Prostate cancer is one of the many fears of men today. Unlike most cancer though it is treatable and you should fear death when having prostate cancer. Here are some of the prostate cancer treatments that can help to either improve your quality of life or completely clear you of it.4

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy was originally not seen as a popular treatment option for prostate cancer but it is making a rise in popularity. Many people have changed there view on this treatment and it is being seen as a very efficient way to treat this form of cancer. Cryotherapy works by administering a liquid argon to the affected area. The liquid argon is extremely cool and only destroys the cancer cells and does not damage any of the surrounding tissue. This form of treatment has relatively few side effects but the side effects include prostate health problems and sexual dysfunction.

Radiation Treatment

This treatment was originally the most popular form of prostate cancer but is now losing popularity due to the new, more advanced treatment options. Radiation treatment has a high rate of side effects and a low rate of success which is causing many people to not want to do this treatment. Another bad thing about this treatment is you only get one chance at treatment because radiation dosage levels are to high if you do more than one treatment.

Androgen Deprivation Therapy

This prostate cancer treatment option has been used through a surgical procedure known as orchidectomy. The surgical procedure is very unpopular with men but the good news is it has now be replaced by a hormone drug treatment. This drug controls the release and production of testosterone or it prevents the testosterone from being made into metabolite dihydrotestosterone. These are cancer or stimulating hormones and it is important that their production is tightly controlled. This is one of the most popular prostate cancer treatment options because it is a minimal invasive treatment.

Radical Prostatectomy

This is the best treatment due to the fact that it has the highest success rate among all of the treatments. The only problem with this high success rate is that the treatment requires that the entire prostate be removed. This treatment is not recommended because you are almost guaranteed impotence and incontinence is also almost guaranteed. This treatment is usually seen as a last resort because it is guaranteed to work but it is an extreme option.

These are four of the prostate cancer treatments that are being offered today and are the ones you should consider when getting treated.

Interested in what the most common onlineprostatehealthguide.com/Prostate-Cancer-Symptoms.html prostate cancer symptoms are for men between the ages of 45 and 80?

Try visiting onlineprostatehealthguide.com onlineprostatehealthguide.com an informative website that provides prostate cancer advice, tips and resources to include information on understanding the onlineprostatehealthguide.com/article-30-prostate-cancer-stages.html prostate cancer stages that occur in men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

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Tags: cancer treatment, prostate cancer

About 80 percent of men who reach the age of 80 have prostate cancer. Men have traditionally been less likely to seek medical attention than women, especially for minor problems which often serve as warning signs for more serious underlying illness. In most men, prostate cancer grows very slowly: most men will never know they have the condition.

Early prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems. Prostate cancer is characterized by ‘grade’ and ’stage’; grade is given to indicate how quickly a cancer is growing — the higher the grade, the more likely it is that the cancer will grow and spread rapidly and the size and extent of the tumor will determine its stage.

Men at higher risk for prostate cancer include African-American men older than 60, farmers, tire plant workers, painters, and men exposed to cadmium; the lowest number of cases occurs in Japanese men and those who do not eat meat who reach the age of 80.
One of the most common symptoms is the inability to urinate at all. There are several symptoms to be aware of. There may be other symptoms not mentioned here.

Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for. One prostate cancer symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine. If cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms.

A number of tests may be done to confirm a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Urine or prostatic fluid cytology may reveal unusual cells. Another test usually used when prostate cancer symptoms are present is the digital rectal exam (DRE) performed by the doctor.
There are several potential downsides to PSA testing; for example a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer. A PSA test with a high level can also be from a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. There is a newer test called AMACR that is more sensitive than the PSA test for determining the presence of prostate cancer.

Besides hormonal drugs, hormone manipulation may also be done by surgically removing the testes. Other medications used for hormonal therapy, with side effects, include androgen-blocking agents, which prevent testosterone from attaching to prostate cells. Surgery, radiation, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy all have significant side effects; know fully what they are before you proceed.

Surgery is usually only recommended after thorough evaluation and discussion of all available treatment options. Surgery, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy can interfere with libido on a temporary or permanent basis. Hormone manipulation is mainly used as a treatment to relieve symptoms in men whose cancer has spread.

If chemotherapy is decided upon after the first round of chemotherapy, most men receive further doses on an outpatient basis at a clinic or physician’s office. In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the chosen conventional alternative. Anyone considering surgery should be aware of the benefits, risks and the extent of the procedure.

