Like We Didn’t Know…. the value of care partner support groups
Most of our Readers are well aware of the value of a Care Partners Support Group – especially a peer-led one that does not inhibit conversation or stand on ceremony.
The message was partially echoed in an article in the Fall 2026 issue of Cancer Today, Finding Your Own Support . Written by regular columnist, K.J. Bannan. She wonders “if I, as a caregiver, mighthave benefited form similar level of group support” to her mother who died of lung cancer.
At anCan we’d say, definitely YES! But sadly, K.J. is not aware of AnCan and our groups. Now if someone feels like reaching out…
Overturning Insurance Denials: What happens when your payer says no!?
You’ve all been there – your Payer denies you for:
Drugs
Specialist
Providers Procedures
2nd Opinions
What do you do next? How do you avoid hours on the phone? How do you beat the runaround?
We cover all types of payers, from Private and Obama Plans to Commercial and CMS (Medicaid and Medicare).
Ask the Experts: Gil Solomon, MD – Retired Family Physician and Health Plan Medical Director, and Allie Antonucci, CPC, Market Access and Reimbursement Professional, present and discuss. Dr. John Antonucci hosts the event.
AnCan would like to thank our sponsors who make these presentations possible. Those are Novartis, Blue Earth Diagnostics, Tealix, and Bayer.
If you know your family carries or is at risk for a germline/inhetited mutation, the game changes. It may not be a parent, sibling, or child that creates concern…watch out for aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, even grandparents! Genetic Counselor and AnCan Advisory Board Member, Lindsey Byrne, MSCGC from NCCN/NCI The James CCC at Ohio State University, will lead you through the additional considerations to keep in mind if you face that situation. Including where to look and how to get others to test. Alongside her, we will have Dr. Pamela Munster, now at Stanford, who will present and discuss. We’ll also have a panel featuring some faces you are sure to recognize!
Living with cancer often means living with uncertainty, and for many patients, that uncertainty shows up as fear of recurrence and the very real stress of upcoming scans, tests, and follow-up appointments. In his introduction for the most recent Men Speaking Freely on June 4th, Dr. John provides a great summary of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence:
I thought I’d take a new look at a favorite topic of ours, Fear of Recurrence. Here is an update from recent literature.
Not that we need a definition, but FCR is defined in the literature as the fear, worry, or concern that cancer will return or progress. It’s among the most common and persistent concerns for cancer survivors, including men with prostate cancer. It seriously affects our quality of life, mental health, and even relationships.
Recent studies confirm that at least half of cancer survivors experience moderate to high FCR, with 10–20% experiencing severe, disabling FCR. Younger age, female gender, recent diagnosis, low social support, poor physical condition, and previous psychological difficulties are risk factors for higher FCR in general. For prostate cancer, younger patients and those with PSA increases or ambiguous test results are at higher risk. Of course, men may underreport FCR due to stigma or stoicism (fancy word for being stupid).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Interventions are still the most evidence-based approaches. New trials support the efficacy of both in reducing FCR, including when delivered via telehealth.
Structured interventions like ConquerFear (iConquerFear) and SWORD (Survivors’ Worry Reduction) are scientifically validated in multiple countries and are worth looking at. There’s supposed to be an Australian intervention called iCanADAPT for prostate cancer, but I can’t seem to navigate to it from icandapt.adaptcancer.org.au. Meta-analyses show modest benefit for these interventions, with high patient acceptability.
Medications addressing fear of recurrence are still not supported as primary treatment, but they sure got me by those early months without adverse effects.
The International Psycho-Oncology Society and ASCO survivorship guidelines, as well as recent research, recommend regular assessment and referral for FCR. Tools like the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI), FCR-7, and Cancer Worry Scale are available, but I’ve never heard of anyone being screened. Wake up, docs.
On the horizon, studies are examining genetics, inflammation, and personality traits as predictors of FCR. Interventions are becoming culture-specific.
So, FCR is normal, and severe/persistent FCR is treatable. Routine discussion and screening for FCR should be part of survivorship care. Effective interventions (CBT, mindfulness, research-based web-based programs) are available and increasingly accessible. Patients should not hesitate to raise FCR concerns – help is available.
-Dr. John Antonucci MD
With thanks to one of our own, Andy Douglas, a recent webinar from Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale, part of its Survivorship Series, goes into far more detail and is worth watching. In Unraveling Fear of Cancer Recurrence: Realities and Tools for Coping (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aHVlFsgN4), presenters Gabriel Cartagena, PhD, Angela Khairallah, MSW, LCSW, and Susanne Lee-Baldassini, LCSW, examine fear of cancer recurrence and “scanxiety,” explaining how common these experiences are and offering practical coping strategies for managing them.
Not everyone will experience fear of cancer recurrence or scan-related anxiety in the same way, but these concerns are common across the cancer community. This webinar will not make uncertainty disappear, but it does offer grounded, practical tools that can help patients and families navigate it with more confidence. If you’re struggling with anxiety, read the recent Substack post by Howard Hertz: Anxiety and the Miscalibrated Mind. Hertz breaks down how our brains are evolutionarily hard-wired to prioritize survival over factual accuracy, meaning your brain would rather make the mistake of feeling anxious than risk being caught off guard.
A relatively new year, new guidelines, and new tools for prostate cancer screening and monitoring.
In recent months, the AUA updated its 2023 guidelines specifically for early detection of prostate cancer (https://www.auanet.org/guidelines-and-quality/guidelines/early-detection-of-prostate-cancer-guideline). Along with those guidelines, two other organizations have updated or developed additional tools that are beneficial to all men, regardless of where they are on the prostate cancer journey (or even those not yet on a journey).
Consider them collectively as an introduction to screening (NCCN), an AS-focused source (ASPI), and a comprehensive guide for early-stage prostate cancer.
I would not consider any of them as a standalone product for all the information a man might need. The NCCN guidelines are focused on screening and are relatively basic. ASPI’s product is focused on AS, but some may find the scope and scale of information a bit overwhelming without someone to advise and assist them. The appendix at the end of the pamphlet would be exceedingly useful for anyone beginning their prostate cancer journey. Finally, the AUA guidelines are broader and developed more for urologists.
Learn from AnCan’s Emperors of Estradiol… video chat and discussion
AnCan would bet no other prostate cancer support group has the experience and knowledge around using estradiol.
For those unfamiliar, estradiol is a female hormone that is found in men in small part; just like women carry a low level of testosterone (T). In large levels, estradiol (E2) can suppress T and effectively do the work of androgen deprivation, without many of the side effects of ADT. It is cheap and effective and has been around many years. So cheap that many pharmaceutical companies are concerned it can replace a primary, far more profitable ADT agent… like Lupron, Eligard, Firmagon or Orgovyx. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, makes the argument better than I can.
It offers a much higher Quality of Life, and the recent PATCH trial has shown its efficacy and non inferiority. The major disadvantages are 1) getting a doctor to prescribe it since it is not FDA approved and must be prescribed off label. And 2) gynecomastia (breast enlargement) that can be painful and socially embarrassing, although it has remedies.
Two of the most outspoken and well recognized advocates for E2 are peer users associated with AnCan. Dr. Paul Schellhammer, a former President of the American Urological Association, is on our Brains Trust. Dr. Richard Wassersug is on AnCan’s Advisory Board. Both have used E2 for more than 20 years, while AnCan member Al Latimer outlasts them both – but not together.
Listen to this outstanding discussion… yet again AnCan’s information is PRICELESS!
