Careful treatment of prostate cancer

I thought “Act? Wait? It Can Be Your Choice” (July 3) was fair and insightful. When it comes to treatment of prostate cancer, the decision should be how to treat the patient, not how to treat the disease.

Every treatment has side effects, and most of these are permanent and may affect more than just a patient’s physical well-being. I do not know how to measure or quantify the impact of impotency or incontinence on another’s self-image, self-confidence, relationship or marriage. Medicine is more than just science, numbers and cure rates.

DR. KENNETH M. LAM

Dr. Lam is the medical director of Huntington Cancer Center in Pasadena.