Once a patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is then important that information regarding the extent of the spread is determined, and how much it has affected the gland. Determining this is what is called prostate cancer staging. Prostate cancer staging involves categorizing the disease in specific classification in order to derive the appropriate approach for your treatment.

Prostate cancer staging conventionally was done by classifying the stages as Stages A, B, C and D. Stages A and B may be curable, and in both cases, the cancer is localized within the gland. In this type of prostate cancer staging, stage C has the cancer spreading beyond the prostate but has not reached the lymph nodes. Some in this stage have some hope of being cured. In stage D, the cancer has already reached the lymph nodes, bones and some other areas. Though the prostate cancer in this stage may no longer be curable, it can be treated for purposes of slowing its effect down.

New prostate cancer staging systems now use the TNM notation. T means tumor, N means Nodes (lymph nodes), and M means metastasized to other body organs.

For this prostate cancer staging system, the T classification has two types: a.) clinical stage, and b.) pathologic stage. The clinical stage is important in determining whether removal of the prostate gland may be in order, though it will not show the extent of the cancer spread. The pathologic stage is determined after surgery and will enable one to know the severity of the cancer – also, one will be able to have a better impression on how it might fair for him in the future.

Prostate cancer staging systems, whichever is used, provide a general guideline on what to expect at each particular level. It describes the condition of the prostate and the cancer cells in it, the treatment that may work for your particular stage, and the prognosis for your case.

With the valuable information it provides, prostate cancer staging systems will be a useful tool for both patients and doctors alike. Patients will be able to understand their current situation and the specific status of their prostate. Doctors will be able to rely on them to come up with the suitable approach for the patients they are treating.

Without prostate cancer staging systems, there would not be any means of putting meaning of the level and severity of the cancer experienced by the patient – no reference for appropriate approach in treating prostate cancer. A prostate cancer staging system has continued to be an efficient tool and basis for one’s treatment & prognosis.

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Prostate Cancer and runs a highly popular and comprehensive prostate.need-to-know.net/ Prostate Cancer web site. For more articles and resources on Prostate Cancer related topics, treatment options and much more visit his site at:

=> prostate.need-to-know.net/ prostate.need-to-know.net/

Tags: prostate cancer

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Until recently tamoxifen occupied the central stage in adjuvant (post operative) hormonal treatment of breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been the unchallenged hormonal therapy of choice for adjuvant treatment of early stage breast cancer for over two decades.

Things have changed now. A new group of hormonal drugs that has been introduced few years ago has almost replaced tamoxifen as the treatment of choice for early stage breast cancer. This new group of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors has been shown to be more effective than tamoxifen over and over again.

This new group of drugs however is not effective in premneopausal women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Tamoxifen still remains the hormonal treatment of choice for women with breast cancer who have hormone receptor positive early stage breast cancer.

This new group of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors acts by inhibiting an enzyme called aromatase, which is responsible for production of small amounts of estrogen in post-menopausal women. Estrogen production from the ovaries in premneopausal women is not depended on aromatase hormone, and that is the reason why this drug is not effective in premneopausal women.

Three drugs belonging to the group of aromatase inhibitors are currently FDA approved and available for treatment of breast cancer. These drugs are anastrozole (Arimidex), letrozole (Femara) and exemestane (Aromasin). All these are active drugs are generally considered to be equally effective.

Aromatase inhibitors may be useful even if a woman has already been started on tamoxifen. Aromatase inhibitors can be taken for five years after completion of five years of tamoxifen. A clinical trial (MA-17) has shown that if Femara is taken for another extra five years after completion of five years of treatment with tamoxifen, this would result in improved outcome. Other trials (ABCSG trial, ARNO trial 95, and ITA trial) have shown that it is beneficial to switch from tamoxifen to aromatase inhibitors after two to three years of treatment with tamoxifen.

Aromatase inhibitors have already shown to be superior to tamoxifen in the treatment of hormone receptor positive metastatic (cancer that has spread to distant organs) breast cancer. In this situation Femara is currently the drug of choice and tamoxifen have moved to second or third position as an option for hormonal therapy.

