A good example, one might suppose, is the higher incidence of prostate cancer in the industrialized nations of the West as against the incidence of the melanoma in Third World countries. For some reason, South America, Africa, and Asia do not suffer from prostate cancer as much as the United States, Canada, and certain parts of Europe do. Of course it is possible that there are various other environmental factors that might contribute to these statistics, but so far studies have strongly implicated treated foods and high calorie diets as contributory to the incidence of prostate cancer.

It is thereby no error of chance that diet is listed as a primary (casual) risk factor for prostate cancer; and in that light, you might want to pay attention to what the oncologist suggests and start to work on your diet. Better still, perhaps you should not wait until then before you get at it; instead you could begin right away and start to work on helping yourself live a longer healthier life in spite of your risk of prostate cancer, or diagnosis thereof.

First of all, you want to increase your intake of vitamin E, which is critical in forming red blood cells and muscles and tissues in your body. In addition, vitamin E has antioxidant properties that inhibit the dangerous oxidation of free radicals in your body that have been implicated as cancer causing agents. You will get your vitamin E abundant in vegetable oils, wheat germ, liver, and leafy green vegetables. You might also want to look around for sources of the mineral selenium, an element found in tiny amounts in plants and yeasts and associated with lowered risk of prostate cancer.

Lycopene is another dietary supplement that you should totally pick up because of its well known healing effects for prostate cancer patients. Also rich with antioxidant qualities, you will obtain it primarily from tomatoes, and you can also get lycopene from broccoli. You will need to work on your vitamin D sources as well, if you will hope to effectively cure yourself of prostate cancer. It is a mineral that essentially protects the body from the effects of low calcium intake and also lowers the risk of prostate cancer, while also lowering your PSA levels.

And while you are taking on all these new diet supplements for prostate cancer patient, you might want to do away with dairy, low-fat milk and other dairy products that have a vitamin A palmitate constituent. The substance has been shown to contribute to the risk of prostate cancer because it reacts with zinc and protein to form an unabsorbable complex. In the same breath, you want to do away with diets rich in animal fats, red meat, and high fat dairy products; what you need really is just a vegan diet, and some fish, and you will cure faster.

Prostatectomy is basically the surgical removal of the prostate or parts of it. It may be employed for various infections and disorders of the prostate, principally benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), but in the treatment of prostate cancer, it is often aimed toward curing the disease at its earliest stages before it gets a chance to spread. It is also considered for cancers that fail to respond to radiation therapy. The surgeon can do the operation by making an incision through the abdomen of the patient to remove the tumor, or by making the incision through the perineum – the skin between the scrotum and the anus.

A radical prostatectomy is often advised when the tumors have not spread beyond the prostate, and a laparoscopic prostatectomy, which assures a shorter stay in the hospital, smaller incisions, and faster recovery than traditional standard prostatectomies may be employed if the surgeon is indeed properly trained and has a surgical robot to boot. A transurethral resection works well for BPH, while cryosurgery is currently the acclaimed champion of prostate cancer surgeries (even though it is still in research) because it virtually guarantees less invasiveness, less requirement for general anesthesia, causes fewer problems with urinary control, and superior to radical prostatectomy for recurrent prostate cell malignancy following radiation therapy.

Howbeit, best surgery for prostate cancer included, these operations more often than not, tend to leave the patient impotent. They still feel sensations in the genital area, and they are still able to achieve orgasm, but the ability of the man to attain erection and to ejaculate at the climax of intercourse is often impaired by the time the prostate cancer surgery is over.

It is a fact that many men opt for surgery still even after they are informed that they could become impotent as a result to the treatment; but they are not necessarily excited about it, and if they can, they would love to do something about it. Thankfully, there are treatments that can aid with achieving erection, the most popular of which is Viagra. It does not work for every patient, but it is at least a lifeline that they can try out first. Even if the doctors are unable to guarantee the quality of sperm, at least the patient out to still be able to have intercourse.

Hormone treatment is a helpful technique for managing certain cancers because several of them, especially the cancers of the male and female reproductive systems, depend heavily on gender specific sex hormones to breed and propagate. By denying the tumors the critical hormones that are required to fuel their growth, physicians are able to starve the melanomas such that they lose momentum and are curtailed. Then other therapies may be employed to do away with them.

There are two ways in which hormonal therapy can be used manage prostate cancer. One way is by actually carrying out a surgery to extract the gland in the body that produces the implicated hormone, which would be the adrenal gland in the male system that secretes testosterone and dihydorepiandrosterone. The second approach is to find an alternative means to stop or counter the production of these hormones. The use of estrogen patches for prostate cancer treatment is one such alternative approach.

Estrogen therapy for prostate cancer treatment usually uses any of the group of female sex hormones that stimulate secondary female sex characteristics and control growth of the lining of the uterus during the first part of the menstrual cycle (estrone, ethinyl estradiol, and estriol, all produced primarily in the ovaries) in the male body to counter the effect or production of adrenal endocrines to arrest the growth of prostate tumors either in oral form or in form of the contraceptive patch. Synthetic forms of these estrogens also exist, namely Stilbestrol and ethinyl estradiol, five and ten times as potent as estrone, and used to treat advanced and disseminated cancer of the prostate gland in men.

Estradiol is a specific estrogen that has found great use in this regard. Beyond merely relieving the discomforts of menopause, it also helps in treating breast and prostate cancer. The estradiol contraceptive patch is a small, plastic skin patch that women usually use to release low doses of female sex hormones into their system to prevent pregnancy. But more than that, it also helps to prevent the secretion of the adrenal hormones in the male reproductive system, so that the cancers of the prostate can be starved as required.

