Abdominoperineal resection - usually includes removal of anus with ostomy
Adjuvant - in addition to other therapy
Axillary node dissection - surgical removal of the axillary (armpit) lymph nodes is often performed on breast cancer patients during the course of a mastectomy
Brachytherapy - radiation therapy in which the source of the radiation is placed close to or implanted into the tissue to be treated (e.g., radioactive “seeds” are implanted in the prostate gland for the treatment of prostate cancer). This allows specific tissues to be treated without radiating and harming the surrounding normal tissue.
Colonoscopy - use of an endoscope to examine the large intestine (colon) to look for early signs of cancer in the colon and rectum
Colostomy - establishment of an artificial opening through the skin into the colon
Cryotherapy - also called cryosurgery, cryoablation or targeted cryoablation therapy, is the application of extreme cold to destroy diseased tissue, including cancer cells
Cystectomy - removal of all or part of the bladder
Cystotomy - an incision into the bladder to drain urine from the bladder
Cystostomy - creation of an opening in the abdomen that allows a tube catheter to be inserted in order to drain urine from the bladder
Cytotoxic - detrimental to cells
Enervation