Thoroughly discuss your treatment options and concerns with your doctor and other health professionals; it never hurts to get a second or even third opinion or more if necessary. The approaches to treatment include: ever watchful waiting to see whether the cancer is growing slowly and not causing any symptoms. What you can do now is begin to understand what exactly your treatment options are and where you’re going to begin.

Chemotherapy medications are often used to treat prostate cancers that are resistant to hormonal treatments. Medicines can be used to adjust the levels of testosterone; called hormonal manipulation.

Because prostate cancer is a slow-growing disease, many men with this disease will die from other causes before they die from prostate cancer. Make sure to read everything you can get your hands on and mull it all over. It’s important to get as informed as possible and read all the newest books, ebooks and research available.

For more information on

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Tags: chemotherapy, prostate cancer

The PSA test s becoming more popular with men over 40 and could save your life. Here we will look at prostrate cancer and the test and how it could help you.

What is PSA?

PSA is prostate specific antigen. PSA is a protease (protein) secreted the prostate gland. Its levels in the blood are elevated in men with both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. PSA is now an accepted and routine screening test for prostate cancer.

The PSA Test

PSA presence in the blood is very low, so its detection requires a very sensitive type of technology.

The test uses the monoclonal antibody technique. The PSA protein exists both in the blood by itself, and joined with other substances. By itself, it is free PSA, and joined with other substances, bound PSA.

The term ‘Total PSA’ is the total both forms. The PSA test gives the result of the Total PSA

Results of the PSA Test

The highest normal level of Total PSA is 4 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL. Statistics show men’s prostate gland will generally increases in size and produces more PSA with increasing age.
Therefore aging has a great role in the actual results of the test. However, doctors would be concerned with anyone who had a result of over 4.5 ng/mL, and would generally do a biopsy to determine physically if cancer were present

Specific Use of the PSA Test for Cancer

Doctors are using the PSA test now in two ways. First as a screening test to determine elevated PSA levels (which might indicate cancer, but can also indicate other conditions as well), or as a monitor test for those who are known to have prostate cancer.

With the screening technique, any increased levels over 4.5 ng/mL require further investigation. As a monitoring test, high levels of PSA can indicate the growing or reducing threat of cancer.

However an abnormal result also can indicate a recurrence of prostate cancer following therapy.

For example, in men with a surgically removed prostate gland (prostatectomy), where all of the cancer was contained, a PSA test should result in 0. However, if in these men the PSA test is positive or shows increasing levels, it shows the cancer was not successfully removed and / or it has spread.

PSA Also Can Show Non-Cancerous Conditions

The PSA test result can indicate conditions other than cancer.

Often a higher PSA test result indicates benign prostatic hypertrophy, which his enlargement or hyperplasia of the prostate gland. These conditions are due to an increase aging in certain men.

Also infection of the prostate gland, known as prostatitis, will cause an abnormal elevation of PSA.

There are other conditions also which can result in higher levels of PSA that are non-cancerous.

In each case however, the doctor will first perform a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present.
The Free PSA Test

Free PSA in the blood exists as well as bound PSA, and there is now a test for Free PSA. Studies have shown that levels of free PSA decrease in men with prostate cancer.

The Free PSA levels in men with benign conditions will not decrease. Levels of Free PSA differ from test procedure to test procedure, but in any case, it is a good indication of the presence of cancer if the levels are shown to be decreasing.

Who Should Test for PSA

Any many over 40 years old now should test for PSA. Every man over 50 must test for PSA to insure that if there is a problem, it can be treated early. Consult your physician if this article concerns you.

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Tags: prostate cancer

The various mesothelioma stages can be difficult to understand when you’re first learning about the disease. In the simplest sense, staging is the way that doctors determine how severe the cancer is. So, if you have a more advanced form of mesothelioma, the staging will be higher than if you had a less advanced case.

Many doctors will use a standard mesothelioma staging system in order to show a patient how advanced their disease is. These systems include:

Butchart Staging System

The Butchart mesothelioma staging system consists of:

Stage I – cancer present on only one side of the chest pleuraStage II – the cancer has spread to the chest wall, heart, or esophagus as well as the other side of the chest pleura and possibly the lymph nodesStage III - the diaphragm and the peritoneum are affected as is the chest and there are more lymph nodes Stage IV – the mesothelioma cancer has spread to other organs as wellTNM Staging System

Sometimes known as the International Interest Group staging system, the mesothelioma stages in this system include:

Stage I – the cancer is only found in the mesothelioma of the lungs and nowhere else in the bodyStage II – the cancer has spread to the lining of the chest in addition to the lungsStage III – the mesothelioma cancer has spread to the first chest wall as well as the lining of the chest and lungsStage IV – the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, other organs of the body as well as the chest and the lungsBrigham Staging System

The mesothelioma symptoms in the Brigham staging system are:

Stage I – tumor can be removed with surgery and cancer has not spreadStage II - lymph nodes also affected, but tumor still operableStage III – cancer is not operable, lymph nodes spread and into the abdominal cavityStage IV – cancer has spread throughout the body.The most commonly used of the mesothelioma stages systems is the TNM for specialists in the field.

