Cancer Treatment Reviews

Prostate cancer is the leading cancer among men in North America. Early detection is important since the outlook for successful treatment is very high with the earlier cancer stages. Prostate cancer can grow very slowly or be very aggressive, so your urologist will want to check your PSA levels and do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and monitor the disease. Younger men (50-80) faced with prostate cancer are often concerned with significant side effects after treatment. Radiation and surgery can often result in incontinence and impotence. General health, age and the stage of the cancer will also impact the treatment decision.

There are many options for prostate cancer treatment and recovery. The traditional treatments like surgery and radiation are still popular, but urologists are also recommending alternative treatment options including HIFU or High Intensity Focused Ultrasound.

HIFU is a prostate cancer treatment option that uses the heat from the ultrasound waves to kill the cancer in the prostate. The waves are focused and precise up to 1/10thof a millimeter. A specially trained urologist uses a computer controlled rectal probe to recreate a 3D image of the prostate on screen and fires 600-700 pin point accurate ultrasound rays to the targets on the prostate. HIFU can treat the prostate with minimal damage to surrounding tissues and organs. It is also non-invasive and non-surgical, done under a general or local anesthesia.

An outpatient HIFU procedure is beneficial because it helps individuals recover from the disease with fewer significant side effects than other prostate cancer options such as radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy surgery. In fact, no deaths have been reported with the HIFU type of treatment. More quality of life can be maintained after outpatient HIFU treatment is complete as it is much easier on the body. Continue Reading

Prostate cancer is the number one cancer affecting men in North America. The risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age, lifestyle and family history. While there is nothing you can do about aging, you can make some lifestyle changes that will help with prevention.

For better prostate health, avoid foods that are high in fat, like meats and dairy, that can elevate testosterone levels and can stimulate prostate cell enlargement and growth. Minimize alcohol consumption. Certain foods can also help prevent prostate cancer and slow down the growth.

Increase your intake of soy – use it to replace high fat foods like red meats and cheese. Increase your zinc by eating foods like pumpkin seeds in the shell, nuts, oysters and beans. Selenium is also important and can be found in tuna, eggs, shellfish, wheat germ, herring, kelp, onions, garlic, mushrooms, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and cashews.

Exercise is very important for prostate health. It helps improve circulation and blood flow to the prostate gland. It also helps digestion which includes the removal of waste. Exercising also helps to keep the weight off since obesity leads to an increased risk. Be sure to get enough sleep as well. It helps with stress levels and allows the body to repair itself. Continue Reading

Did you know that nearly 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year? Quite alarming if you come to think of it. But most of the cases are actually low-grade. That means the tumors are slow-growing and small. So slow and small that there really is not much threat to life. In fact, most of these men will probably die of something else before the cancer even starts to get them.

However, most men with low-grade cancer immediately jump into traditional prostate cancer treatments such as surgery or radiation therapy. Without being fully aware of the possible consequences. Or they may be aware of them, but they just didn’t understand how great the impact will be. More out of sense of getting it out and over with rather than a logical approach to their problem.

Afterwards they are stuck with leading miserable sex lives on top of their unending runs to the bathroom. Which they could have avoided had they decided to consider watchful waiting and just treat the cancer as it progresses – if it progresses.

Let’s say you have been diagnosed with low-grade, slow-growing prostate cancer. Which would you choose? To deal with the side effects of treatment or maintain your quality of life? You see you actually have an option to set aside these conventional treatments and just turn to them when the time comes. If and when you need to. But for now? Just enjoy your life as it is.

This we call – watchful waiting.

What is Watchful Waiting?
Watchful waiting or active surveillance is one option for managing prostate cancer. It means deciding not to resort to traditional treatments like radiation, surgery, and seed implants just yet. Continue Reading