Prostate Health Guide!

The Keys to Promoting Good Prostrate Health–Diet and Exercise, Supplements, and Alternative Therapies. Given the amount of attention that is being placed on prostate health in recent years, the question that many men are asking themselves has become “how to promote good prostate health.”

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in males, and is responsible for an increasing number of deaths every year as Americans are living well into their late seventies and eighties.

The most important thing that you can do to ensure that you have a healthy prostate is to eat a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, and get plenty of exercise. The body can produce its own anti cancer agents if it has the raw materials, almost all of which are found in fruit and vegetable matter. Exercise is also very important in the promotion of prostate health, since a body that receives enough exercise has lower fat levels, fewer toxins, and a healthier immune system than one that does not receive enough exercise.

Another important component of prostate health is taking supplements that promote good prostate health. A traditional folk remedy for prostate problems is to eat pumpkin seeds. Modern scientific studies have revealed that the element Zinc is vital to maintaining prostate function. Though it is approximately the size of a walnut, the prostate is the body’s leading consumer of Zinc. It turns out that pumpkin seeds have a very high Zinc content. It is amazing how often folk remedies stand up in the face of scientific inquiry.

The prostate is a gland that is almost never thought about until it causes trouble. Prostate problems are relatively rare in younger men, but become increasingly common as men age beyond the age of fifty. It is therefore very important to take care of the prostate since life spans are increasing and prostate problems that never developed since the individual died before their onset are becoming more and more prevalent. Look to good prostrate health.

Article courtesy of prostatehealthnews.org

Proper Prostate Nutrition

Prostate Cancer Nutrition

- If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may want to consider revamping your diet in an effort to increase your chance of living longer and staying healthy through treatments. Below are some of the best “cancer fighters”; in fact, some may be in your fridge, freezer, or pantry right now.

Blueberries & Strawberries – Full of free radical-fighting antioxidants, these delicious summer fruits are also helpful in the war against cancer. Don’t fret if they are out of season; most grocery stores stock these power boosters in the freezer section (and they are just as healthy as their fresh versions.) Throw some on cereal, create a smoothie, or just eat them raw.

Anything with Fiber – It has long been accepted that people who eat serious amounts of fiber are, generally, healthier. And that goes for individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer, too. Choose sources of fiber that have little fat and sugar, such as whole grain cereals sans sweetener and any of the wide variety of beans (kidney, great northern, white, lima) available.

Soy – The lower incidence of cancers in soy-eating countries (especially those in Asian) has raised many persons’ eyebrows and encouraged those who have been diagnosed with cancer to try soy foods. It’s easy to replace your cereal milk with soy milk or to put a little soy milk in your coffee. (But not your decaf coffee; many people feel that the process used to decaffeinate the dark brew is actually harmful.) You can also try your hand at making tofu; just go easy on the oils. Tofu is like a sponge and will readily soak up cooking fats.

Fish – If you want a cancer-fighter, try some healthy omega-3 laden fish. Look for bluefish, swordfish, tuna, and salmon for the most bang. Is it expensive? Perhaps (except for canned tuna). However, it’s long been known that it’s one of the best ways to rid your bodies of the toxins that many people feel allow cancers to grow.

Green Tea – Again, in the Asian countries where cancer is rarer, people tend to drink copious amounts of green tea. Try yours with a little honey, but lay off the processed sugar for the most benefit.

Article courtesy of prostatehealthnews.org

Coffee May Help Reduce Advanced Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2009) — While it is too early for physicians to start advising their male patients to take up the habit of regular coffee drinking, data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference revealed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers.

"Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer. It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer," said Kathryn M. Wilson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

In a prospective investigation, Wilson and colleagues found that men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer than men who did not drink any coffee. This is the first study of its kind to look at both overall risk of prostate cancer and risk of localized, advanced and lethal disease.

"Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes," said Wilson. "We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced vs. localized cancers or high-grade vs. low-grade cancers."

