Prostate Cancer and Enlarged Prostate

1.  What is the prostate gland and what does it do?

It is a small organ, about the size of a walnut,  located below the bladder.  The prostate is part of the male reproductive system and secretes a whitish fluid that helps sperm mobility.  The prostate also acts to control the flow of urine from the bladder. .

 2.  What is prostate cancer?

It is a malignant growth within the prostate gland.  20% of men over 50 develop prostate problems and 1 out of 11 will develop prostate cancer.  It is the 3^rd most common cause of cancer in men.

3.  What is an enlarged prostate?

When some male hormones start to decline (about at 50yrs), the prostate starts to grow.  This is called enlarged prostate or prostatic hypertrophy(BPH).  If the glands grow too much, it begins to pinch the urethra, interfering with urination.

4.  Symptoms of enlarged prostate / prostate cancer

• Dribbling
• Decrease in the size of the stream during urination
• Chronic discomfort in the abdominal area
• Frequent urination
• Problems holding back the urine stream
• Pain or burning during urination
• Blood in urine or semen
• Pain during ejaculation
• Pain in the lower back, hip or thigh
• No symptoms at all
• Erection problems

5.  What causes prostate enlargement?

• High fat diet
• Lower levels of testosterone
• Animal fat contain estrogens that lower testosterone levels and stimulate cell growth
• Estogens in our environment – plastic and pesticides
• Supermarket meat – used to fatten livestock before selling
• High consumption of milk

 6.   Drugs for treating enlarged prostate

• Proscar – Side effects: liver damage, impotence, decreased libido, decreased volume of ejaculate, breast tenderness and enlargement and rash
• Hytrin – normally used for high BP – will also help BPH – side effects: dizziness, fatigue, weakness, drowsiness, headache, heart palpitations, nausea, shortness of breath, nasal congestion and vision disturbances.

7.  Natural remedies for enlarged prostate- eat more food that contain

Zinc

Round steak, pork loin, pumpkin seeds, eggs, lamb chops, brewer`s yeast, nonfat dry milk, ground mustard, well cooked oysters, wheat germ and 15mg Zinc tablets daily.

Selenium

Tuna, onion, tomatoes, broccoli, garlic, brown rice, barley, turnips and 400 mcg Selenium tablets daily.

Soy Products

Miso, tofu and tempeh

Saw Palmetto

Herb from USA – follow directions

8.  The Healthy Prostate Programme

• Eat more: fish oils or other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, garlic, chicken, lamb chops, pumpkin seeds and  soy products
• Drink more water – 6-8 glasses a day
• Avoid – red meat (unless organic), vegetable oils and milk
• Preventative diagnostics: PSA tests from 40 onwards and PSA and DRE exam from 50 onwards.

9.  Prostate cancer treatement – what is new?

1. 3T MRI – 3T MRI has a stronger magnet and makes better images of organs and soft tissue than other types of MRI do – 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and 3 Tesla MRI.
2. Fusion biopsy, a relatively new procedure in which the MRI images are fused with live-time ultrasound to yield a more accurate sampling of the gland. It is more accurate to see if the cancer has pushed outside the prostate.
3. Ablation is an alternative treatment options for Gleason 8 (4+4) other names for this are high grade, poorly differentiated, and aggressive. The textbook recommendations are for surgery or intensive radiation therapy. Ablation is the destruction of cancer through non-surgical and non-radiological means like doing Focal cryoablation.    This is the destruction of tumours through the insertion of very thin and very cold probes. This would only destroy the tumours and a surrounding margin of normal cells but would spare most of the non-cancerous tissue.   The normal portion of the prostate would be left intact, and some of the crucial nerves would be spared.  The patient is spared sexual impotence and urinary incontinence with this procedure