One day, you’re 40 or 50 years old, no longer a spring chicken but still feeling in the prime of your life, and then – bam! – You are told you have prostate cancer. Suddenly, everything changes. You feel old, vulnerable and near the end of your rope. Aside from strong feelings of depression and uncertainty, a typical response among men who learn for the first time that they have prostate cancer is grudging acceptance and resignation to the fact that they will have to undergo surgery, known technically as a radical prostatectomy.

Here’s a tip for them: they had better think twice about undergoing that radical prostatectomy. A radical medical book blasts the myth of prostate cancer surgery and opens an entire world of different options for those who prefer to avoid going under the knife.

In a recent book entitled “Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery,” author Dr. Bradley Hennenfent said that there is no evidence that supports the belief that the radical prostatectomy extends life. In fact, he pointed to studies that indicate exactly the opposite – that the radical prostatectomy has “failed to increase overall survival” in two randomized controlled studies (Holmberg et al. and Iversen et al.). The study shows that a whopping 95% of men studied had failed to get a “survival benefit” from prostate cancer surgery over a 10-year period.

Instead of undergoing prostate surgery, the book recommends several other options for fighting prostate cancer, including cryoablation, external beam radiation, 3-D radiation, radiation seed implants, herbal therapy, watchful waiting, active non-invasive therapy, and hormone blockade.

To make matters worse, Dr. Hennenfent said that the radical prostatectomy not only fails to provide any significant benefit to prostate cancer patients, it has horrible side effects such as impotence, incontinence, a smaller penis and the scarring and blocking of the urinary passage. It also makes all men who undergo the procedure sterile.

In a recent interview, Dr. Hennenfent was quite vocal about his opposition to the radical prostatectomy and debunked it as a cure for prostate cancer. “A cure, in my opinion, is something that restores you to normal health without permanent side effects, such as an emergency appendectomy,” he said. “However, the radial prostatectomy always leaves men with permanent side effects such as sterility and sexual dysfunction. At best, the radical prostatectomy is a sacrifice; not a cure,” said Dr. Hennenfent. “Many men can be found that say the radical prostatectomy destroyed their quality of life.”

In his book, “Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery,” Dr. Hennenfent points out that with such a high failure rate and high adverse reaction rate for surgery, men need to look at brachytherapy, cryoablation, 3-dimensional radiation, herbs, and other forms of treatment, which studies suggest are more successful, while being less harmful than surgery.

If you have not been diagnosed with prostate cancer yet, there are several things you can do to lower its risks. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In a nutshell, you can decrease the risk of prostate cancer by modifying known risk factors, such as staying away or lowering your intake of animal fat. You can also take medications that help keep prostate cancer at bay such as dietary supplements with vitamin E and selenium when taken daily. You can try estrogens from soybeans and other plat sources which are classified as “phytoestrogens.”

Dr. Hennenfent has seen five uncles suffer from prostate cancer and has seen them be treated by various methods. He co-founded the Prostatitis Foundation, founded the Epididymitis Foundation, and founded the Acoustic Neuroma Foundation. He previously published "The Prostatitis Syndromes."

Perhaps before deciding on that radical prostatectomy, the best advice is to first read Dr. Hennenfent’s book, “Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery.” It also has relevant chapters on what causes prostate cancer, how it can be prevented and how it is diagnosed.