Drugs To Prevent Prostate Cancer
Men with benign prostatic hyperplasia are often treated with dihydrotestosterone -lowering drugs called finasteride or dutasteride. These drugs have been studied extensively to determine whether they can prevent prostate cancer, and results suggest that they could reduce cancer risk by about 25 percent. Patients who develop cancer while on the drugs are more likely to get an aggressive form of the disease, so discuss the advantages and disadvantages with your doctor.
Natural Remedies For An Enlarged Prostate:
- Beta sitosterol: is a plant sterol which has been shown to help reduce the symptoms of BPH, specifically by improving urine flow and the ability to empty the bladder.
- Vitamin D: The impact of vitamin D on prostate volume and BPH has shown promising results Vitamin D analogues of up to 6000 IU/day have shown to decrease prostate volume in BPH patients.
- Curcumin: has been shown to significantly lower prostate weight and prostate volume, as well as reduce the expression of IGF1 among growth factors in prostate tissue.
- Zinc: Zinc supplements protect the prostate gland and suppress inflammation and enlargement.
- Boron: Strong evidence has shown that boron may play an important role in protecting men from prostate cancer. This powerful, yet often overlooked mineral reduces prostate cancer risk as well as lowering PSA levels, according to some studies.
- Pgygeum Phytosterols found in plants produce an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of BPH.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer detected at a very early stage might not necessarily show any symptoms. According to the American Cancer Society, advanced prostate cancers may lead to certain symptoms such as:
- Problem in urinating, increased frequency of urination, especially at night
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Erectile dysfunction
- Pain in the back , hips, chest , or other areas when the cancer has spread to the bones
- Weakness or numbness in the legs or feet
- Loss of bladder or bowel control if the cancer presses the spinal cord
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Other Ways To Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
There is no proven prostate cancer prevention strategy but making healthy choices can reduce the risk.
November month is dedicated to mens health issues as part of a movement called Movember. During this awareness campaign, educate men about the connection between dairy and prostate cancer and make plant-based foods are part of a regular diet.
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Including Vitamin D In The Diet May Improve Muscle Weakness
The European Palliative Care Research Centre Cachexia Project evaluated dietary information from 21 publications obtained through literature search in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, and a selection of cancer journals until 15 April 2016 and found that vitamin D supplementation has the potential to improve muscle weakness in patients with prostate cancer.
What Kind Of Treatment Will I Need
There are many ways to treat prostate cancer. The main kinds of treatment are observation, active surveillance, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and chemo. Sometimes more than one kind of treatment is used.
The treatment thats best for you will depend on:
- Your age
- Any other health problems you might have
- The stage and grade of the cancer
- Your feelings about the need to treat the cancer
- The chance that treatment will cure the cancer or help in some way
- Your feelings about the side effects that might come with treatment
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Guarding Against Four Types Of Cancer With Your Daily Cup
Past studies have already linked coffee consumption to a lower relative risk of liver, bowel, and breast cancers.
And now with this newest research, it looks like one of our favorite ways to start the morning could actually guard against four of the most common and dangerous forms of cancer at once.
In fact, prostate cancer alone is the second most common cancer, and the sixth leading cause of cancer death in men, with close to three out of four cases occurring in developed countries, like the United States.
Avoid Taking Vitamin E Supplements
We typically think of vitamins as good things, but a 2014 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that taking too much vitamin E may increase risk of aggressive prostate cancer. As long as you’re getting 15 mg of vitamin E a day from your diet, according to the National Institute of Health, you don’t need to take any additional supplements. Supplementing beyond what we would have in our normal diet would be a bad idea,” says Wise.
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Top 10 Considerations For Preventing Prostate Cancer
To understand how to prevent prostate cancer, one must first understand what causes it. There are four major factors that influence ones risk for developing prostate cancer.
Age: The average age at diagnosis of prostate cancer in the United States is 69 years and after that age the chance of developing prostate cancer becomes more common than any other cancer in men or women.
