One of the reasons prostate cancer is so common is because it’s very difficult to detect in the early stages. Around 50% of sufferers are 75 years of age or older, and often the symptoms are simply put down to old age. Prostate cancer is sometimes called the silent disease, simply because it sneaks up on the sufferer without any obvious warning.

It’s a sad fact, but many men don’t take the threat of prostate cancer in the manner they should. Perhaps this is because of the embarrassment and joking surround the idea of a prostate examination. Unfortunately, the more advanced the cancer is when it’s discovered, the harder it is to cure. Early detection gives a high chance of recovery. Some medical professionals have suggested an annual blood test to determine if prostate cancer is present, but so far this suggestions hasn’t met with widespread acceptance.

Some of the most common symptoms of prostate cancer are listed below. It’s important to realize that many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions as well, so the presence of one or more may not indicate prostate cancer. However if you experience these symptoms regularly, it’s a good idea to have yourself checked by your doctor, so that he can make an accurate diagnosis of the problem. The symptoms to look for include:

Difficulty commencing urination
Increased frequency of urge to urinate, particularly at night
Feeling like you need to hurry when urinating
Feeling that your bladder isn’t empty when you’ve finished urinating
It takes a long time to finish urinating, with the last part coming out as a dribble
Pain upon urinating
Much weaker urine stream than usual
Painful ejaculations
Urine that contains blood
Pain occurring in the genital area
Difficulty getting or maintaining an erection
Pain isolated in the lower back
Pain in the hip area and pelvic regions

As the disease can progress unnoticed for some time, many men don’t recognize they have a problem until they develop more severe symptoms, such as:

An unexplained weight loss
Extreme tiredness or fatigue
Isolated pain in the bones of the back, hips, thighs and neck
Anemia

Another element to be aware of is that prostate cancer may run in families. So if you have a close male relative diagnosed with prostate cancer, such as a brother, then your risk of developing the cancer yourself is three times higher than average. If your brother was still under sixty, then your risk is four times higher. Even if the male relative isn’t so closely related, it’s possible your risk level is higher, so annual examinations over the age of fifty are a good idea.

It’s important to consider the age at which male relatives develop prostate cancer, because if the sufferers are fairly young (i.e. between 50 and 60) then it’s highly likely a faulty gene is causing the cancer - and it’s also highly likely that you have the same gene. There’s no way of testing this, so the only prevention possible is to keep having the prostate gland checked by your doctor, so that at least any problems can be detected as early as possible, which gives you a much better chance of a cure.

For more valuable and helpful guide-to-prostate-cancer.com/ prostate cancer information please visit Guide-To-Prostate-Cancer.com where you will find more information on the 4 stages of prostate cancer, more signs and symptoms of prostate cancer and guide-to-prostate-cancer.com/hormone_treatment.php hormone treatment for prostate cancer.

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Tags: prostate cancer

What are the skin cancer warning signs and what can be done to help prevent skin cancer?

In recent years, a lot of attention has been focused on the prevention of skin cancer. Of course, skin cancer is not a new disease but as scientists have learned more about how to prevent it, they realized that early detection is the key. It is important, therefore, that people are aware of what they can do to prevent skin cancer and what to keep an eye out for so that they can catch the cancer in time.

There are two main risk factors for skin cancer. The first is sun exposure. People who live in sunny areas, people who are continuously exposed to the sunlight, or people who were badly sunburned as children are all at a higher risk. Fair-skinned people are high risk as well. It is important that everyone be protected when they go out in the sun. Sunscreen should be worn all the time, even if the day seems cloudy or not that hot. This is especially important for those with fair skin and for children. If you are going to be exposed to the sun for a long period of time, you should try to cover up as much skin as possible with hats, long pants, or jackets. Young children should always wear a wide-brimmed hat when playing out in the sun. The second component of skin cancer risk is genetic. Some people are just more apt to get skin cancer than others. There is nothing you can do about this, but if you know you are at a greater risk because of your family, you should be even more vigilant in checking for skin cancer warning signs.

There are several types of skin cancer, and they all present slightly different. Melanoma is one of the rarer skin cancers, but it is also the most deadly. Catching melanoma early is important, so everyone should make checks of their bodies on a monthly basis, just like a monthly breast exam is recommended for women. One way to remember the warning signs of melanoma is the mnemonic “ABCDE.” The A stands for asymmetrical. Check any moles on your body. Asymmetrical moles could be malignant. B stand for border. If the border of the mole or mark looks irregular, then get it checked out. C stands for color. Moles that are multiple colors could be cancerous. D stands for diameter. If you have a mole that measures more than 5 mm, it is at greater risk for being a melanoma. E can stand for evolution or elevation. Evolution means how the mole has appeared over time. Has it changed color, shape, or size? This is a sign that cancer might be developing. Elevation means that mole is raised up above the skin. If you have any of these warning signs, you should make an appointment to see your doctor right away.

