When you mention the words prostate cancer around men it can literally put fear in their hearts. This disease is a very harsh condition that can prove fatal for a large percentage of individuals that contract it unless they start to protect themselves at an early age. Before going into some things you can do to avoid prostate cancer it needs to be mentioned that there are unfortunately some obstacles that simply can’t be avoided. For instance if there is a history of prostate cancer in the family or if you are at a certain age where this form of cancer seems to appear quiet frankly then the reality is the likelihood of being diagnosed with prostate cancer is higher. However, there are a few things you can do now to combat the effects of catching prostate cancer. They include a proper diet, plenty of exercise and an annual checkup or health exam.

Simply put exercise is one of the most beneficial things anyone can do to improve their overall health and quality of life. Let’s be honest our bodies require enough exercise stimulation in order to stay health, strong and function properly. The fact is you really should exercise on a regular basis in order to stay in good shape. Exercise also has the benefit of helping your body stay disease free, to include cancer. By sticking to an exercise plan you significantly lower your chances of contracting prostate cancer and should you actually be diagnosed with the disease your body will be in much better shape and capable of dealing with the adverse effects of cancer in the prostate gland while you undergo treatment for the condition.

Naturally, diet is another crucial factor to leading and living a healthy lifestyle and it fits nicely with a good exercise program. In fact, medical studies show that a well balanced diet has the most effect on whether or not you lead a health life. Unhealthy foods, such as those found in fast food restaurants, are a precursor to future health related problems to include prostate cancer. Generally speaking, most medical professionals and doctors highly recommend the nutrient called lycopene as a supplement needed to help prevent all forms of cancer to include the dreaded prostate cancer. Although Lycopene is found in many different foods it is abundantly found in papaya, tomatoes, watermelons and guava. Additionally you can choose to take vitamins, nutrient supplements and minerals that contain lycopene.

All of the health eating and exercise daily routines mean nothing if you fail to schedule an annual health exam or medical checkup. Although these don’t necessarily help you avoid cancer they do assist in the early detection of prostate cancer which is extremely important because in most cases early detection was the key to be able to successfully cure prostate cancer that was diagnosed in a majority of males. A yearly or annual exam is highly recommended, but if you are in a higher risk category then perhaps a semi-annual exam would prove to be better.

Prostate cancer isn’t something to mess around with, but by adapting a health diet incorporated with an exercise routine used in conjunction with a regular health examination the odds of staying cancer free are higher and should you be diagnosed with prostate cancer you stand a much better chance of beating the disease.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of onlineprostatehealthguide.com Online Prostate Health Guide.com where he provides more important information on the prostate gland, prostate cancer and onlineprostatehealthguide.com/ prostate cancer symptoms that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

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Tags: prostate cancer

Pain control is usually something cancer patients have to practice when going through treatments. Pain can be generated from the cancer itself or it can be generated from an outside source, such as arthritis. Managing your pain can help you gain better control over your cancer diagnosis.

Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain is severe, but short-lived and chronic is pain that lasts for longer periods of time, and can range from mild to severe. Sometimes patients will experience breakthrough pain, which is pain that breaks through medications prescribed to the patient.

According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) August 2005 pain prevention report, one-third of cancer patients experience pain with their treatments. The NCCN also reports that nearly two-thirds of patients with recurring cancer or advanced stages of cancer experience pain.

Pain control is possible, even for those suffering from cancer, and it can give a patient a better quality of life. Pain in cancer patients is most often a result of the cancer itself, but sometimes it can result from a specific treatment, such as radiation therapy. Pain can be relieved through several ways.

For example, pain control can be through medications, relaxation methods, acupuncture or mental therapy sessions. Each patient is unique and pain can be evaluated through a cancer team made up of specialists such as an oncologist, anesthesiologist, pain specialists and your physician.

It is important for you to discuss any pain you experience with your doctor or medical professional so they can figure out what methods would work best for you. The earlier pain is ministered to, the easier it will be to handle it during your cancer treatments. If you experience pain that is unrelated to your cancer diagnosis, it is important to find the best method to stop the pain before beginning your treatment.

