OPINION | MIKE MASTERSON: Wise to wait

Since being diagnosed with Gleason 6 prostate cancer in 2019, I've chosen to practice watchful waiting to see just how fast, or if, the disease will spread to a dangerous level before my time here ends.

My initial urge was to have the localized cancer treated by either proton or radiation therapy. But then I opted to wait and see if enduring the aftereffects would be necessary.

Looks like I made the right decision, according to a 260-person study of Michigan men ages 75 and younger published in 2016 by Annals of Family Medicine. It found most with localized prostate cancer (me) vastly underestimate their life expectancy without treatment while overestimating the potential gain in life expectancy with surgery or radiation.

That may lead to overtreatment, regret and decreased post-treatment quality of life, say the study authors.

"What we actually know about localized prostate cancer is that for most men it progresses so slowly that they live out their normal life span and die from some other common cause of death, like heart disease," a researcher said.

The survey learned one third expected to live less than five years with their cancer left untreated, while 41 percent guessed they'd survive another five to 10 years.

The study authors noted one of the largest and longest-followed active surveillance cohorts of men diagnosed with localized cancer revealed cancer-specific survival rates during their 10- and 15-year follow-up exams of 98 percent and 94 percent, respectively.

Unrealistic life expectancy is concerning because men who choose active cancer treatment gain virtually no survival advantage compared with those who choose observation. Yet active treatment is associated with high rates of impotence and incontinence.

'Harris-Biden,' really?

How eerily transparent is it to see Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, each recently refer to their hopeful victory in November as the "Harris-Biden" ticket?

Strikes me, after Harris placed herself at the top, at least they are being open about who she obviously believes will be dominant should 77-year-old Biden be elected.

This makes me wonder if the intent in placing herself ahead of Biden (with him later repeating such phrasing) is to soften the criticism that he clearly is struggling cognitively for all to see while trying to reassure potential voters she will be right by his side if necessary to prop him up, and eagerly positioned to become president should Biden's mental acuity continue to decline.

Dead on highways?

Did you see the shocking accounts of three children being killed the same day about five hours apart on separate state highways?

A 2-year-old toddler was found alongside I-30 at Benton after apparently being dropped from a car. One story said the child died after Arkansas State Police arrived on the scene.

It doesn't get more heartbreaking than realizing someone could do that to a toddler. It calls to mind the stories I did years back about the infant female that had been aborted then callously cast into a drainage ditch in Little Rock. That infant was named Mary Rose Doe and scores of Arkansans attended her funeral service and cemetery burial arranged by Arkansas Right to Life Director Rose Mimms and others. Many contributions were made to support that service.

In this latest horror, a passing motorist called police after spying what was believed to be a "doll" along the highway. Police later arrested a 30-year-old woman in connection with the child's death, charging her with capital murder, battery and endangerment.

Mimms told me contributions already have been made to cover the child's funeral costs.

Several hours earlier that morning, a 10-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister died when a tractor-trailer struck them as they inexplicably were walking during the predawn hours in a traffic lane of U.S. 67 south of the Jackson-Craighead County line.

Those deaths raised serious questions in the minds of investigators who reported the children's mother was at the scene and unharmed when troopers arrived.

That leaves me with many whys: Why were children out and about at 4 a.m.? Why in the name of common sense were they in the highway as a semi-trailer bore down on them?

Saliva not count?

It's good I didn't choose epidemiology or some other science as a major back in 1970 at UCA. I'd have made a terrible Anthony Fauci cohort when it comes to explaining the confusing science behind covid-19.

I could never rationally explain why people are urged into masking up to prevent droplets of this virus from spreading to others when we cough, sneeze or even expel forceful breaths. Yet, in testing to determine positive cases, medical technicians often stick a swab on a stick as far back into one's nostril as possible.

So how can a virus that spreads so easily through contaminated saliva and droplets so freely expelled from the mouth not be detected with a simple saliva test?

Just ignore me. Way too late for med school anyway.

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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.

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