A Breakthrough Formula About Prostate Cancer

By Adelbert Botfield

The tube through which urine flows from the bladder when you pass water goes first through the prostate gland then out through the penis. The prostate gland can become enlarged in many men as they get older which then causes difficulty with urination.

First and most important is age. Age is the single greatest reason men get prostate cancer, and it increases almost exponentially the older they get. If you are between they age of 60 and 80, there is a one in six chance you will get it.

Cells in the prostate gland are constantly turning over to replace old with new but sometimes this process can get out of control. Cancer is the name for cells which have lost control of their renewal process and start to grow unchecked. They grow into a group of cells called a "tumour". As the cells grow they can start to invade surrounding tissues. This invading process is called acting in a "malignant" fashion. Cells can break off the tumour and spread to other sites in the body, usually via the blood stream. The cells can then grow where they have settled, often in distant parts of the body such as the bones or brain. These deposits are often called "secondaries" or "metastases". These deposits are not new cancers but are groups of cancer cells spread from the original or "primary" cancer in the prostate gland.

If you have more than one close women relative who has had breast cancer or a father or brother who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your chances increase even more. This is an indication that a faulty gene is the culprit and is being passed through your family. And what your family's ethnicity is can also be a risk.

Recent studies have shown that men with African ancestry are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as white men, and white men are twice as likely as Asian men. Why this should be so is not immediately clear, and it may be complicated; having to do with diet and lifestyle as well as dominant malfunctioning genes.

Age

Well how about BBQ'd meat? A few recent studies have shown that cooking meat over an open flame may be a cause of cancer (Cancer Causes Control 2000; 11:731-739). However, other studies have not shown a correlation (J Natl Cancer Inst, 1999; 91:2038-2044). Still others suggest that the charring of the meat is what's bad, and that one should aim to flip their grilled meat several times to prevent blackening, or scrape off any charring before eating.

Again, doesn't tell us a whole lot, does it? And "studies" are notorious for giving everyone conflicting results. Remember Joe Jackson's song "Everything Gives You Cancer."

Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced prostate cancer, blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. OHSU is beginning a study of acupuncture as a treatment for hot flashes for men with prostate cancer or prostate cancer survivors. Medications can have many side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire.

If you live in North America or Western Europe, you are at slightly more risk than anywhere else. This may be a dietary difference or hereditary, but the picture is not yet complete. It may even simply be a result of more often and more aggressive testing procedures in the "developed" world. There is a large ongoing study in Europe called EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) to try to determine the correlation between European diet and prostate cancer, but results won't be in for another ten years.

Prostate cancer is seen more commonly in certain ethnic groups e.g. African-Americans.

A recently completed study showed the surprising fact that men who have had diabetes for several years have a significantly reduced chance of getting prostate cancer (American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 161(2);147-152).

Keep in mind this does not mean you should run out and start eating donuts to get fat in hopes of acquiring diabetes and therefore avoiding the potentially more fatal prostate cancer. The study also showed that newly diagnosed diabetics actually have an INCREASED risk for the first four years, and then the "protective" effect begins. Also, obesity can contribute to other health problems and alone may only contribute further to other types of cancer.

Genetic

Prostate problems also tend to run in some families which could suggest part of the cause of some prostate cancers is genetic or hereditary. If your father or brother has prostate cancer your chance of developing it is about double that of the general population. However only a small number of all prostate cancers are caused by a known faulty gene and most occur at random.




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Rest assured that you can prevent prostate cancer with this simple way if you apply it.


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