Cancer Treatment Information and Resources

Prostate cancer was first identified in 1853, and can only occur in men since prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system. According to the survey of the American Cancer Society, this illness is most common in the United States, where it is the main cause of cancer related deaths, after lung cancer. This cancer is least common in South and East Asia.

Prostate cancer is a disease that comes into existence due to mutation of the cells of the prostate which begin to multiply uncontrollably. The prostate glands require androgenes, male hormones, to function properly. If caught in its early stage, prostate cancer can be cured in 90% of the cases.

Symptoms of prostate cancer vary, and sometimes do not clearly indicate cancer. The person with discomfort and disease has to undergo a thorough examination to determine the underlying cause of these occurrences. Nevertheless, many men having developed this illness will never find out about it, will not undergo any treatment, and will die of other causes as this disease is forming in the later part of life. The disease is typical of men over 50 years of age, thus many are apt to die of other causes while the cancer slowly advances and spreads to other parts of their body. Due to this factor the selection of the right treatment is at times difficult.

If a man experiences an urge or need to urinate frequently, especially at night, or if he is facing difficulty starting or holding back urine, if his urine has a disturbed or weak flow accompanied with a painful, burning feeling when urinating, there is a high probability of him developing prostate cancer. It affects a man's sexual life as well.

In some cases a person with this disease will face problems of erection, and painful ejaculation. Cancer cells may spread, i.e., metastasize to other parts of the body, mainly to the lymph nodes, which help in destroying bacteria, and to the bones. Similarly with problems of the female reproductive system, men also feel pain, stiffness in the lower back, and upper thighs.

Diagnosis of the disease sometimes happens when an individual undergoes physical examination or screening blood tests. Particular of these tests is PSA, i.e., prostate specific antigen test. If a patient is suspected of having developed cancer, he will have biopsy, a test during which a piece of the prostate will be removed and examined under a microscope. Various other tests may be performed, like bone scans and X-rays to determine whether the cancer cells have spread elsewhere in the body.

Curing and treatment have various methods. One of these is chemotherapy, in which chemical substances are used for treating. Nowadays, catatonic drugs are used during chemotherapy. Besides, there are other ways of treatment which can be combined with each other, or with chemotherapy itself, these being surgery, hormone therapy, and radiation therapy.

After all, the outcome of the therapy depends on various factors, like for example the age and current health of the man, the extent of the spreading of the infected cells, and the appearance under the microscope, and the response of the cells while treatment all determine the result and outcome of prostate cancer disease.

The specific causes of prostate cancer are yet unknown. The risk of a man developing this disease depends on his age, genetics, race, lifestyle, which includes diet as well, and medication. According to surveys carried out in the United States, this cancer affects mainly black men, rather than white or Hispanic men. Surveys also show that daily use of anti-inflammatory medicines, such as aspirin, may decrease the risk of cancer.

Prevention of the disease has been proven to be possible by scientists. Taking dietary supplements, like vitamin E and selenium, may help prevent the disease from forming if taken daily. Still, a thousands of years old prevention has been proven helpful, namely the consumption of green tea. It is 100% safe and can be taken in any quantity.

It is crucial that every man has an early check-up of his health in identifying cancer at the beginning stage.

Action taken in time can save your life!

There was a girl who was in the advanced stages of brain cancer and her mother asked her oncologist if it was ok to give her a special food called “Blue Green Algae”

Her medic told her that it was no problem, that, in fact, a lot of his clients had used that supplement with success in battling cancer.

Naturally she wondered why he didn’t tell her about this product initially, when they first came to him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell her about this or any “natural or alternative health therapies” and stay employed. Insurance regulations would ban such suggestions. And he could get into administrative trouble by recommending natural, non-drug treatments for cancer.

Through his training and background he is controlled by a large medical industry that makes huge profits supplying expensive cancer fighting treatments and drugs. They do not look favorably on “Unproven” natural supplements that they cannot patent.