One thing is clear. The very foundation of tamoxifen as the hormonal treatment of choice is shaking and the aromatase inhibitors are here to stay.

Copyright © Medicineworld.org 2006

Scott William is the webmaster for medicineworld.org Medicineworld.org a site dedicated to medical information. For more information regardings medicineworld.org/cancer/breast/ breast cancer please visit authors website.

Tags: breast cancer

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The thought itself is astounding: a way possibly exists to predict if a person could possibly contract bladder cancer in the future. In recent studies, debate is emerging in regards to one theory – that lifestyle choices and the impact of living life a certain way may be related to bladder cancer. A recent study by the Department of Preventive Medicine of Nagoya University School of Medicine indicates that there might, in fact, be a strong and credible link between lifestyle and bladder cancer.

The department studied 258 bladder cancer patients in order to determine if lifestyle choices played a role in allowing medical professionals to prognosticate the possibility that patients might be susceptible to bladder cancer. This was a follow-up study of patients who had suffered from bladder cancer in metropolitan Nagoya, Japan and were recruited for study. Their personal survival information was derived from a database that was maintained by the Nagoya Bladder Cancer Research Group.

After reviewing the tests and their results, researchers were able to pinpoint several key factors that impact the occurrence and re-occurrence of this type of cancer. Univariate analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between 5 year survivorship and the level of education a person possessed, their marital status, drinking habits, and the degree of green tea consumption in males. Additional factors were the age at which the cancer was diagnosed, the histological type and grade of the any tumors, the degree of metastasis, and the state of metastasis in both sexes.

The results were adjusted for age, stage, histology (histological type and grade), and distant metastasis by means of a proportional hazards model.The consumption of alcoholic beverages was also significantly associated with the prognoses of bladder cancer in males. The ratio of adjusted hazard was 0.46 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.26 – 0.79 among males that consumed alcoholic beverages.

Detailed analysis revealed that former drinkers and every level of current drinkers exhibited hazard ratios smaller than unity, although no correlation between dosage amounts was detectable. Other factors, such as smoking habits, uses of artificial sweeteners and hair dye, and consumption of coffee, black tea, matcha (powdered green tea), and cola were detected, leading one to believe that it is reasonable to conclude that drinking any type of beverage, not just alcohol, plays a significant role in the development or re-occurrence of bladder cancer.

The significance of this is vague in terms of prognosis, although that ratio seems to indicate that at least among those who participated in the study and were bladder cancer survivors, drinking alcohol is not a very good idea. Additionally, the study showed that the higher risk factor in regards to bladder cancer and males can be correlated directly to drinking in terms of re-occurrence propensity.

If you are male and have had bladder cancer, along with dietary changes and other lifestyle choices, avoiding alcoholic beverages might increase the possibility of avoiding the sickness in the future.

This, however, is not, and should not be considered conclusive, but merely the very compelling result of one specific study. Also, the indication that other factors, such as smoking, did not seem to increase the risk of re-occurrence, should not be construed as rock solid justification for those behaviors.

For instance, the fact that smoking does not apparently increase the risk bladder cancer does not in any way obviate the fact that smoking has been risked to other diseases or maladies such as heart disease, lung cancer, strokes, or degradation of blood circulation. All of these conditions are just as life-threatening as bladder cancer.

One significant factor seems to be that dosage amounts of alcohol do not seem to correlate with the propensity of re-occurrence. In fact, this study seemed to show that among moderate to heavy drinkers, the re-occurrence rate was unaffected. If one were to take this at face value, one could conclude that any drinking at all increases the chances of bladder cancer coming back.

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

Tags: cancer patient, lung cancer

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My name is Zoë Routh, I am the Head Coach at Inner Compass. I am also a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in March 2005, and it is now nearly two years since I underwent treatment.

