So what has Prostate Cancer got to do with Polio?

Nothing - except that it is the second most common cause of cancer death in Australian men today.  10,000 men in Australia are diagnosed with prostrate cancer every year (ie 1 in every 11 men) and 2,500 of them die annually.

In our polio family population this is becoming more common too - not only in actual polio men, but it is affecting us as well in loss of husbands and other family members.  I am getting asked more frequently about it also.

So the message here is - that it is another health area in which we need more self-care, like our polio.

Our President, Dr Niblett has a special interest in this, as his area of expertise - radiation oncology, is one of the treatment options for this disease -  but he would rather not have you turn up needing his help in this way.
 

This will determine your best treatment options.  Early detection is the key to overcoming prostate cancer. The five-year survival rate among men whose prostate cancer is caught early is 100 percent.

As at least one of our members has recently found, despite having regular annual PSA tests, a large jump in PSA score from one year to the next may indicate a more aggressive prostate cancer that is life threatening.  By establishing a baseline PSA, the doctor is better able to monitor levels and so make informed decisions about your treatment needs.

Surgery is commonly used in treating prostate cancer, and there are a number of different surgical approaches depending on the severity of the disease.  One of the most common procedures is radical prostatectomy, in which the prostate and adjacent lymph nodes are removed. Some men suffer from complications such as urinary incontinence and impotence as a result of undergoing radical prostatectomy.
Doctors can rely on radiation therapy – the use of high-beam X-ray to kill cells - to destroy prostate cells.

Newer types of radiation therapy include the insertion of radioactive pellets directly into the prostate.  The pellets release targeted, localized radiation over a period of time. Other technologies allow radiologists to deliver radiation directly to the cancerous area. This ensures that healthy tissues are left untouched by the radiation.

Hormone therapy is also used to treat prostate cancer when surgery and radiation alone cannot stop its progression, or before surgery and radiation begin.  The goal of hormone therapy is to block the production of testosterone, which most prostate cancers need to stay alive.

While hormone therapy can slow the growth of the tumour and reduce its size, it also has significant side effects, including impotence, loss of libido and osteoporosis. Careful consideration must be given to the timing of hormone therapy.  In addition, some prostate cancer cells are not dependent on testosterone for growth or survival.

One of our members tells me he has had success with reducing an elevated PSA by eating more tomato, beetroot and red capsicum.   A sluggish bowel can raise PSA levels, so taking magnesium to bowel tolerance (for tight muscles and cramps) could be doing more for men than we first thought.  Other foods that can help are avocado, tomato sauce, watermelon, red clover, cabbage family greens, pumpkin, watercress, spinach, garlic & onion.

Nutrients needed include zinc, selenium, boron, essential fatty acids, Vit A, Vit D, Vit E.  Exercise is essential too.

Here are some interesting studies from the internet.

4/4/2002  Exposure to Sunlight Lowers Risks of Cancers Occupational and Environmental Medicine - from the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, Maryland.
“Dr Michael Freedman and colleagues at the NCI Radiation Epidemiology Branch point out it is well established that exposure to sunlight contributes to non-melanoma skin cancer. By contrast, several ecological studies suggest that sunlight may protect against female breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancer, all diseases that contribute to a substantially higher proportion of cancer mortality."

 7/21/03   Pizza Prevents Cancer? It's Part of the Mediterranean Diet -
"Gallus and colleagues sifted through diet surveys completed by 5,500 Italians ... regular pizza eaters had 34% less risk of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer, 59% less risk of esophageal cancer, and 25% less risk of colon & prostate cancer ... Italian pizza is less than 50% crust, 20% tomato sauce, 20% mozzarella cheese, and 4% olive oil ... There's less refined carbohydrates, plus cooked tomatoes, which are a rich source of lycopene, a natural chemical that has been shown in numerous studies to protect against cancer ... We think that there's a specific compound in cooked tomatoes that is protective"

“Also important:- Italian pizza contains olive oil in the dough and on the pizza. The monounsaturated fats in olive oil are also considered protective against cancer.”

5 April 2001   Red wine, almonds, coffee, and certain fruits and nuts rich in a nutrient called boron may help stave off prostate cancer. Medical News Reviewed by Gary Vogin MD 
“While researchers are not sure exactly how boron lowers risk for prostate cancer, the new study shows that men who consumed the greatest amount of boron were 64% less likely to develop prostate cancer, when compared with men who consumed the least amount of boron in the study. Findings presented at the Experimental Biology Conference Orlando, Fla.”