Race: African-Americans are more likely to develop prostate cancer and have more than twice the risk of dying from it. Conversely, Asian men who live in Asia have the lowest risk however when they migrate to the west, their risk increases.
Family history: A man with a father or brother who developed prostate cancer has a twofold-increased risk for developing it. This risk is further increased if the cancer was diagnosed at a younger age or affected three or more family members. You should discuss with your Doctor if you have a family history of not only prostate cancer, but also breast cancer, colon cancer, or pancreatic cancer.
Where you live: The risk of developing prostate cancer for men who live in rural China is 2% and for men in the United States is 17%. When Chinese men move to the western culture, their risk increases substantially men who live north of 40 degrees latitude have the highest risk for dying from prostate cancer of any men in the United States this effect appears to be mediated by inadequate sunlight during three months of the year which reduces vitamin D levels.
Selenium And Vitamin E
The medical community once considered selenium and vitamin E to be opponents of cancer.
However, more recent research suggests that these compounds, when taken together or in isolation, can increase the risk of prostate cancer in some people.
Anyone concerned about prostate cancer should avoid supplements containing vitamin E or selenium.
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What Factors Can Impact Psa Level
Several conditions can lead to an elevated PSA level, not just prostate cancer.
As men grow older, many are affected by prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia , a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate which causes PSA levels to rise. Ejaculation, male hormone medications, and some urologic procedures can also lead to an elevated reading.
Additionally, PSA levels tend to slowly rise with age, even if there is no abnormality within the prostate.
There are several factors that may cause a lowered PSA level as well. Patients who are overweight, frequently take aspirin, or use certain cholesterol-lowering drugs may see misleadingly low changes in their PSA levels.
Similarly, medication for the urinary symptoms of BPH, such as finasteride or dutasteride, may cause misleadingly low PSA levels.
Up To 9% Reduced Risk With The Highest Consumption
The research, published in BMJ Open, pooled the data of 16 separate studies in order to separate participants into two groups the low coffee consumers and the coffee fanatics .
The team then compared the amount of coffee each person drank on a regular basis to their cancer risk.
And it came down to this
Compared with the lowest category of coffee consumption, the people in the highest category of coffee drinkers our coffee fanatics benefited from a nine percent reduction in prostate cancer risk.
And for each additional daily cup a person drank, they reduced their risk by another one percent.
The team was even able to identify the effects of coffee drinking on the spread of prostate cancer. And they determined that compared with the lowest intake, the highest intake of coffee was associated with a full seven percent lower risk of localized prostate cancer.
And a high coffee intake reduced the risk of advanced and fatal cancer of the prostate by 12 and 16 percent respectively.
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Lifestyle Plays A Role
While the most important risk factors for prostate cancer cannot be modified, several healthy lifestyle behaviors seem to decrease the risk of prostate cancer. As expected, they include maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits, but one or two practices you might not expect may be beneficial as well. Here are some things you can do no matter what your family history or background.
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Choose a Healthy DietMany nutrients and foods have been studied as potentially being able to lower prostate cancer risk. These include:
- Carbohydrates
Unfortunately, nutrition research tends to be very confusing, and nutrition to lower the risk of prostate cancer is no exception. Most of the individual nutrients and foods that have been studied show mixed findings, with some studies showing benefit or harm and others showing no benefit or harm. For example, folate and folic acid have been found in some studies to be associated with increased prostate cancer risk, in others decreased prostate cancer risk, and in others, it seems to have no effect. Currently, scientists think that folate may protect against cancer development, but it may speed tumor growth in those who already have prostate cancer.
Ejaculation Frequency And Prostate Cancer
Despite the importance of prostate cancer, its causes remain unknown. Scientists do know that genetics plays a strong role, and they have sound evidence that diet and other lifestyle factors are also important.
Since the prostate is a reproductive organ that produces fluid for the ejaculate, researchers have long wondered if sexual factors influence a man’s risk of prostate cancer, but a Harvard study provides good news for sexually active men.
