Ways On How To Prevent Prostate Cancer

They say prevention is better than cure. So here are some preventive measure that you can use:

Vitamins and medication

Studies reveals that eating and taking the following vitamins and food type help reduce and prevent prostate cancer:

• Dietary selenium, Vitamin E, lypocene, Vitamin D and soy foods - supports protective roles in reducing prostate cancer
• Estrogens from fermented soybeans and other plant sources (called phytoestrogens) - may also help prevent prostate cancer. The selective estrogen receptor modulator drug toremifene has shown promise in early trials.
• Two medications which block the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, finasteride and dutasteride - have also shown some promise. The use of these medications for primary prevention is still in the testing phase, and they are not widely used for this purpose. The initial problem with these medications is that they may preferentially block the development of lower-grade prostate tumors, leading to a relatively greater chance of higher grade cancers, and negating any overall survival improvement.
• Eat healthy, well balanced diet rich in fiber, and to reduce intake of meat.
• Eating cauliflower, broccoli, or one of the other cruciferous vegetables, more than once a week were 40% less likely to develop prostate cancer than men who rarely ate those vegetables - A 2007 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found. The phytochemicals indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane, found in cruciferous vegetables, has antiandrogenic and immune modulating properties.

Ejaculation frequency

More frequent ejaculation also may decrease a man's risk of prostate cancer. One study showed that men who ejaculated five times a week in their 20s had a decreased rate of prostate cancer, though other studies have shown no benefit.

The results contradict those of previous studies, which have suggested that having had many sexual partners, or a high frequency of sexual activity, increases the risk of prostate cancer by up to 40 percent. The key difference is that these earlier studies defined sexual activity as sexual intercourse, whereas this study focused on the number of ejaculations, whether or not intercourse was involved.

Another study completed in 2004 reported that "Most categories of ejaculation frequency were unrelated to risk of prostate cancer. However, high ejaculation frequency was related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer." The report abstract concluded, "Our results suggest that ejaculation frequency is not related to increased risk of prostate cancer."

A 2008 study showed that frequent masturbation, of about two to seven times a week, at the ages of 20s and 30s, increases the risk of having prostate cancer. While frequent masturbation, once a week, at the age of 50s decreases the disease risk.

to be continued...

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How To Diagnose Prostate Cancer?

When a man has symptoms of prostate cancer or a screening test indicates that he has a potential risk for cancer, more invasive evaluation is offered. One of which is biopsy. Biopsy is the only test that can fully confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Biopsy is the removal of small pieces of the prostate for microscopic examination. However, prior to a biopsy, several other tools may be used to gather more information about the prostate and the urinary tract.

You will also undergo Cystoscopy to check your urinary tract. Cystoscopy shows the urinary tract from inside the bladder, using a thin, flexible camera tube inserted down the urethra. And another test called Transrectal ultrasonography which creates a picture of the prostate using sound waves from a probe in the rectum.

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Does Medication Exposure Affects Prostate Cancer?

It is believe that there are some links between prostate cancer and medications, medical procedures, and medical conditions. Like the daily use of anti-inflammatory medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen may decrease prostate cancer risk. Use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as the statins may also decrease prostate cancer risk.

Infection or inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis) may increase the chance for prostate cancer. In particular, infection with the sexually transmitted infections chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis seems to increase risk. Finally, obesity and elevated blood levels of testosterone may increase the risk for prostate cancer.

Research released in May 2007, found that US war veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange had a 48% increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence following surgery.

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How Does Diet Affects Prostate Cancer?

Dietary amounts of certain foods, vitamins, and minerals can contribute to prostate cancer risk. Dietary factors that may increase prostate cancer risk include low intake of vitamin E and the mineral selenium.

A study in 2007 cast doubt on the effectiveness of lycopene (found in tomatoes) in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Lower blood levels of vitamin D also may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. This may be linked to lower exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, since UV light exposure can increase vitamin D in the body.

A large study has implicated dairy, specifically low-fat milk and other dairy products to which vitamin A palmitate has been added. This form of synthetic vitamin A has been linked to prostate cancer because it reacts with zinc and protein to form an unabsorbable complex.

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Learn The Causes and Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer

The specific causes of prostate cancer still remain unknown. A man's risk of developing prostate cancer is related to his age, genetics, race, diet, lifestyle, medications, and other factors. But the primary risk factor is age. Thus prostate cancer is uncommon in men younger than 45, but becomes more common with advancing age. The average age at the time of diagnosis is 70.

However, many men never know they already have prostate cancer. An autopsy studies of Chinese, German, Israeli, Jamaican, Swedish, and Ugandan revealed that men who died of other causes have found that 30% of which in their 50s have died of prostate cancer, and 80% of men in their 70s.

In the year 2005 in the United States, there were an estimated 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer and 30,000 deaths due to prostate cancer.

Its Symptoms

Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. Often it is diagnosed during the workup for an elevated PSA noticed during a routine checkup. Sometimes, however, prostate cancer does cause symptoms, often similar to those of diseases such as benign prostatic hypertrophy. These include frequent urination, increased urination at night, difficulty starting and maintaining a steady stream of urine, blood in the urine, and painful urination.

Prostate cancer is associated with urinary dysfunction as the prostate gland surrounds the prostatic urethra. Changes within the gland, therefore, directly affect urinary function. Because the vas deferens deposits seminal fluid into the prostatic urethra, and secretions from the prostate gland itself are included in semen content, prostate cancer may also cause problems with sexual function and performance, such as difficulty achieving erection or painful ejaculation.

Advanced prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body, possibly causing additional symptoms. The most common symptom is bone pain, often in the vertebrae (bones of the spine), pelvis, or ribs. Spread of cancer into other bones such as the femur is usually to the proximal part of the bone. Prostate cancer in the spine can also compress the spinal cord, causing leg weakness and urinary and fecal incontinence.

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Do You Know What Is Postate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is one of the prostate disorders found in men. It is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. The cancer cells may spread from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes.

Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, problems during sexual intercourse, or erectile dysfunction. Other symptoms can potentially develop during later stages of the disease.

Prostate cancer develops most frequently in men over the age of fifty and is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in men. However, many men that develop prostate cancer never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and eventually die of other causes. This is because cancer of the prostate is, in most cases, slow-growing, and because most of those affected are from the age of 40-90. Hence, they often die of causes unrelated to the prostate cancer, such as heart/circulatory disease, pneumonia, other unconnected cancers, or old age.

Many factors, including genetics and diet, have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer. The presence of prostate cancer may be indicated by symptoms, physical examination, prostate specific antigen (PSA), or biopsy. Further tests, such as CT scans and bone scans, may be performed to determine whether prostate cancer has spread.

Treatment options for prostate cancer with intent to cure are primarily surgery and radiation therapy. Other treatments such as hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, proton therapy, cryosurgery, high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) also exist depending on the clinical scenario and desired outcome.

The age and underlying health of the man, the extent of metastasis, appearance under the microscope, and response of the cancer to initial treatment are important in determining the outcome of the disease. The decision whether or not to treat localized prostate cancer (a tumor that is contained within the prostate) with curative intent is a patient trade-off between the expected beneficial and harmful effects in terms of patient survival and quality of life.

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