As I was getting good test results last week - my CAT scan was all clear – I received emails from two friends. One was also diagnosed with cervical cancer with additional tumours in her ovaries. She is having her tubes and ovaries removed and being scheduled for radiation and chemotherapy treatment. My other friend let me know her mother has been diagnosed with cancer on her gall bladder that has spread to her liver and intestines. She is undergoing surgery at this moment.

What struck me was that even though I am out of the woods with my own cancer and feel fit and healthy, others are just starting their journey. I realised what I went through and what I learned might be of use to others.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer recently, or have a loved one who has, then this article is for you.

My story

I was diagnosed in March 2005 with cervical cancer, just 4 days after getting engaged. The treatment recommended initially was a full hysterectomy. Luckily there was a new surgery called a radical trachelectomy available to younger women who wanted to maintain fertility. This involved the removal of the cervix, but left the uterus and ovaries – most of the reproductive equipment. Of the 100 or so women who have had the surgery about 70% were able to conceive and deliver, through caesarean section. So baby-making is still possible for me, though I am not yet out of the 2 year clearing time the doctor recommended.

After surgery they discovered additional tumours in the lymph nodes they removed. The doctors recommended four courses of chemotherapy, cysplatin to be precise, just to be sure that they knock any remaining cancer on its head. Cysplatin is a pretty heavy drug, and had some serious effects – I felt nauseous and horrible for a good ten days after each round. My last treatment was on August 8th 2005. I ran a marathon 7 months later. This sounds surreal to me now, but at the time, running a marathon was exactly what I needed for a new focus on living and life.

However, dealing with a diagnosis was the first step. It is my intention that this article and the accompanying audio helps anyone else who is facing a diagnosis get through the first few weeks.

Here is a whole bunch of stuff you can do and think and experience to help you - pick what feels right to you. The first thing to do is to try and reduce all the stress in your life as much as possible. You need to be calm, relaxed to cope with what is ahead of you.

How to cope?

First of all, know that as long as you are breathing, you are ok. Start from there. Breathe. Affirm you are alive and you are ok. Breathe.

Eat right. I saw a nutritionist very soon after my diagnosis. I already had a pretty good diet: I was a vegetarian and a runner, but knew that I wanted to do everything I could to promote healing. It also gave me some sort of control over the process as my life got taken over by medical appointments, test results, and treatments.

Eat plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. Eliminate anything that is a stressor on your system - reduce or eliminate alcohol, sugar, cigarettes, and caffeine. See a nutritionist or go to a health food store for which vitamins to take. Extra doses of Vitamin B, C, selenium, were all good for me. Make sure you consult a professional for the correct dosages.

Exercise. Keep your body moving gently as much as you are able with your surgery and treatments. Gentle stretching is good - keep connected to your body. Exercise helps the lymph system to operate, helps the lungs and heart to do their jobs and pump out toxins. It also helps you connect with your body, to feel alive. Movement gives you energy as well.

Meditate. Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I always knew that meditation was supposed to be good for you, but I never did anything about it. Willing to give everything a go to promote my healing, I started meditating. This was such a blessing –it helped me release a lot of emotional stress and I felt so calm and relaxed and peaceful afterwards. You can use relaxation tapes, or meditation cds, whether this is just nice music, or a guided visualisation, or just lying down and relaxing. The idea is to center yourself and calm yourself down - feel connected to the source of life energy that is in all of us, in all of the world around us.

Visualise. This was a great way to stay focussed. After surgery I could barely walk two steps, whereas the week before I had run 38km. This could have discouraged me, but instead I chose to focus on what I wanted my body to do for me. I imagined myself running again, feeling fit, free, and full of energy. This helped me get out of bed every day and shuffle a few more feet down the corridor. Even though my current body was not capable of much, in my mind’s eye I felt myself running and bounding about the hills, feeling full of life. Every day I got stronger, and every day I visualised my body the way I intended to be. Like I said, 7 months later I ran a marathon.