Skin cancer can present in different ways and a doctor will need to examine you to determine if a mole or area of skin needs to be checked further. A biopsy is usually done and the sample is checked for malignancy.

Early detection of skin cancer is important. Many doctors are including skin checks during yearly physicals. If you are concerned about an area of your body, discuss it with your doctor. They can let you know if more testing should be done.

John Grimes is with AllTerrainco.com - makers of allterrainco.com/natural_soap_sanitizer.html natural sanitizer products for skin care.

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Tags: cancer risk, melanoma, skin cancer

Although there are several types of skin cancer, the most common are melanoma, basal call carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

Although melanoma is not found as often as other skin cancers, it is one of the most well known because it causes the most deaths related to skin cancer. Melanoma is hard to treat, with the most effective option being simply removing the part of the skin that is affected. However, this has to be done early in order to be at all successful. There are approximately 160,000 new cases of melanoma each year. Approximately 48,000 people die of melanoma each year. Melanoma can be caused by exposure to the sun. This is particularly significant if a person has had a bad sunburn during childhood. White males usually get melanoma more than any other group, and people living in sunny climates are at higher risk. There is also a genetic risk factor.

Melanomas are usually noticed by detecting a change in skin moles. If there is any change to the mole, this might mean that a melanoma is present. Individuals should check their moles to see if the size, color or shape has changed. They should also alert their doctor if a mole becomes itchy or starts to bleed. If a patient has a family history of melanoma, they should be examined by a doctor at least once a year as part of a preventative plan.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a tumor of the epithelium cells. It occurs in many areas of the body besides the skin including the mouth, lungs and cervix. Squamous cell carcinomas make up about 20% of all skin cancer cases. It is most often caused by continuous exposure to sunlight over a long period of time. If an area is suspected to be cancerous, a biopsy will be done. If cancer is found, surgery will be done to remove the area.

The most common form of skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma. In the United States, there are approximately 800,000 new cases per year. It occurs most commonly in individuals who have fair skin and have been exposed to the sun. There is also a genetic component, as this cancer also occurs in areas which are not exposed to the sun. Luckily, basal cell carcinomas rarely cause death and can be treated successfully in most cases. They can cause disfiguration when the cancer is on the nose, lips, ears, or eyes.

If you suspect that you might have skin cancer, you should contact your doctor or a dermatologist to have the area examined. It is also a good idea to have your doctor check out your skin during your yearly physical.

John Grimes is with AllTerrainco.com - makers of allterrainco.com/natural_soap_sanitizer.html natural sanitizer products for skin care.

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Tags: melanoma, skin cancer

I.
There is a story my father has told my entire life. It is 1964. I am two and he is forty-three. We live on Park Lane in Bloomington, Indiana and every morning when my mother releases me from my crib, I bump down the stairs in my night diaper and I crawl across the kitchen tile and down two more stairs to the half-bath off the family room, where my father is preparing to shave. Dad reaches down and places me on the closed toilet seat, where, according to legend, I raptly watch him moisten his morning stubble, measure out the Old Spice shaving cream, and carve precise paths through the aromatic snow to reveal Daddy cheeks. Smooth. Ready for my kiss. Dad always finishes this story with, “Your mother must have put you up to it.” He shakes his head in wonderment. “You came every morning.”

II.
My dad and mom often stop by with a container of chicken soup or a small gift for my 10-year-old daughter, so I was not surprised when mid-morning one day last month, the front door opened and I heard my parents’ voices. I got up from the computer and headed to the front door. Mom had been crying. Dad was pale. “I have pancreatic cancer,” Dad blurted out from the entryway, before I’d even reached the living room. “We just came from the doctor’s.” I almost say, “You’re kidding,” but I only allow myself a fifth of a second of denial before slap! Gut-clenched, iron-lunged, acid esophagus, then brain reverb: so this is how my dad’s life will end.