Read more

It is a widely known fact that you should be eating fruits and vegetables for a balanced diet. In addition, studies have shown that the regular consumption of fruits and vegetables in place of meats can help prevent the onset of many diseases. Eating fruits and vegetables have been said to help in cancer prevention. Two examples of such fruits and vegetables that help prevent prostate cancer are quoted here:

Tomatoes

There is increasing evidence to support that the consumption of tomato and tomato-based products helps prevent prostate cancer. This is because tomatoes contain a particular substance known as lycopene. While lycopene is found in a variety of different sources, it is abundant in tomatoes. Additionally, somehow, the nutrients contained in the fruit help the body assimilate lycopene more readily.

Lycopene is apparently a very powerful antioxidant. During normal cellular processes, your immune system uses free radicals to mop out any foreign invaders like germs and bacteria. However, trouble starts if the free radicals are allowed to roam the body unchecked. They will eventually start attacking healthy cells, making them cancerous. These cancerous cells will then start to spread throughout the whole body. Antioxidants are substances that clean up excess free radicals. They therefore play a very critical role to help prevent prostate cancer.

Here are some interesting findings. The maximum benefits of lycopene appear to come from processed tomato products such as ketchup and tomato sauce. Scientists do not appear to know why but lycopene levels in processed tomatoes are found to be higher than in natural ones. These findings are not completely verified, however.

By all means, include ketchup and real tomatoes in your diet if you wish to prevent prostate cancer. Based on statistics, consuming at least two servings of lycopene a week can reduce your risk of getting prostate cancer by as much as 30%.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Substances that are known to cause cancers are known as called carcinogens. You may not be aware of this but we ingest carcinogens on a daily basis. Carcinogens are toxins that can also be found in the air that we breathe. Luckily, your body has a natural defence mechanism against carcinogens. Using protective proteins, the body cleans up the carcinogens before they can do any real harm. Cancer only starts when the protective proteins are removed or rendered useless.

To maintain the health of these protective proteins, researchers now advocate the regular consumption of cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables include brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and bok choy. These vegetables contain sulforaphane, a compound that strengthens the protective proteins. When sulforaphane is available within the body, the activities of the proteins increase. They become more efficient in dealing with carcinogens and thus slow down cancerous growth.

To get an adequate supply of sulforaphane, you should have at least 5 servings a week of cruciferous vegetables. A long term study show that men who eat cruciferous vegetables on a regular basis show a reduction of 20% less risk on having prostate cancer.

Thus, if you wish to prevent prostate cancer or reduce the risk of being diagnosed with one, consider including more tomatoes, broccoli and brussel sprouts in your diet today. There are many ways to prepare these fruits and vegetables to make them more palatable ; in salads, stews, juices, stir fried, boiled or baked.

The study of prostate cancer has come a long way since its identification in 1853. Information concerning diagnostic methods, treatment options and even the pathophysiological characteristics of this condition has been provided in useful details by researchers, but the specific causes of prostate cancer remain unknown up to this day.

The causes of prostate cancer, or any other type of cancer for that matter, have remained a mystery to those who are studying the disease. Despite being able to explain the process by which cancer of the prostate develops, the exact reasons behind the condition's occurrence remain a challenge to cancer researchers.

Cancer of the prostate is a condition that affects only men. The prostate gland, which is part of the male reproductive system, helps make and store seminal fluid. It surrounds part of the urethra and is located under the urinary bladder and in front of the rectum. Its position allows it to influence the processes of urination, ejaculation and defecation.

Although the causes of cancer of the prostate have yet to be fully understood, scientists were able to identify some of the factors associated with the risk of developing this condition. A man's chances of developing prostate cancer are influenced by his age, genes, race, diet, lifestyle and the medications that he is taking. Cancer of the prostate is quite uncommon in men aged below 45. However, the chances of developing prostate cancer increase as a man ages. Based on statistics gathered on prostate cancer patients, 70 is the average age of diagnosis.

Prostate cancer is a slow developing condition. Some men who have it never even knew that they had the condition and they could die of other causes before their cancer manifests itself. But a man who has a first degree relative, like a brother or a father, who has been diagnosed with this condition is believe to have a higher chance of developing prostate cancer, particularly if the relative was diagnosed at an early age.

