Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men.
One in every eight men in the United States will develop the disease. About 80
percent of all cases occur after age sixty-five, and about 80 percent of all men
have some degree of prostate cancer by age eighty. Rates are higher among
African-Americans than among members of other ethnic groups.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that encircles the
urethra, the tube through which urine passes. This gland
produces the seminal fluid, which forms the bulk of the
ejaculate. Both prostate cancer and benign prostate
enlargement have the same symptoms: difficulty passing urine,
frequent urination and getting up at night to urinate, pain
or burning sensation during urination, blood in the urine,
and pain in the lower back or pelvis. Such symptoms
should always be brought to a doctor's attention.
More prostate cancers are now detected at earlier stages
because of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This blood
test measures levels of a protein produced by the prostate.
Normally, PSA levels are very low, but they rise if a
prostate disorder such as benign enlargement, infection, or
cancer is present. The PSA test does not detect cancer as
such, only high levels of PSA.
The exact cause of prostate cancer is unknown, although
there is evidence that a high-fat diet may play a role in
promoting its development. Recurring prostate infections and
a genetic predisposition to prostate cancer are also possible
factors. It is known that testosterone, a male sex hormone,
stimulates the growth of both the prostate itself and any
cancer cells it may contain.
Once prostate cancer is diagnosed, it is classified into
stages, using one of several staging systems, based on how
aggressive it is and how far it has spread. Prostate cancer
spreads first to the lymph glands, and then to the bones,
lungs, liver, or bladder.
A number of conventional treatments are used for prostate cancer. Herbal
medicine should always be used as part of a medically directed comprehensive
treatment plan for this disorder.
Supplements and herbs
- Damiana capsules or tincture. Take as directed on the label.
Has ability to balance hormone and glandular function.
- Milk thistle silymarin gel-caps. Take 360 mg daily.
May slow growth of cancers that do not respond to hormone treatment.
- Polysaccharide kureha (PSK) tablets. Take 6,000 mg daily.
Reduces rate at which prostate cancer spreads to the lungs.
- Red wine catechins Resveratrol tablets. Take 125-250 mg 3 times daily.
Stops cellular processes that cause tumor development and growth.
- Saw palmetto capsules. Take 160 mg twice daily.
Pygeum capsules. Take 50-100 mg and twice daily.
Zinc picolinate tablets. Take 50-100 mg twice daily.
Control inflammation caused by prostate cancer. Do not affect the cancer itself.
- Soy isoflavone concentrate tablets. Take 3,000 mg daily.
Slows tumor growth; reduces risk of spread to lungs.
- Turmeric curcumin. Take 300 mg twice daily, between meals, for 6 months.
Activates p53, a cancer control gene important in 50 percent of cases;
slows spread of prostate cancer to bone.
HERBS TO AVOID - Men who have prostate cancer should avoid the
following herbs: American ginseng,
cinnamon,
cordyceps,
ephedra,
epimedium,
ginseng,
sarsaparilla, and
Siberian
ginseng. Suma (Brazilian ginseng) and horsetail
also should be avoided.
What else you can do
- Eat at least two servings of cooked tomatoes weekly.
Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which thirty-five
scientific studies have found to lower prostate cancer risk.
In men who have low lycopene levels, prostate cancer is
likely to be especially aggressive. Lycopene is nearly four
times more readily available to the body from tomato paste
than from fresh tomatoes. Since lycopene is fat-soluble, it is
better to prepare the tomatoes with a small amount of
vegetable oil (pumpkin seed oil would be best), although this
is not a license to consume unlimited quantities of any fatty
food, such as pizza, as long as it contains some tomatoes.
Lycopene is also found in red grapefruit and watermelon,
and in smaller quantities in crab and lobster.
- Take 200 to 800 international units of vitamin E daily.
Vitamin E activates the cancer-fighting properties of
lycopene. Make sure to take vitamin E supplements rather
than relying on dietary vitamin E in eggs and nuts. Only
alpha-tocopherol, rather than the other tocopherols also
found in food-derived vitamin E, has this effect.