III.
The pancreas: mysterious hermit of the abdomen. The unwritten credo of medical students is, “Eat when you can, sleep when you can, and don’t mess with the pancreas.” An alchemist when happy, it transmutes tiny particles of food into an enzymatic energy drink that plaits bone and braids muscle, nurtures dendrites and regenerates skin. A stingy tyrant when crossed, it lies hidden while making any manner of mischief: no more insulin from its islets of Langerhans (imagine Norse gods brandishing swords against angry skies while cursing, “No more sweetness for you!”); pancreatitis (acute, chronic, infectious recurrent, and interstitial relapsing); cysts and pseudo cysts; atrophy; Calculus; Fibrosis; Cirrhosis; and, like every other part of the body, cancerous. In the United States, pancreatic cancer is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third cause of cancer death in men. The median survival period from the time of diagnosis until death for untreated advanced cancer of the pancreas is about 3-1/2 months; with good treatment this increases to about six months. Later, I wonder how, some how, I knew, in the instant Dad said pancreatic cancer, that it meant all this – hidden, dangerous, sweet.

IV.
Kant believed the soul permeated every part of the human body. Carl Du Prel, a German philosopher who lived in the mid 1800’s, argued that our emotional center originates in the solar plexus, located just above the navel, near the pancreas. One new age guru maintains a diseased pancreas is the result of rejecting the sweetness of life.

V.
Two weeks before the news about Dad’s pancreas, I am flying home from a job in New York, feeling horrendous. I had a glass of wine the night before, waiting for my college friend to call but this morning, it feels like I drank two bottles of rotgut. I write it off to a lingering cold and jet lag. Days pass. I don’t recover. I get worse. Then a bit better. Worse again. Weeks pass. I decide I have a low-grade bug. Go to my naturopath. Take more herbs. Feel worse. Waves of nausea and fatigue that resemble the sudden, chilling onslaught of the flu, scurry to the bathroom. Seems to strike between ten and two.

VI.
What I have learned from my father: admit when you are wrong; do the numbers and don’t hide from the truth; when you have nothing left to go on, go on your nerve; don’t fence me in; humility; cordiality; a habit of driving myself toward a future where things will be better; and an often visceral sense of being one step removed from the breathtaking moments of life. Just yesterday, walking in the Grand Forest near my home, puppy darting ahead and then back to my side, a floppy silver streak, I came around a turn and the autumnal sunlight illuminated a stand of cedars and one floppy big leaf maple, everything velutinous with fairy light. The air was saturated with cedar, fir, moss. I stood still, feeling a swell of well being, connectedness, gratitude - or did I watch myself feel? Moments like this, the sweetness is there but I can only gain tiny sips. My father always murmurs the same thing at these junctures when life shines brightest, “This is wonderful. This is so wonderful. Isn’t life wonderful?”

VII.
I finally go to the doctor, expecting a quick prescription for antibiotics. She orders a full blood panel. When she calls with the results, she tells me my pancreatic enzymes are elevated, very unusual. She asks if I know where the pancreas is. I can’t answer. I’m too busy picturing the various diagrams of the pancreas I have seen in the last two weeks: at the oncologist, at the surgeon, at the oncologist’s again, not to mention the thirty or so websites I have visited obsessively, clicking for hope. Each doctor asked my father, “Do you know where the pancreas is?”

VIII.
I tell my daughter that Grandpa might be very sick. I tell her while we are in the car, doing errands. She cries, easily, immediately. “I mean, I love him, he’s the best grandpa but, Mommy, he always says to you, ‘Don’t make her hug me.’ I want to hug him!” She asks why Grandpa doesn’t believe we love him for himself, without Mom as mediator. Staring at the highway, I open then close my mouth. How to explain to a child the jumbled stories we create to survive, and then, sadly, half-believe? That weekend, Lilly takes Dad outside to the patio. Dad sits, Lilly dances around him as she tells him that she loves him just for himself. That nobody makes her love him. She punctuates her declaration with a cartwheel.

IX.
An ultrasound shows my pancreas is smooth and tumorless. No one knows why I am feeling poorly or my lipases are elevated. Could I be creating a “factitious disorder,” inducing my illness somehow to prove to my father I really do love him? When anybody hints at a connection, I protest, “But I started feeling ill two weeks before we learned about Dad.”

X.
A client remarks, “You are on the edge of a mystery.” In some parallel universe, am I, once again, bumping down the stairs in my night diaper?

Jennifer Louden is a best-selling author of many books, including The Woman’s Comfort Book, Comfort Secrets for Busy Women, and soon-to-be released, The Life Organizer: A Woman’s Guide to a Mindful Year. She’s also a creativity and life coach, creator of the Inner Organizer and a columnist for Body Soul Magazine. She leads retreats on self-care and creativity around the country. Visit her world at: comfortqueen.com www.comfortqueen.com and jenniferlouden.com www.jenniferlouden.com

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