Among the races, African Americans have been known to account for the highest percentage of diagnosed cases of prostate cancer. Asians, on the other hand, recorded the least number of diagnosed cases. Researchers speculate that this might be due to the difference between the diet and lifestyle of Western and Asian men. Westerners usually take in more red meat while Asians are more likely to eat vegetables and fruits. Men who have higher levels of the short chain fatty acid linolenic acid have also been found to have higher rates of cancer in the prostate. Other dietary factors that have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer include low intake of elements such as vitamin E, lycopene, omega-3 fatty acids and selenium.

In terms of genetics, no single gene has yet to be proven to be responsible for the development of prostate cancer, although BRCA1 and BRCA2, both risk factors for ovarian cancer and breast cancer in women, have been implicated.

Although the causes of prostate cancer have not yet been fully identified, there is high hope that the exact process that governs this disease will eventually be understood and prevention methods will be developed to lessen the number of men suffering from this condition.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women. It affects approximately one out of eleven to twelve women at some stage of their life. Next to lung cancer, breast cancer is the second most fatal cancer in women. The breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, that is why breast cancer can also occur in males but the incidence is very low, less than one percent.

What is breast cancer? The disease occurs when the cells in the breast begin to grow uncontrollably and invade the nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors may grow larger but do not spread to other parts of the body, they are not cancerous. They are rarely life threatening, and generally benign tumors can be removed and don't usually grow back. Malignant tumors on the other hand, can invade and destroy nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body, they are cancerous. They may be life threatening. They can be removed but they sometimes grow back. Cells from malignant tumors can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells spread by breaking away from the original or primary tumor and entering the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The cells invade other organs and form new tumors that damage these organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

When the cells spread, they are often found in lymph nodes near the breast. It can also spread to almost any part of the body; the most common are the bones, liver, lungs, and brain. This new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same primary tumor, which results to different types of cancer.

What are the risk factors of breast cancer? The exact cause of this disease cannot be determined but doctors often explain why one woman develops breast cancers and another does not. One thing is for sure, bumping, bruising, or touching the breast does not cause cancer. It is also not contagious. Research has shown that women with certain risk factors are more likely to develop the disease. Here are some risk factors for breast cancer:

Age. As a woman gets older the chances of getting the disease goes up. Most cases occur in women over 60. The disease is not common before menopause.

Personal history of breast cancer. If a woman has had breast cancer on one of her breast, there is an increased rate of getting cancer on the other breast.

Family history. If a family member has had breast cancer, like the mother, sister or daughter, or other relatives (either the mother's or father's side) the risk of breast cancer is higher.

Certain Breast Changes. Some women have abnormal cells in the breast called, atypical hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ, increases the risk of breast cancer.

Gene Changes. Changes in genes increases the risk of breast cancer, this includes BRCA1, BRCA2, and others.

Reproductive and Menstrual History. The older the woman is when she has her first child increases the chance of having the disease. Women who had their first menstrual period before age 12, women who went through menopause after age 55, women who never had children, women who take menopausal hormone therapy with estrogen plus progestin, have risk to having breast cancer.

Race. More often, the cancer is diagnosed in white women than Latin, Asian, or African American women.

Other risk factors include: radiation therapy to the chest before age 30, breast density (more dense or fatty tissue are at increased risk), taking DES (diethylstilbestrol), being overweight or obese, lack of physical activity and alcohol. Other possible risk factors are under study, including certain substances in the environment.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer? Unfortunately, early stages of this disease may not have symptoms. Following screening recommendations or having regular breast check-ups is important. As a tumor grows in size, it produces a variety of symptoms that include:
* lump or thickening in the breast or underarm
* change in size or shape of the breast
* nipple discharge or nipple turning inward
* redness or scaling of the skin or nipple
* ridges or pitting of the breast skin

Having or experiencing these symptoms may not necessarily mean that you have breast cancer, but you need to be examined by a doctor. Early detection and treatment of the disease if diagnosed can save you from illness or maybe even death.