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Explore Your Treatment Options For Prostate Cancer

March 17th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

The greatest fear facing today’s man is out of . Often equated with a near certain death sentence hearing the news that a man has will put a dark cloud over his future.

Like menopause in women, is something that men dread. It is often seen as being an inevitable part of aging. Of course, some men are more susceptible to than others, and even if a man has there are treatment options available that will significantly improve the quality of their life, if not completely eradicate the .

These are some of the more widely known treatment options.

Androgen Deprivation Therapy
Traditionally this operation therapy has been used as a treatment option through the use a surgical procedure known as soon orchidectomy. This surgical procedure is wildly unpopular in men, however has now been replaced by a hormone drug treatment.

This drug controls the production and release of testosterone or prevents testosterone from being made into the metabolite dihydrotestosterone. These are cancer or stimulating hormones, as such it is important to tightly control their production. Because it is a minimally invasive treatment, it is one of the more popular treatment options.

Cryotherapy
Originally cryotherapy was not very popular among the possible treatment options. However nowadays it is seeing a comeback in popularity due to it being viewed as an efficient way to treat . When using cryotherapy liquid argon is administered to the affected areas. This extremely cool liquid destroys the cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissues.

Cryotherapy is very a minimally invasive compared to other treatment options, and thus has relatively few side effects. Unfortunately the possible side effects include prostate health problems, and sexual dysfunction.

Radical Prostatectomy
Radical prostatectomy’s have the highest success rate among all treatment options, due to the fact that it calls for the complete removal of the prostate. This is a very direct approach, however the side effects are more than slightly severe. Impotence is nearly guaranteed, and incontinence is also a very realistic outcome. Because of this radical prostatectomy’s are not popular among possible treatment options, and usually only seen as a last resort.

Radiation Treatment
Traditionally radiation therapy or who was one of the most popular treatment options available. However nowadays with the advent of the newer more advanced treatment options radiation treatment has fallen out of popularity. Radiation treatments fall from fame is due to its high rate of side effects, and low rate of success. An unfortunate caveat with radiation treatment, is that if it is not effective the first go around the patient is not able to go through another round of radiation treatment due to the side effects associated with high radiation dosage levels. This leaves the patient having to use another treatment option.

Choosing the best course of action amongst all the different prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com/Prostate_Cancer_New_Treatment/ treatment options can be difficult, and should definitely be done with the help of a physician. In fact it is advisable to get a second opinion just to get as many different references as possible. The most important thing to remember however is that is no longer a death sentence, but rather something that can be managed and treated with a plethora of different treatment options.

You can also find more info on prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com/Prostate_Exam/ Prostate Exam and prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com/Laser_Prostate_Treatment/ Laser Prostate Treatment . Prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know more about treatment.

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Your Lifestyle and Your Risk for Bladder Cancer

March 17th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Each year more and more research is conducted on how to reduce your risk of developing cancer. For some forms of cancer, it’s fairly simple to understand how to reduce risk. For example, we know that most victims are smokers, and that many cases of are caused by unprotected over exposure to the sun.

For other cancers, understanding how to reduce our risk is not so simple, because we don’t really understand what causes them.

Even in cancers that we don’t fully understand, scientists are working to determine how our lifestyle might increase our risks. For example, a study was conducted in Nagoya, Japan to help better understand the lifestyle factors that might contribute to the development of urinary bladder cancer.

The study also evaluated lifestyle habits that actually reduce your risk of bladder cancer. The findings were interesting, and can help us make lifestyle choices that can protect our health.

This study examined the following lifestyle habits and their ability to increase or reduce risk for urinary bladder cancer:

Cigarette Smoking – Cigarette Smoking was found to increase the risk of developing urinary bladder cancer. The increased risk was more significant in women than men.

Drinking cocoa – Interestingly enough, drinking cocoa was associated with an elevation in risk of urinary bladder cancer in men, but not in women.