Read some good books. One of the first things I did was go to the bookstore. I wanted to educate myself about my disease and learn from people who had gone through similar experiences. I bought a ton of books on how to heal yourself, cancer journeys etc. The best ones I found were Lance Armstrong’s “It’s not about the bike”, Brandon Bays’s “The Journey”, Louise Hay’s “You can heal your life”, Paul Kraus’s “Living with cancer”, Petrea King’s “Quest for Life”, Petrea King’s, “Your Life Matters”. Each of these had something different to teach me. Just go to the bookstore and go the health section or self-help section and buy the books that appeal to you.

Get a massage, often. Massage is another way to relax and helps the body to heal itself by moving fluid, lymph, and releasing stored emotional energy. You can also use another type of healing energy practitioner - maybe a kinesiologist, or cranial sacral therapist, or reiki practitioner. Find someone you trust and enjoy. The whole point is to feel good.

Use a Journal. There is so much that goes on in your head and heart with a cancer diagnosis. Some of it you may want to share, and a lot you probably do not. In any case, purging your head and heart of the all the thoughts that are going around and around and screaming at you inside your head allows you to release a lot of energy and turmoil. Write everything you feel and think down. The worst thing you can do is let it all run around in your head - this makes everything worse. Writing gives a relief and a release to your thoughts and emotions. Get them out - let them go.

Let people know what is going on. People who love you want to help. They really do. Tell them how to - to call you if you want to talk, to visit. Let their love in to your life - let them bring flowers, cookies, books - whatever - feel their love and appreciation of you. Be grateful for all of this.

Feel Gratitude. The moment I started to look around and appreciate what I saw and experienced, then my cancer journey started to change for me. It happened when I was going through chemotherapy. I had a lot of time at home on my own. I looked out the window every day and just watched the sunlight on the trees. Then the sky. Then the birds. And I started to feel grateful for seeing them, and having the time to appreciate them. Then I started to think about all the wonderful things that happened to me, all the beautiful people in my life, all the great adventures I had had. And I started to feel this amazing flood of good feelings. I started to realise that cancer had opened me up to all this wonderful good stuff that had been there all along, but I had not necessarily appreciated before. Then I started to feel grateful for all the things cancer was doing for me: it allowed me to slow down and take a time out for six months, it allowed me to really choose how I wanted to live going forward, it helped me clarify what was most important to me. I realised that it was a terrific gift. The process was arduous, and yet the gifts were golden.

Practice and feel grateful for the little and big things. Notice the beauty around you. Notice the sunlight on the trees. Be grateful for that. Find joy and delight in the life around you.

Stop doing anything that does not support you. Stop doing things that are ’shoulds’ in your life. Do only what gives you pleasure and joy.

Watch funny movies. Laugh your guts out. Rent all the Leslie Neilson (Police Academy) etc you can handle. Laugh laugh laugh! Laughter actually produces some chemicals in your body that promote healing. It also feels really really good.

Get yourself a copy of the Secret DVD - available at www.wildlywealthy.com in Australia and at www.amazon.com elsewhere. This is a VERY powerful movie. There is a woman on it who healed herself of breast cancer through self-love.

I have a few articles on my website about my cancer journey. Read them if you feel so inspired. They are under the ‘resources/free articles’ section.

Don’t give up your doctors. As you embrace the healing journey you are on, take their form of healing along with the spiritual side of things. All forms of healing have a place and can help you to return to health.

It is ok to be scared. It is ok to be sad. It is ok to be angry. Let yourself feel all of this and more - just let yourself feel. Let it pass through you and drain from you. It will leave you feeling purged and cleansed. Get in touch with who you really are - you are love and pure energy at the core. Feel that. Love that.

Cancer is not a death sentence - it is a call to live. It is a call for you to love yourself and to feel yourself healed from all your past wrongs, all your past regrets, all your past mistakes. Cancer gives you permission to let go of all the crap in your life and acknowledge all of the good things.

Cancer can be a gift for you, if you choose it to be so. Give yourself permission to take a break. Give yourself permission to slow right down, to pause, and to just simply be.