For example, arthritis pain prevention can be found through physical therapy sessions, water therapy or oral medications. If a patient suffers from cancer in the spinal cord, he or she may need to learn about back and neck pain control. This type of pain occurs because the cancer causes the spinal cord to compress, causing sharp pains in the back and neck regions.

Finding the proper method can help you with pain control, especially when you suffer from cancer. With the advancements in medical technology, a slew of medications are available to patients suffering from continual aches, twinges and throbbing. Some patients experience breakthrough pain, which can be treated with prescription-strength morphine.

Other patients experience extreme episodes of tingling and burning sensations, and doctors usually treat these symptoms with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications. There is always the possibility of experiencing vomiting, dizziness or acute fatigue with these medications. Your doctor can help find ways to handle them, such as therapy sessions with a counselor. Many times it is up to the patient to help their medical practitioner find out what is causing the pain by keeping notes each time it occurs.

Managing pain control with cancer is not a figment of one’s imagination. In fact, the hurt that accompanies cancer and its treatments can be controlled with the proper medication or therapy.

Discussing any ache or soreness in your body with a physician will put you on the path to a smoother, more tolerable recovery from cancer.

Visit Mike Selvon cancerprevention.trustprofitableniche.com/cancer_prevention.php cancer prevention portal for more information on cancerprevention.trustprofitableniche.com/pain_control.php pain control, and leave a comment at our mynicheportal.com/health-beauty/pain-control-for-cancer-victims cancer prevention blog. Don’t forget to claim your FREE self help ebook on dealing with cancer.

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Tags: cancer patient, cancer prevention, cancer treatment

The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system. Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor of the prostate gland. The prostate gland is located directly beneath the bladder and in front of the rectum.

Many men, especially those later in life have made the decision with their doctors to simply watch and wait. The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man’s reproductive system; it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and is the most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75 years old.

One of the most common symptoms is the inability to urinate at all. Some men will experience symptoms that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer. Having one or more cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer.

Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for. Other symptoms might include unintentional weight loss and lethargy. If you have one or more prostate cancer symptoms, you should see a qualified doctor as soon as possible.

There is a newer test called AMACR that is more sensitive than the PSA test for determining the presence of prostate cancer. A bone scan can indicate whether the cancer has spread or not. When a digital rectal exam is performed it often reveals an enlarged prostate with a hard, irregular surface.

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 number of tests may be done to confirm a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer. 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 conventional treatment of prostate cancer is often controversial.

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. 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.

Recent improvements in surgical procedures have made complications occur less often. Whether radiation is as good as removing the prostate is debatable and the decision about which to choose, if any, can be difficult. Be aware that some men chose natural treatment options and forgo any surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.

Besides hormonal drugs, hormone manipulation may also be done by surgically removing the testes. Surgery is usually only recommended after thorough evaluation and discussion of all available treatment options. In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor.

Anyone considering surgery should be aware of the benefits, risks and the extent of the procedure. Chemotherapy medications are often used to treat prostate cancers that are resistant to hormonal treatments.

If you do choose invasive conventional treatment, you can always change your diet and do non-invasive natural treatments too. As new research comes out adjust your treatment options accordingly. If you haven’t been diagnosed but are concerned about symptoms you should call for an appointment to see your doctor; and if you’re a man older than 50 who has never been screened for prostate cancer (by rectal exam and/or PSA level determination) or not had a regular annual exam, or have had a family history of prostate cancer, make an appointment soon.

For more information on BestProstateHealthTips.com prostate cancer treatments and prostate cancer symptoms go to BestProstateHealthTips.com BestProstateHealthTips.com Helen Hecker R.N.’s website specializing in prostate and prostate cancer tips, advice and resources, including information on prostate tests and BestProstateHealthTips.com natural prostate cancer treatments

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Tags: cancer treatment, chemotherapy, prostate cancer

It was nearly midnight when I regained consciousness after the 13-hour surgery that had radically dissected my neck yet saved my life. A squamous cell carcinoma tumor had bloomed from my tonsil and threatened to choke the carotid artery that fed blood to my brain. Without surgery, a daring procedure, my death was inevitable.