- Whenever possible, get twenty to thirty minutes of
sunlight exposure every day (but be sure to avoid heat
stress). Sunlight helps the skin manufacture vitamin D,
which halts the growth of prostate cancer cells. Vitamin D
is especially important in controlling prostate cancers that
are not stimulated by testostrone. When it is not possible to
get sun, take from 200 to a maximum of 1,000 international
units of supplemental vitamin D daily.
- Eat five to seven weekly servings of foods rich in
vitamin A; this includes green leafy vegetables, and orange
and yellow fruits and vegetables. Beta-carotene from these
foods compensates for low tissue levels of lycopene, and
works with vitamin D to stop the proliferation of prostate
cancer cells.
- Take any supplement containing inositol or inositol
hexaphosphate (IP 6).
- Take 150 to 200 micrograms of selenium daily. Prostate
cancer progresses more rapidly in men with low selenium
levels.
- Drink at least eight glasses of water daily. Dehydration
stresses the prostate gland.
- Avoid animal fat, especially red meat, eggs, and dairy
foods. Prostate cancer tends to progress more quickly
when animal fat is consumed, but less quickly when
vegetable fats and omega-3 fatty acids are consumed.
- Avoid cholesterol-lowering products made from
concentrated beta-sitosterol. These products contain large
amounts of campesterol and stigmasterol, which are
associated with an elevated risk of developing prostate cancer
and probably should be avoided if cancer is present.
- Consume freshly made vegetable and fruit juices daily.
Carrot and
cabbage juices are good choices.
- Use cold-pressed organic oils such as sesame,
safflower, or olive oil to obtain
essential fatty acids.
- Eat two to three servings a week of cold-water fish
(such as salmon, tuna, or mackerel), or supplement your
diet with flaxseed oil, MaxEPA, fish oil, or vegetarian
DHA
(such as Neuromins). Borage or
evening primrose oil will
also be helpful.
- Conventional medicine uses a variety of treatments in
prostate cancer. In some elderly men with localized,
slow growing tumors, treatment consists of simply watching the
cancer carefully, and treating it if it spreads. For others,
various types of surgery may be appropriate, ranging from
complete removal of the prostate to removal of tissue
through a tube passed up the urethra. While chemotherapy
is not often employed, radiation therapy is used to slow the
cancer's spread. Impotence and
incontinence are potential
side effects of these therapies. Prostate cancer is often
treated with hormonal therapy, which attempts to reduce
the effect testosterone has on the prostate. Medications called LHRH stimulants reduce
the concentration of testosterone in the bloodstream to very low levels.
However, they also can cause breast pain, impotence, loss of sex drive, and hot
flashes.
- The introduction of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
test has led to a jump in prostate cancer diagnoses. This
test-which should be done annually, along with a digital
exam, on all men over age forty-five-provides an early
warning system for the potential development of
cancerous growths in the prostate. PSA readings can produce
false positive results; simply taking the blood sample for
the PSA test a few minutes after a digital exam of the
prostate can raise PSA levels. A more sensitive PSA test is
now available that can rule out cancer, even if PSA levels
are elevated, by comparing "total" PSA to "bound" PSA. If
the doctor is performing both a rectal exam and a PSA
screening, it is important to have the blood drawn for the
PSA test before the rectal exam. It is important that the
doctor forms a diagnosis from more information than just the
PSA test. Most physicians make a decision to treat prostate
cancer on the basis of PSA, digital examination, and ultra-sound.
- For reasons that are not completely understood, nonfat
milk products are even more clearly associated with
increased risk of prostate cancer than animal fats.
- Diets rich in soy products are associated with lower
rates of prostate and other cancers, and genistein, a soy
component, inhibits prostate cancers not stimulated by
testosterone. Soy foods include miso and tofu.
- Excess dietary calcium may increase the risk of prostate
cancer. This may be because calcium can reduce the levels
of vitamin D, which halts the growth of prostate cancer cells.
- If the cancer has spread into the capsule of the gland,
the standard approach is some form of radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy results in impotence about 50 percent
of the time. It can also adversely affect the bladder and rectum.
More useful herbs
|
