Overtreatment for Prostate Cancer

New studies show that many men are over-treated for prostate cancer, undergoing prolonged hormone therapy that destroys their sex life and leaves them prone to uncomfortable symptoms like hot flashes.

If you’ve been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, it’s important that you discuss treatment options with your doctor. Today, I’ve got some information that can help prepare you for that conversation.

The first question to ask is how widespread your cancer is. If your cancer is limited to the interior of the prostate, the best course of treatment will be different than if the cancer has spread to the exterior of the prostate. Treatment will be different still if the cancer has spread to other parts of your body.

For cancer that is limited to the interior of the prostate, radiation therapy is often sufficient, but many doctors prescribe a six-month or three-year round of hormone therapy, too. They do this to be on the safe side, but at this time, there’s no evidence to support hormone treatment unless the cancer has spread to the exterior of the prostate.

It’s important to discuss your specific situation and the possible benefits and drawbacks of hormone therapy before committing to it. The good news is that while hormone therapy is disruptive to your quality of life—especially your sex life—should you and your doctor decide you need hormone therapy, your sexual function will return in full once you complete the therapy.

Currently in the US, many researchers believe that most men are being over-treated for their prostate cancer, especially early stage cancers. By discussing these findings with your doctor, you can help come up with the best treatment plan for your specific needs and hopefully minimize the discomfort and stress that go along with fighting any cancer.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

PSA Testing—What’s the Right Choice?

Last week, two major studies were published with contradictory results. One study found that routine PSA testing saves lives. The other found that it didn’t.

Prostate specific antigen is a protein that increases in your blood when you have prostate cancer. The problem is that PSA tests alone can’t conclusively determine if cancer is present. They also can’t reveal if your cancer is aggressive and in need of immediate treatment or if it is slow-growing and poses no real threat.

These points are very important to treatment and outcome for individual men. For many men, the best approach to prostate cancer is regular check ups to make sure it isn’t growing noticeably. For those men, other treatments don’t extend life expectancy and may significantly reduce the quality of life.

Other men with aggressive cancer need to take an aggressive approach to treatment or the cancer can have devastating effects.

The question of the day is “What’s the best way to determine if you have prostate cancer… and how do you know the best course of treatment if you do?”

The truth is the issue is embroiled in controversy. At this time there is no simple, straightforward answer.

Here’s what most doctors recommend…
• Have your first PSA test at age 40 to establish a base line.
• Have a second test at 45 to make sure you don’t have any unusual changes.
• After that work with your doctor based on your risk factors to determine your testing schedule.
• If you are diagnosed with high PSA levels and a biopsy reveals cancer, talk with your doctor about watching the tumor for a time before doing aggressive treatment. The tumor may be slow-growing and might not present a threat.

Your prostate plays an important role in the function of your bladder and your sex life. You don’t want to aggressively treat a tumor unless the tumor is aggressive. This approach will help you get the best and most appropriate treatment should you development prostate cancer.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

One More Reason to Boost Your Omega-3s

A high intake of omega-6 fatty acids might be putting you at risk of prostate cancer.

UCLA researchers found that mice who were fed a typical American diet high in corn and soybean oil were much more likely to develop prostate cancer than those who ate far less of the omega-6-rich fats.

These findings hold with other studies that show eating a diet too high in omega-6s and too low in omega-3s causes all sorts of health problems from heart disease to depression to different kinds of cancer.

You can correct this problem in your own diet in three simple steps.

First, begin taking an omega-3 supplement. Cod liver oil supplements, fish oil supplements, or flaxseed oil supplements are all good options.

Second, begin cutting down on the number of packaged foods you eat. These invariably contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids.

These first two steps are often enough to make a big difference, but if you want to go one step further, switch from regular meat to organic, naturally fed meat. Instead of beef, choose grass-fed beef or bison. Instead of your standard chicken, look for chicken that's been fed an organic diet. Instead of regular eggs, choose eggs from free-range chickens fed an omega-3-rich diet.

Getting your omega-3s and omega-6s into balance isn't hard to do and it can provide enormous, long-term health benefits.

Stay well,

Meghan Krohn

An Easy Way to Cut Prostate Cancer Risks in Half

If cutting your prostate cancer risk in half were as easy as drinking a beverage every day, wouldn't you do it?

That's exactly what researchers out of Japan are saying. They compared the tea-drinking habits of 50,000 men over a 14 year period. They found that men who drink the most green tea—5 cups a day or more—have just half the chance of developing prostate cancer as those who drink one or fewer cups a day.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants. It also contains compounds that protect cells from mutations, which is how it helps to prevent cancers. Other studies have linked it to heart health and to a lower risk of diabetes.

Now, thanks to this study, we can add prostate health to that list.

Green tea is easy to find at your local grocery store. It only takes 5 minutes to brew up a cup or a whole pot. That's the approach I take. Around lunchtime, I brew a pot of green tea and enjoy it throughout the afternoon. I like to add a little bit of honey to mine, but it's good on its own, too.

Green tea does contain caffeine, but I find it doesn't make me jittery. Still, if you're sensitive to caffeine, you won't want to drink green tea after three or four in the afternoon or it might disrupt your sleep.

Aside from all the heart and prostate benefits, I also like the nice energy boost the tea gives me. Give it a try. It's easy, tasty, and really good for you.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Common Prostate Cancer Treatment Trigger Other Health Issues

On the one hand, you have prostate cancer. On the other hand, you have heart disease. Neither is a good option. Facing both at the same time or one after the other gives misery a new meaning.

Unfortunately, men who receive a common treatment for prostate cancer are more likely to face this very situation.

Many doctors prescribe androgen-deprivation therapy to men with prostate cancer. This treatment lowers the testosterone levels in the body. It's a proven way to slow tumor growth in prostate cancer treatments.

It also increases your chances of developing insulin resistance, diabetes, and high cholesterol. And it can make you fatter. All of the above make it more likely that you'll develop heart disease. A man's relative risk of developing heart disease is three times higher if he opts for androgen deprivation therapy than if he doesn't.

Researchers aren't sure what to do with this information. How do you deny a proven treatment to a deadly disease? But how soon should you reach for that treatment when you know it can lead to a different deadly disease?

There's no easy answer to this one, folks. But it is important to be aware of the risks. Discuss them with your doctor and examine how they relate to your specific situation. Then make an informed choice and take whatever steps you can to lower your other risks.

Stay healthy,

Danny Wallace