How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed And Treated
If your blood test detects high PSA levels, your primary care provider may refer you to a urologist for further evaluation, where additional imaging and/or a biopsy of the prostate may be performed. During a biopsy, a thin needle is inserted into the prostate to collect sample tissue. The tissue sample is then sent to a lab where it is analyzed under a microscope to determine whether the cells are cancerous. Your provider may also conduct an ultrasound or MRI to guide the biopsy. If cancer cells are detected in your biopsy, you will be assigned a Gleason score. Ranging from 2 to 10, this score indicates how aggressive the cancer is and how likely it is to spread. The lower the score is, the less likely the cancer is to spread.
If a prostate cancer diagnosis has been made, other tests will be ordered to determine if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body and what stage it is. Treatment will largely depend on your age, health history, and the stage of the cancer. If your cancer is slow growing and non-aggressive, your provider may recommend active surveillance, which means closely monitoring the cancer through routine PSA tests and biopsies. More aggressive cancers may require surgery, radiation, cryotherapy, hormone therapy, or chemotherapy.
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How Is Prostate Cancer Treated
Your treatment will depend on what kind of cancer cells you have, how far they have spread, your age and general health, and your preferences. At HealthPartners and Park Nicollet, we approach cancer treatment by understanding the impact it has both physically and mentally. So, you and your doctor may decide to manage your cancer with active surveillance or to treat it with surgery or radiation.
If youre over age 80 or have other serious health problems, like heart disease, you may choose not to have treatments to cure your cancer. Instead, you can just have treatments to manage your symptoms. This is called watchful waiting.
If youve already been diagnosed with prostate cancer, choosing treatment for prostate cancer can be confusing. Both urologists and oncologists have the specialty training and expertise to treat prostate cancer. They can work with you develop a treatment plan thats right for you.
Baking Soda And Molasses
There was a man who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and given up for dead by doctors. His name was Vernon Johnston. The cancer had metastasized into his bones so things were looking pretty bleak for him. But you know what? He beat the disease and did it using baking soda.
Another guy who did the same is Jim Kelmun. Today, he helps others to do the same. One of the things that make baking soda among my favorite natural cures for prostate cancer is, that it works quickly and effectively and is very easy to prepare.
Heres what to do:
Simply mix up thoroughly 1 teaspoon of aluminium free baking soda with 1½ to 2 teaspoons of black-strap molasses or Manuka honey on a dessert spoon or tablespoon. Take on an empty stomach with one glass of filtered water . Do this twice a day for the first week then increase to three times a day thereafter.
Continue doing this for 4-6 weeks before stopping. After a 4 week rest period, you may then repeat the protocol once again. Avoid all physical activity for at least 40 minutes after taking the mixture, because you dont want your body to be using up the sugars in the syrup for energy. You want the cancer cells to be sucking in the sugar along with the baking soda.
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What Is The Best Natural Treatment For Prostate Cancer
There is no best treatment for prostate cancer because each recommended treatment even has its adverse effects, which usually outweigh the benefits brought by such cancer treatment.
The natural treatments for prostate cancer are even not considered to be the best treatment since most of these natural treatments still lack the necessary studies to make them potent for clinical applications in treating prostate cancer.
There is not even a single treatment that is right for every man because it would also depend on several factors, such as the size of your tumor and how far it has spread, how fast the tumor will likely develop, your age, your health status, and your personal preference with whatever feels right for you.
Meanwhile, heres a brief description of the conventional treatments used for prostate cancer:
Active surveillance
This is not a medical treatment, but simply a medical phase wherein your doctor will recommend waiting whether or not your tumor will grow and spread before any official treatment is done. In this stage, your doctor will usually inquire about how you are feeling with the disease and will subject you to regular tests to check on your cancer progression.
Radiation therapy
This radiation treatment therapy uses high-energy beams similar to what x-ray uses in killing cancer cells. This is the typical choice when your cancer is not yet aggressive, or in medical terms, low-grade because the cancer cells remain around the prostate gland.
Cryotherapy
How Can Diet Affect Bph
Similar to prostate cancer, BPH is a multifactorial disease. Many hormones and growth factors act in the prostate tissue to cause enlargement. But some epidemiologic studies have also identified dietary factors associated with BPH.
For example, a study in China showed that overeating animal proteins could increase the risk.
Another study from Japan showed that regular milk consumption has the same effect. Thats why a plant-based diet is recommended for preventing prostate enlargement and reducing the number of prostate cancer cells
According to other research, Asian men have a lower incidence of BPH. Such a lower incidence responds to a high-fiber diet compared to Western men . But why is diet so important?