Caffeine is actually not the key factor in this association, according to Wilson. The researchers are unsure which components of the beverage are most important, as coffee contains many biologically active compounds like antioxidants and minerals.

Using the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study, the researchers documented the regular and decaffeinated coffee intake of nearly 50,000 men every four years from 1986 to 2006; 4,975 of these men developed prostate cancer over that time. They also examined the cross-sectional association between coffee consumption and levels of circulating hormones in blood samples collected from a subset of men in the cohort.

"Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies," said Wilson. "Our results do suggest there is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer."

This association might also help understand the biology of prostate cancer and possible chemoprevention measures.

Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Information

- As with all cancers, prostate cancer is staged according to how far along the cancer has progressed. Usually, these stages are represented with Roman numerals, such as I, II, III, and IV, a system that was developed by the American Join Committee on Cancer to standardize staging. As you might expect, stage IV (or 4) is the most advanced type of prostate cancer.

If you have been diagnosed with a stage 4 prostate cancer, you might be wondering how it relates to the other stages. Often, cancer patients are confused by the staging designations and require some further clarification. As a quick primer, the stages of prostate cancer are listed below:

Stage I – Cancer is well within the prostate gland and has not spread. If you’ve had a biopsy, fewer than 5% of the biopsy tissue contained cancer.

Stage II – In this state, the cancer is also within the prostrate gland and hasn’t spread. However, during a biopsy, the tissue contained more than 5% cancerous cells.

Stage III – At this point, the cancer has spread outside the prostate gland area, but not to the lymph nodes or other body parts that are farther away from the prostate.

Stage IV – In stage 4, the prostate cancer has spread to other areas of the body, including some that are considered “far away” from the prostate gland (such as the lymph nodes.)

As you can see, stage 4 cancers need to be dealt with more aggressively and efficiently than other types. In fact, many stage 1 patients may choose to adopt a “wait and see” attitude toward their cancer rather than immediately attacking the cancer at its source. However, this isn’t an option for stage 4 patients.

By the time it reaches a stage 4 prostate cancer , you may need to choose radiation or chemotherapy in addition to surgery to eradicate the cancer. At this point, your doctor can provide you with all the answers you need to make the most informed decision possible.

Article courtesy of prostatehealthnews.org

Prostate Treatments & PSA Predicts Death From Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2009) — Men whose prostate specific antigen (PSA) rise within 18 months of radiotherapy are more likely to develop spread and die of their disease, according to an international study led by Fox Chase Cancer Center radiation oncologist Mark K. Buyyounouski, M.D., M.S. and presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

"PSA is the gold standard for following prostate cancer patients after they receive radiation or surgery. But we haven't know if having PSA rise sooner means a patient has a greater danger of dying of prostate cancer, though it seems logical," Buyyounouski says.

Using a single institution database, Buyyounouski and colleagues showed previously that men who suffered an early biochemical failure, which is defined as their lowest PSA level plus 2 ng/mL, were at greater risk of dying of prostate cancer. The new study confirms those results using a multinational database and shows that the measure is ready for use in the clinic.

"Now we can use the simple criteria from this study, which is widely available for anyone who has PSA testing, to identify men who have a greater than 25% chance of dying from prostate cancer in the next five years. That is huge. There is nothing else that can do that," says Buyyounouski.

A total of 2,132 men with clinically localized prostate cancer who suffered biochemical failure after treatment were studied. The median interval between treatment and biochemical failure was 35.2 months for the entire study group. However, 19% of patients developed biochemical failure at 18 months or less. The five-year cancer-specific survival for these men was 69.5% compared with 89.8% for men who developed biochemical failure after 18 months.

A multivariate analysis showed that the interval to biochemical failure correlated with cancer specific survival, as did Gleason score, tumor stage, age, and PSA doubling time. However, the interval to biochemical failure had the best predictive value for cancer-specific mortality, compared with the other variables.