As I awoke from anesthesia, I saw one of my surgeons standing at the foot of my bed and heard him say, “It went great. Just great.” Maybe for him, I thought. He was nattily dressed. Despite the late hour, he could walk out of there and get a hamburger slathered in mustard and relish and wash it down with a cold beer. Or, more likely, go home and kiss his newborn child goodnight.

I, on the other hand, was going nowhere. A bevy of nurses wiped me down, redressed my moist, limp body and then all but harnessed me to a bed in the hospital’s intensive care unit. My right arm was in a cast and immobile because an oval of skin and tissue had been cut from the underbelly of my forearm to reconstruct my throat, where the tumor had been gouged out. I was instructed to refrain from moving my right leg because skin had been removed from my thigh to cover the deficit in my forearm. My lower legs were rendered useless because both were wrapped in tight harnesses that deliberately inflated and deflated, a method of mechanical massage designed to stave off deadly blood clots.

And then, of course, there was my neck. A long surgical cut that scythed from behind my left ear to a point slightly above my Adam’s apple was stapled closed. That side of my neck swelled, making me look like a blowfish from the lab of Dr. Frankenstein. Since my throat was swollen tight from the surgery, I breathed through a tracheal tube that had the nauseating habit of clogging with thick, stubborn mucous. The same mucous that clung to my lungs, where pneumonia soon took up residence with a rude, piercing pain.

I lay there wondering: How will I survive this?

For five days, I stared at the ICU clock or watched the nurses pace and fret, because despite readily accessible meds I rarely slept for more than 45 minutes at a stretch. I was forced to be in the moment. Every moment. There was no escape. I was too weary to think of the past and knew nothing of the future. I didn’t know, for example, that my voice would be an earthy, inarticulate growl for months to come. Nor did I foresee that in barely more than a year, I would be physically stable but emotionally bankrupt.

Yet I soon learned an essential truth, one that all those suffering from a health trauma eventually embrace if they are to survive. The revelation occurred days later when finally I was transferred from ICU to a private room. I paced the hallways dragging my portable IV, peeked into the rooms of strangers, saw myself in their suffering, and realized: Others are in far worse shape than I.

It is now almost three years since my surgery. I have not had a relapse of cancer, my health is generally good to great, and once again I am a productive member of society (a nice way of saying I work for a living). Doctors measure cure in years. If there is no relapse within two years you have a 95% chance of going five years without relapse. If you make it to five years, consider yourself cured.

Sometimes it feels strange to be alive – a miracle, really, since the cancer had developed to the third of four stages. But life is a miracle regardless of cancer.

Sometimes I’ve afraid that I’m being stalked by the boogey man. I look over my shoulder often, and fear another health calamity dwells in every ache and pain. But we’re all being stalked by mortality.

I don’t know why I’m alive now. No one does, because there is no cure for cancer, or so they say. Even so, I know what has helped keep me alive, despite the stress and uncertainty, throughout these last three years.

I have awakened.

It’s hard to stay conscious throughout life. So many things can blind-side us, numb our senses, scare us into retreat, or cause simply what I call self-amnesia – we forget ourselves. Our better selves. When the self is neglected it creates a vacancy within. Guess what fills the void?

Cancer and other diseases can be a blessing if they wake up the sleeper. The awakening doesn’t guarantee a long life. Nor can it alone necessarily vanquish a deadly disease. It can, in my experience, make the remaining days and years vivid, lucid, and profoundly fulfilling.

But it takes courage. I began asking questions of myself. I didn’t always like the answers. I didn’t always have the strength to stare into the vacancy I had created and gather the malnourished pieces of me I had once appreciated.

Also, I am not done probing for answers and searching for deeper experiences of the awakened life, because the dawning must be perpetual if a life is to be long and worth living.

Copyright 2007

Douglas Glenn Clark teaches simple methods for creating wealth and is the author of After The Noise and T-Bonding with the Trend. Visit AfterTheNoise.com AfterTheNoise.com for free ebooks. And dgclarkgroup.com dgclarkgroup.com (coming soon) for professional writing, consultation info.

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