Hair Color – Women who used hair color had a slightly elevated risk of developing urinary bladder cancer if they also smoke. However, non smoking women had no significant risk factor if they used hair color.

Drinking coffee- Coffee drinking showed no elevated risk – but it showed no benefit, either.

Drinking alcohol – No significant risk was associated with alcohol intake.

Drinking sodas – No significant risk was associated with drinking sodas.

Drinking fruit juice- Fruit juice was associated with a decreased risk in developing urinary bladder cancer in men. No risk or benefit was notable in women.

Drinking Tea – Women who drank black tea and powdered green tea showed a reduced risk of developing urinary bladder cancer. The figures for men showed no increase or decrease of risk.

What’s So Great About Tea and Fruit?

This study echoes the findings of many other studies, indicating that tea and fruit are of benefit in preventing cancer. Scientists are now fully beginning to understand how important these substances are to protecting our health. But, why are they so important? Well, the answer is in anti-oxidants.

Anti-oxidants have the power to combat free radicals. Free radicals are produced naturally by our body during the process of converting the food we eat to energy. These free radicals speed up the aging process, and can cause clogged arteries, cancer and other disease by damaging our cells and DNA.

Fruits, vegetables and tea are filled with anti-oxidants. A diet rich in these foods, therefore, help rid our bodies of the free radicals that put our health at risk. Some foods and beverages have more potent anti-oxidants than others. Doctors recommend that we make these “super foods” part of our everyday life.

Fruits

All fresh fruits are rich in anti-oxidants. However, the ones that are the most potent include blueberries, pomegranates, strawberries and cranberries.

Vegetables

Again, fresh vegetables supply a good dose of anti-oxidants. Tomatoes, which contain lycopene, are one of the best vegetables you can eat. However, artichokes and red beans are also very good anti-oxidant sources.

Tea

Tea is a simple way to get your anti-oxidants. Tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant. There are many types of tea on the market, but all tea comes from the same plant.

The difference between green, white and black tea comes from the way the tea is processed. Black tea is fermented; white and green are not. Green and white tea have been found to be better sources of anti-oxidants because they fermenting that black tea goes through changes the anti-oxidants into compounds that are not as healthy.

The study quoted above found that black tea had the same benefits as green tea in preventing urinary bladder cancer in women. However, most other studies conducted on the benefits of tea have concluded that green tea is better.

Green tea began gaining attention because of the significantly lower incidence of cancer and heart disease in Asian culture. Even though Asians are more likely to smoke than Americans, they have lower incidence of cancer and heart disease – even . It appears that their high consumption of green tea protects their health in a way that other dietary habits do not.

Research has even suggested that green tea may be effective at treating patients who already have cancer. Several studies, on different forms of cancer, have shown that traditional cancer treatments, such as , are more effective when green tea is administered along with the treatment. Green tea seems to increase the concentration of the drugs in the cancerous cells and slows down cancer progression, perhaps even preventing metastasis.

Much of the research that has been performed has been on mice or in-vitro, though the study outlined above was performed on humans. The next step in truly understanding how foods, including tea, can protect our health, preventing cancer and other disease, is to conduct more human trials. The results could take years, because human trials on prevention require following subjects over a long period of time.

Preventing cancer is a national health concern. Certainly, much more study is required before we can gain true understanding of how to protect our health. One thing’s for sure, however; a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and tea is a good start!

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current

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Mesothelioma Treatment: What You Should Know

March 17th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

There are certain factors that influence the type of treatment a patient with malignant may undergo. These include the type of cancer, the location of the cancer, the stage or extent to which it has spread at diagnosis, whether the cancer can be removed by surgery, the amount of fluid collected in the chest or abdomen, and whether the cancer has occurred for the first time or has come back (recurrent malignant ). As with other cancers, the patientï¿bf½s general health at the time of diagnosis may also determine how aggressively the cancer can be treated. In general, patients with better general health tend to withstand the insults of anti- better than those who are in poor health.