The amount and proportion of nutrients we take influences the function of the body. Among many other things, they modulate hormone concentrations. They also modulate the role of the sympathetic nervous system, which acts directly in the urethra. Thats why changing your diet can improve your urinary tract symptoms if you have them .
In this article, we will discuss 3 foods that shrink prostate gland. The following foods, nutrients and diets are recommended to shrink the size of the prostate gland. You can always look for food sources or prostate supplements that include them in the list of ingredients.
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Do Conventional Medicaltreatments For Prostate Cancer Really Work
If you get diagnosed with the disease, the usual treatment is surgery and/or chemotherapy and radiation. But the long term success rate for these treatments is surprisingly low. In fact, a lot lower than what your doctor or urologist will bother to tell you!
In Associated Press magazine, January 27, 1994, an article titled Prostate Cancer Cure Questioned revealed that after ten years of following prostate cancer patients, only slightly more treated patients were still alive compared to patients who accepted absolutely no treatment at all. 1
So if orthodox medicine really is supposed to be that beneficial for you if you have prostate cancer, then these results certainly dont prove it!
However, there is an easier, safer and far more effective way to prevent and reverse prostate cancer than the torturous cut-burn-poison approach.
Through natural treatments and natural prostate remedies.
But dont be fooled, these treatments are extremely powerful and can save your life so you dont want to take any of them lightly!
Can Certain Foods Kill Prostate Cancer
There is no particular food or recipe that can directly kill prostate cancer cells. Research is underway to discover the foods that may help prevent prostate cancer and aid the complete recovery of prostate cancer patients. It must be noted that the scientifically proven therapies for prostate cancer are crucial for treatment and should not be replaced by other means, including dietary supplements. Some of the foods that are suggested by studies to help in recovery or prevent prostate cancer relapse include
A balanced diet that includes these foods may promote an overall sense of well-being and help limit prostate cancer. Drinking plenty of water helps to flush out the wastes and toxins from the body and keep the metabolism at optimum levels. Avoid sugary drinks and foods, red meat, barbecued or deep-fried foods and processed foods , get ample rest and perform regular physical activities as per the doctors advice.
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Evaluation Of Cam Therapies
It is important that the same scientific methods used to test conventional therapies are used to test CAM therapies. The National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health are sponsoring a number of clinical trials at medical centers to test CAM therapies for use in cancer.
Conventional approaches to cancer treatment have generally been studied for safety and effectiveness through a scientific process that includes clinical trials with large numbers of patients. Less is known about the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative methods. Few CAM therapies have been tested using demanding scientific methods. A small number of CAM therapies that were thought to be purely alternative approaches are now being used in cancer treatmentnot as cures, but as complementary therapies that may help patients feel better and recover faster. One example is acupuncture. According to a panel of experts at a National Institutes of Health meeting in November 1997, acupuncture has been found to help control nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy and pain related to surgery. However, some approaches, such as the use of laetrile, have been studied and found not to work and to possibly cause harm.
Dietary Supplements For Prostate Cancer
Besides the diet changes, you also need to take a careful evaluation on whether you need to take dietary supplements in the long term or not. In this case, its still always reasonable to consult your doctor for side effects. Only the experts would know if your body requires an additional nutrient supplement, what type of supplement to be taken, and how long you will need to take it.
Common dietary supplements for prostate cancer recommended by doctors?
Zinc
This supplement may not be one of the specific natural remedies for prostate cancer, but it has a beneficial effect in reducing urinary symptoms that can reduce risk to prostate cancer.
Selenium and Vitamin E
There have been several debates on how selenium and vitamin C helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer. There are studies in the past that reflected the useful effects of these two components. Unfortunately, on the recent studies conducted by Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial or SELECT, no evidence shows neither of the two lowers the risk of prostate cancer.
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Natural Cures For Prostate Cancer Clinically Proven To Work
You are about to read some clinically proven facts about natural cures for prostate cancer and natural prostate remedies that the cancer industry isnt sharing with the public.
The statistics dont lie! Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In the US, about 221,800 men get diagnosed every year, yet only about 27,500 die each year from the disease. Unfortunately, the conventional treatment for prostate cancer leaves much to be desired.
If youre diagnosed with the disease, the recommended treatments that youll receive range from chemotherapy through to surgery or radiation. What you probably wont be told is, that the long term success rate is depressingly low. Youll also probably be made to feel that you have no other option.
Prostate cancer surgery is anything but minor surgery. It is major surgery that has a high probability of very profound, very undesirable side-effects. Furthermore, you cannot cut out cancer because cancer is a systemic disease that begins with a weak immune system. How does cutting something out improve the immune system?
But there is a better way.