It is my sincere wish for you that you discover once more your joy, health, and love of life. I don’t know what will happen on your journey; no one knows how long each of us has, with cancer or without. The most important thing is that we savour it. Remember, life is for living.

All good wishes for you,

Cancer survivor Zoë Routh is the Head Coach at Inner Compass. Zoë helps personal development enthusiasts create their own best life using the law of attraction. Zoë is the author of ebook Absolute Productivity – a handbook for your personal and professional life. Sign up for Compass Bearings - a free on line magazine for personal development enthusiasts who want easy new success strategies using the law of attraction. Get more free tips at innercompass.com.au innercompass.com.au

Tags: breast cancer, cervical cancer, chemotherapy, healing, selenium

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Many doctors and scientists believe that many cancers could be prevented with a good diet. Here are a few foods that have been shown to decrease the incidence of cancer.

Tomatoes
Tomatoes are loaded with vitamin C. They also contain lycopene, which may explain a recent popular Italian study finding that people who ate raw tomatoes at least seven times per week halved their risk of several cancers as compared to those who ate tomatoes no more than once a week. Tomatoes are also rich in coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid, which hook onto nitric oxides in the foods we eat and spirit them out of the body before they can form cancer-causing chemicals called notrosamines. Tomatoes and broccoli together have been shown to decrease the growth of tumors in prostate cancer.

Some controversy exists regarding the effects of tomatoes on reducing the risk for cancer as recent research in the May, 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention showed that lycopene did not prevent cancer of the prostate. In fact the study also showed that beta carotene was associated with more aggressive prostate cancer. So you can see there are conflicting results regarding tomatoes and cancer.

Oranges and Lemons
Oranges and lemons contain limonene which raises level of naturally occurring enzymes thought to break down carcinogens and stimulate cancer-killing immune cells. Citrus fruits also contain glucarase, which inactivates carcinogens. One study showed that limonene caused regression of tumors in breast cancer. (1)

Grapes and Raspberries
Grapes and raspberries contain ellagic acid which blocks the body’s production of enzymes used by cancer cells. Apples may get prime billing in folklore, but researchers say grapes are packed with chemicals such as phenols and antioxidants that may prevent blood clots. And a natural fungicide found in grapes called reveratrol slows the buildup of LDL cholesterol.

Garlic and Onions
In China, people who eat large amounts of garlic and onions cut their risk of stomach caner by as much as 40%. A study published in the January, 1994 issue of The American Journal of Epidemiology examined the diets of more than 41,000 women in Iowa and showed that those who added garlic to their diet at least once per week reduced their risk of colon cancer by 35%. The chemical thought to be responsible for the effects of garlic and onions is allium.

Chili Peppers
Chili peppers contain capsaicin. Capsaicin may neutralize the carcinogenic effect of cancer causing nitrosamines. It may also block the carcinogens in cigarette smoke from locking onto DNA. The hotter the pepper the more capsaicin it contains.

Soybeans
Soybeans are rich in a chemical called genistein. Genistein fights cancer in several ways. One way is that it looks like estrogen and occupies the binding sites for estrogen. It also may prevent small blood vessels from forming around tumors.

Broccoli and Cabbage
Contain enzymes and indoles. Indoles affect the metabolism of estrogen, prompting the body to make benign forms of the hormone that inhibits the growth of breast cancer.

The American diet which is so high in fats, meats and dairy products is in dire need of an overhaul. Adding or increasing the amounts of these foods is an important step in reducing the risk of cancer.

References:

1. Jill D. Haag, Mary J. Lindstrom and Michael N. Gould: Limonene-induced Regression of Mammary Carcinomas. Cancer Research 52, 4021-4026, July 15, 1992

For more information visit Dr. Forciea’s site at: informationalhealing.com informationalhealing.com
Free newsletter, free guided imagery podcast/mp3, free New Age music downloads.

Tags: breast cancer, colon cancer, healing, prevent cancer, prostate cancer

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