The exposure to asbestos is going to factor into the staging of the cancer and the spread of the disease. The more asbestos fibers you inhaled and the longer you have been exposed to asbestos the higher the likelihood that you will have a more advanced case of the disease.

These mesothelioma stages help you determine the course of action as well as the prognosis.

About the Author:

Dave Casey has written numerous helpful articles on mesothelioma-adviser.com/mesothelioma-symptoms.html mesothelioma symptoms. You can find more info on mesothelioma-adviser.com/mesothelioma-stages.html mesothelioma stages by visiting mesothelioma-adviser.com mesothelioma-adviser.com

Copyright 2007 Mesothelioma-Adviser.com

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After surgery, microscopic cancer cells are still left behind in the body. As an “insurance policy” patients are told by their oncologists to undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy (or both). The idea is to kill whatever cancer cells are left behind. But how effective is this? How valid is the assumption that chemotherapy can just do that?

I invite you to read the following research papers and give them some serious thought. Form your own opinion as to what you would want to do in the event that you suffer from early stage (Stage 2) colorectal cancer.

Scholefield J.H. in an article: “Challenges in colorectal cancer.” (Book review. New England J of Medicine. September 2000. Vol: 343:893.) wrote:

“Colorectal cancer presents some of the most challenging problems for basic scientists, clinical investigators and practitioners. Surgery remains the centre of attention.”

Question: All these years, why is the treatment of colorectal “most challenging?” Has the treatment protocol for colorectal cancer not been worked out yet?

Moertel, C. G. (in Chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. New England J. of Medicine. April 1994. Vol: 330: 1136-1142) wrote:

“Radiation therapy plays only a palliative role. In the past, chemotherapy resulted in only infrequent and usually transient shrinkage of the tumour. Its use is scarcely justified in view of the discomforts and costs of the treatment. However, now there have been some advances.”

Question: The author is a renowned oncologist from the famous Mayo Clinic. It is most amazing to note that “in the past chemotherapy resulted only in temporary tumour shrinkage.” Even shrinkage is infrequently achieved. But then, we were made to believe that chemotherapy was necessary. Was it a mistake then? Was undergoing chemotherapy in the past unjustifiable? What about the present? Is it going to be another mistake down the road? The author is implying that perhaps now, it is okay — we are seeing some advances? Chemotherapy, even today is not a pleasant experience while some patients said they suffered badly. Besides, it still cost a lot of money. Has the present situation change?

Buyse M & Piedbois P. (in: Should Duke’s B patients receive adjuvant therapy? A statistical perspective. Semin. Oncol. 2001.(Suppl. 1): 20-24) wrote:

“The benefit of adjuvant therapy, e.g., 5-FU leucovorin, is a matter of debate for patients with Duke’s B colon cancer. Five separate trials failed to show a significant benefit of adjuvant 5-FU leucovorin compared with surgery alone.”

Benson, A. B., et al. (in: American Society of Clinical Oncology recommendations on adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer. J. of Clinical Oncology, August 2004. Vol: 22: 3408-3419) wrote:

“Direct evidence from randomized controlled trials does not support the routine use of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage II colon cancer. Therefore the routine use of adjuvant chemotherapy for medically fit patients with stage II colon cancer is not recommended.”

Figueredo A. et al. (in: Adjuvant therapy for stage II colon cancer: A systematic review from the Cancer Care Ontario Program in Evidence-based Gastrointestinal Cancer Disease Site Group. J. of Clinical Oncology, August 2004. Vol: 16: 3395-3407) wrote:

“The benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy are small and not necessarily associated with improved overall survival. Patients should be made aware of these results.”

With the above research results would cancer patients take a pause and think seriously enough before they “follow” what their oncologists may want them to do?

For more information about holistic therapy visit: cacare.com cacare.com, NaturalHealingForYou.com NaturalHealingForYou.com, cancer-answers.blogspot.com cancer-answers.blogspot.com

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