Standard treatment of malignant may include surgery, and radiotherapy. Surgery is used to treat early, localized disease by removing the tumor mass. It may also be used to offer symptomatic relief in pleural by removal of the pleura (pleurectomy or decortication). Pleurodesis is a surgical method used to obliterate the space between the pleural membranes where fluid collects. Chemotherapy may range from single-drug therapy to multi-drug therapy. It is used to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing them or by stopping their further division. Radiotherapy is used to provide symptomatic relief, particularly relief from severe pain.

While some treatments for malignant are standard, other treatments are investigational and are only available if a patient enrolls in a clinical trial. Besides the methods described above, some clinical trials are using biotherapy, which is a form of treatment that stimulates the patientï¿bf½s immune system to fight the cancer. Median survival time after diagnosis with malignant is between one and two years; this is why many patients opt to enroll in clinical trials. The National Cancer Institute website provides information on ongoing clinical trials and enrollment criteria.

e-mesotheliomasymptoms.com Mesothelioma Symptoms provides detailed information on Advanced Mesothelioma Symptoms, Clinical Mesothelioma Symptoms, Mesothelioma Diagnosis: An Introduction, Mesothelioma Stomach Symptoms and more. Mesothelioma Symptoms is affiliated with e-MesotheliomaInformation.com Pleural Mesothelioma Information.

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Study Finds Aggressive Approach To Prostate Cancer Treatment The Best

March 17th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

An aggressive approach to treating and preventing the growth of is the best way to attack the disease, and not the traditional tactic of watchful waiting, according to new research. This proved especially true in older men afflicted with .

“There has been a belief that watchful waiting was the safest treatment for older men with moderate ,” said study author Dr. Yu-Ning Wong, an oncologist from the University of Pennsylvania. “Our study suggests there may be a survival benefit,” Wong said.

But, he added, a more definitive answer will have to wait for the outcome of future controlled studies currently underway.

“Our study was observational,” she said. “We looked at the records of men treated or not treated for . It was not a randomized, controlled trial.”

The issue of treatment versus watchful waiting has gained importance as more men live longer; many are diagnosed with low or intermediate grade cancer, which poses no immediate threat to their lives.

The study, published in the December 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at data on more than 44,000 men, aged 65 to 80, who survived at least 12 months following diagnosis.

32-thousand of these men, roughly three quarters of all participants, underwent treatments such as radiation therapy or surgery within six months of being diagnosed. In the other 12,500 cases, the physician and patients opted for watchful waiting to monitor the condition.

Over a 12-year follow-up period, it was found that the death rate for those who opted for an aggressive strategy was significantly lower then the group who watched and waited. 23.8 percent of those who had treatment died, compared to 37 percent of those who did not.

The reduced death rate was true across all subgroups, including men aged 75 to 80 at the time of diagnosis and those with low-risk forms.

“The cautionary note when interpreting this trial is that although it suggests that every man should be treated radically, the decision must be made case by case,” said Dr. Mark S. Litwin, a professor of urology and public health at UCLA who contributed to the study’s accompanying editorial.

Generally, “we know that most men don’t die from it but die with it,” Litwin said of .

“One has to be careful to be sure not to over-treat. The treatment can be worse than the disease.”
When making the crucial decision, the physician “has to be very astute in assessing a patient’s general functional status and overall health,” Litwin said. He added the importance of allowing the patient to have a say in the decision-making.

“The patient should be the driving voice,” Litwin said. “The physician must be cautious not to be paternalistic because this generally is not an acute, life-threatening illness.”

According to Wong, smaller studies in the past have shown benefit to the watchful waiting strategy. However, the majority of research in this area has determined that aggressive treatment is a much more effective life preserving technique, she added.

“Ultimately, a randomized, controlled trial will give us the answer we are looking for,” Litwin said.
A trial that fits this description is currently being performed by the U.S. Veterans Administration, Wong noted. Results are expected in just a few years.

For now, “the decision needs to be based on the patient’s overall condition and personal beliefs,” she concluded.

For more

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