Would you be interested in learning about a therapy that didnt involve costly and hazardous surgery, drugs, or radiation and one which is clinically proven to be a far more effective way to prevent and reverse prostate cancer?
I would!
Well then, lets get into it. Here are some of the best natural cures for prostate cancer that youll find anywhere.
Natural Remedies For Prostate Cancer
Here are various ways to naturally help treat or slow the progression of prostate cancer. If youve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, listen to your conventional medical doctor.
Your doctor will guide your treatment regimen using the latest proven cancer therapies. Some alternative treatments for prostate cancer may be harmful when used with standard cancer treatments.
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Prognosis If You Have Prostate Cancer
A high percentage of cases of prostate cancer are found in the early stages. When this is the case, the 5-year survival rate is close to 100%. The earlier the prostate cancer is found, the better the prognosis.
A Gleason Score is used to indicate the aggressiveness of cancer. Scores range from 2 to 10 . A score of under 7 indicates a more favorable prognosis a 7 indicates a moderate prognosis a score over 7 indicates a less favorable prognosis.
T1 and T2 tumors are indicative of a better prognosis than T3 and T4 tumors which have metastasized.
Conventional medicines main types of treatment for prostate cancer include:
- Surgery
How To Add More Fish To Your Diet
Adding more omega-3s to your diet can be as easy as cracking open a can of sardines or tuna. Not everyone is so enthusiastic about fish, though. Plus, it can also be expensive.
If you havent enjoyed fish in the past, try a different type. Each one has a unique flavor. The flavor is also milder if the fish is fresh, so you may enjoy fish more if you buy it from a fish counter and make it that day.
Cod, flounder, and trout have milder flavors. Try topping your fish with a lemon sauce or adding it to another prostate-friendly food. For example, you could try baked cod in a tomato sauce.
To stretch your dollar, you can also add fish to dishes like pasta, soup, salad, or sandwiches. That way you wont need as much fish to make a complete meal.
You can also ask your healthcare provider about taking omega-3 supplements.
Summary
Fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel, contain healthful omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds may help keep the prostate healthy, though more studies are needed.
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Questions And Answers About Lycopene
Lycopene is a carotenoid . It mixes with or dissolves in fats. Lycopene protects plants from light-related stress and helps them use the energy of the sun to make nutrients. Lycopene is found in fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, apricots, guavas, and watermelons.
The main source of lycopene in the United States is tomato-based products. Lycopene is easier for the body to use when it is eaten in processed tomato products like tomato paste and tomato puree than in raw tomatoes.
Lycopene has been studied for its role in the prevention of heart and blood vessel disease.
Lycopene may be eaten in food or taken in dietary supplements.
See the Laboratory/Animal/Preclinical Studies section of the health professional version of Prostate Cancer, Nutrition, and Dietary Supplements for information on laboratory and animal studies done using lycopene.
Population studies and clinical trials have been done to find out if lycopene can prevent or treat prostate cancer. Clinical trials have shown mixed results some studies have shown a lower risk of having prostate cancer or a decrease in prostate-specific antigen level, and others have not. There is not enough evidence to know whether lycopene can prevent or treat prostate cancer.
Population and combined studies
The Psa Blood Test Explained
PSA is prostate specific antigen, a substance produced by the prostate sometimes but not always in higher quantities in men with prostate cancer. Other causes of a raised PSA blood test include benign prostatic hyperplasia in men with a large prostate gland and infection or inflammation in the prostate . A raised PSA blood test does not mean that you have prostate cancer but that you may have an increased risk of developing the disease. If the PSA is raised, your doctor will talk to you about your options. Men in Ireland are not routinely offered PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer. There are many reasons for this, the most relevant being that although the PSA is prostate specific, it is not cancer specific. In other words the PSA can be raised for reasons other than cancer.
Prostate cancer treatment will depend on:
The type of cancer cells found at the time of diagnosis.
The test results.
The age of the patient.
General health of the patient.
Some of the treatment options include: active surveillance , surgery, radiotherapy , hormone therapy and chemotherapy. Your doctor will discuss your treatment options with you. Some of these treatments may be used alone or together to treat some prostate cancers. It is often useful to have a friend or relative with you when the treatment is explained. Some patients find it helps to write down a list of questions before going to the appointment.
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Questions To Ask Your Health Care Provider About Cam
When considering complementary and alternative therapies, patients should ask their health care provider the following questions:
- What side effects can be expected?
- What are the risks related to this therapy?
- What benefits can be expected from this therapy?
- Do the known benefits outweigh the risks?
- Will the therapy affect conventional treatment?
- Is this therapy part of a clinical trial?
- If so, who is the sponsor of the trial?
- Will the therapy be covered by health insurance?