Currently, most physicians do not start treatment based on biochemical failure alone, but rather wait until the PSA reaches a high level or there is some other evidence tumor spread. "The potential impact of this finding is that patients can initiate treatment far sooner without waiting for other signs or symptoms of prostate cancer," Buyyounouski says. "If a patient has biochemical failure at 16 months, rather than wait and learn later that the PSA is rising sharply and risk the development of distant metastasis, therapy can be started sooner based on the increased risk of death."

Prostate Self Examination

Prostate cancer has many similarities to breast cancer. In the first place, it is among the most common deadly cancers. Secondly, it is gender specific (although it is possible for males to develop breast cancer, it is exceedingly rare). Third, it is detectable using a self exam. Finally, the prostate, like the breast, is located in a location that is not frequently talked about.

It is recommended that men aged fifty and older receive a yearly prostate exam. However, since the long term prognosis is directly proportional to how early the cancer is detected, conducting a prostate self exam can give you added precious time if the cancer develops in between your regularly scheduled exams.

A prostate self exam is surprisingly easy to accomplish, though it may take a bit of will power to get over the natural tendency to avoid the part of the body where the prostate is located. The prostrate gland is very easy to reach as it lies less than a finger length away from the rectal sphincter, but the really hard part is convincing yourself that probing into the rectum is a good idea. This takes a bit of mind work–aren’t a few moments of being uncomfortable worth it if those few moments make the difference between catching the cancer early or late?

To perform a prostate self exam, simply insert the index finger into the anus and feel for a fleshy mass. It should have the same consistency as the skin between your thumb and index finger when making a tight fist. A healthy prostate is firm but not hard. Gently massage the prostate, carefully feeling for any hard lumps. If you detect a lump, do not panic–it’s probably not cancer and, if it is, at least you caught it early. Call your physician and ask for a comprehensive prostate exam.

Doing a prostate self examination may be uncomfortable and embarrassing, but they can mean the difference between terminal and treatable prostate cancer. A few minutes of discomfort can save your life.

Article courtesy of prostatehealthnews.org

More Prostatitis News

Prostatitis

is a Blanket Term Describing a Number of Prostate Conditions. With advances in health care comes ever increasing life spans. While this is undoubtedly a good thing, having a large population of people of advanced age means that diseases that were once rarely seen are becoming more prevalent. One of these diseases is prostate cancer.

The early symptoms of prostate cancer are typically due to restrictions in the urethra that occur because prostate cancer enlarges the prostate. Therefore, any hint of prostate enlargement should be investigated. Fortunately, most prostate enlargements are not caused by cancer.

Other sources of prostate enlargement are normal enlargement of the prostate as a natural part of aging. Another cause, more common in younger men, is prostatitis. What is prostatitis? Prostatitis is a catch all term that stands for a diverse number of prostate enlargements not related to aging or prostate cancer.

Acute bacterial prostatitis is the least common form of the disease but it is very easy to diagnose and treat. The symptoms of acute bacterial prostatitis include fever, back pain, and frequent urination. The tratment for acute bacterial prostatitis is as simple as administering a round of antibiotics.

Chronic bacterial prostatitis has the same symptom suite as acute prostatitis, but the causes typically involved defects that provide a natural harbor for bacterial infection. Treatment by antibiotics is not usually effective since it does not cure the underlying defect. Surgery or ultrasonic treatments are usually necessary to first remove the defects, and then antibiotics can clear up the residual bacteria.

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland that does not cause any pain or discomfort. It is usually only detected during prostate examinations. This form of prostatitis generally causes no problems and does not require treatment of any kind.

Clearly, enlargement of the prostate should always be taken seriously. Any symptoms should be reported to your doctor so that further tests can be run. Fortunately, most enlarged prostates are caused by non cancerous prostatitis.

Article courtesy of prostatehealthnews.org