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Eat Less Meat And Dairy
Studies have shown that men who eat foods high in animal fat, such as dairy and red meat, were more likely to develop prostate cancer. Its important to note that these studies do not show that fattening foods actually cause prostate cancer rather, they show there is a correlation between prostate cancer and consuming things like cheese or bacon. Nonetheless, oncologist Dr. David Wise of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone advises patients to err on the side of caution and get most of their fat from avocados and nuts over animal products.
How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed
First, you may be found to have an elevated PSA level. However, other conditions can cause abnormal PSAs. is actually diagnosed with a prostate biopsy, which involves removing small pieces of tissue from the prostate and examining them under a microscope for cancer cells. If the cancer cells are present, you will need to discuss your treatment options with your cancer care team.
Your follow-up care will depend on the extent of your cancer. Important considerations include the size of the tumor, whether it has spread to lymph nodes or other areas of the body, your PSA level and the Gleason grade group.
The pathologist who examines your biopsies will review the tissue and give a Gleason score grade groupthat is between 1 and 5. Grade group 1 is considered low grade , grades 2 and 3 intermediate, and 4 and 5 high grade .
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What Are The Leading Risk Factors Of Prostate Cancer
While the word cancer instills fear in most, prostate cancer is actually a very common disease that affects many men. However, some people are at a higher risk than others. Prostate cancer risk factors include:
- Age: Risk directly increases with age. The average age of diagnosis is between age 66 and 67.
- Race: African American men are at a higher risk than men of other races.
- Family history: Those who have a first-degree relative, father or a brother, with prostate cancer are at greater risk. There is a genetic mutation that may make it more likely to occur among family members with breast or ovarian cancer, like in those who have Lynch syndrome or BRCA1 or BRCA2.
- Geographic location: Prostate cancer is more common in North America, northwest Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. It is unclear whether that is because these areas screen more frequently for prostate cancer.
Vitamin E Supplement Intake May Increase The Risk Of This Cancer
In a study published in 2011, the researchers from the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic in the United States examined data from a very large Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial which was conducted in 427 sites in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico on over 35,000 men who were 50 years or older and had low prostate specific antigen levels of 4.0 ng/ml or less. The study found that compared to men who did not consume Vitamin E supplements, there was a 17% increased risk of prostate cancer in men who took vitamin E supplements.
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Ways To Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk And Improve Outcomes
Excerpt: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and if detected early, the survival rate is close to 100%. Regular exercise, healthy eating and maintaining a healthy body weight have been shown to lower prostate cancer risk and may help to reduce the risk of recurrence during and after treatment. Personalized early detection strategies and advances in treatment are also improving outcomes and quality of life for patients.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and if detected early, the survival rate is close to 100%. Regular exercise, healthy eating and maintaining a healthy body weight have been shown to lower prostate cancer risk and may help to reduce the risk of recurrence during and after treatment. Personalized early detection strategies and advances in treatment are also improving outcomes and quality of life for patients.
Building awareness about advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment is especially important because if this condition is detected early, the survival rate is close to 100%.
Here are some important ways to lower prostate cancer risk and benefit from early detection and effective treatment:
What Foods Kill Prostate Cancer Cells
No food will directly kill prostate cancer cells. A healthy diet made up of specific superfoods will improve prostate health. Start by increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants that fight cancer.
- Isoflavones are present in foods like soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, alfalfa sprouts and lentils. Isoflavones are phytoestrogens that help regulate hormones and cause cell death. Consider adding foods like peanut butter, hummus and tofu to your diet to boost isoflavone consumption.
- Lycopene is an antioxidant that is in red foods like tomatoes. It is easiest for your body to break down if it is cooked or pureed like in marinara sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice or sundried tomatoes.
- Plant-based fats are the preferred dietary choice. Animal fats, like those found in lard, butter and cheese, cause an increase in the risk of prostate cancer. Choose instead olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds for your fat consumption.
- Coffee also has benefits. A 2015 study found that coffee may have a beneficial effect related to coffee consumption.
- Green tea according to multiple studies. Green tea supplements may help as well.
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