The application of this medication should however never be attempted without the guide of a certified doctor because they can advice best what doses of the patch is required to limit the side effects. You should be advised that hormonal treatment doesn’t exactly cure prostate cancer; it merely makes it easier to be treated by other therapies like surgery and radiation.

You see, it’s worth repeating that this type of cancer can be effectively treated and even cured using various ways. One of the ways includes the use of anti-depressant drugs. These drugs are found to be effective medication against prostate cancer. Anti-depressant are the drugs used for the treatment of depressions. Since prostate cancer causes hot flashes in hormone therapy, anti-depressants can be helpful.

One of the anti-depressant drugs is called celexa. It has a generic name of citopram. The celexa or citopram belongs to the anti-depressants class called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). The celexa is said to be effective in the condition.

A recent study undertaken by the sample of 18 patients of prostate cancer within 5 weeks shows that the compound called Paxil or paroxetine, which is present in celexa, is responsible for reducing the hot flashes cause by hormone therapy of prostate cancer.  This shows that celexa can be a solution to this type of cancer, if used properly.

Megace can also be used to treat prostate cancer. Most a times, patients undergoing hormone treatment take megace with Lupron or Zoladex and this help to eradicate prostate cancer to a certain degree. The prove shows that megace medication is effective. However, a specific study indicates that some patients who used this medication still develop cancer cells instead of having the cells destroyed. Thus, it can be said that megace medication works in some people while in some it doesn’t work. So, if you are taking megace, make sure it works in your body system to avoid progressive cancer cell development.

Anti- depressants drugs can indeed help with prostate cancer. You can use celexa or megace medication to deal with the cancerous-cells in your prostate. However, you should consult your doctor before going for any medication. No matter what you have read here or anywhere, it’s a good idea to confirm things with your doctor before you decide on what to do. Most of what you read online should serve as informational materials that must be confirmed with your doctor before taking action upon them, especially when it comes to your health.

Finasteride is used both to treat BPH – benign prostatic hyperplasia ? (in low doses), and for intervention with prostate cancer in higher doses. In May 2008, it was confirmed by a certain study that finasteride actually reduces the rate of occurrence of prostate cancer by as much as 30%. Adding that to the fact that it is also used in the treatment of male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia), one can suddenly see that the product has many health benefits.

Flutamide is also an antiandrogen, which is nonsteroidal in action and can be administered orally. It is a drug that is used to treat prostate cancer by competing with testosterone and DHT for binding to androgen receptors in the prostate gland. In this manner, flutamide prevents the two hormones from stimulating prostate cancer cells to grow, thence causing the carcinoma to shrink. Flutamide does have side effects that have resulted in improvements being made on the drug and it being rereleased as bicalutamide, due to a better side-effect profile.

When an experiment was carried out to determine which had better merits between a combined low-dose flutamide and finasteride therapy for recurrent prostate cancer, and a simple low-dose flutamide monotherapy, it was discovered that the “therapeutic value of low-dose flutamide alone or combined with finasteride as first-line agents in a possible graduated approach for treating PSA-only recurrent prostate cancer.”

Stated simply, this translates into the fact that there were no clear results observed. In any case, this was a comparative analysis of two phase II trials of the therapeutic concept with the intention of a long-term follow-up. There were some “unwanted metabolic effects” that were observed during the tests which are generally associated with traditional hormonal agents, but which also determined that phase III trials comparing both regimens with current therapies will be warranted.

The drugs work, but using them together has not been proven yet to be a better therapeutic approach than using then individually.

One of the biggest merits of chemotherapy is that it does not have to be restricted to one specific area of the patient’s body. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to administer the drugs that way. The medicines have to travel the extent of the patient’s body, killing every rapidly dividing cell in its path. This makes chemotherapy ideal for the treatment of metastatic cancers that are no longer situated at their organs of origin.

In the treatment of prostate cancer though, this big quality might be considered something of a handicap because this malignancy of the cells of the prostate gland is essentially a slow growing adenocarcinoma, in which the cells, although mutating and dividing more rapidly than they should, they are not too distinct from normal cells themselves. This is partly why there are no early symptoms for prostate type of cancer, but this is also why chemotherapy may not be applied in the early stages of the disease.

In prostate cancer treatment then, chemo is relegated to some kind of salvage therapy in which intervention is brought in when the cancerous cells have hit the patient’s bloodstream and started to metastasize to other parts of the body. Metastatic prostate carcinoma hits the lymphatic system first, causing swelling of the lymph nodes; and then it hits the pelvis, causing excruciating bone pain; and then it moves further out to the bones of the spinal column, the femur, the ribs, and maybe even the skull. But when that happens, chemotherapy can come to the rescue.

There is another problem here: late stage or advanced prostate cancer of this nature is not really considered be a curable condition, which is why this type of chemo is usually some kind of palliative measure, aimed more at extending the life of the patient and relieving the symptoms of metastatic disease. Even though chemo has the potential to cure the disease, and actually may do so in some extreme cases, doctors are never optimistic about such, and they make it clear in their weak prognosis.

Chemotherapy does have its side effects too, which result from the fact that the treatment generally affects rapidly dividing cells in the body. That is why several sufferers of prostate kind of cancer have to endure hair loss as well as a number of other symptoms when they undergo chemotherapy. But it is a small price to pay if the treatment can add another couple of lives for the patient to live.

Research has established that prostate cancer cells (even though their actual cause is not known or properly understood) depend in a large way on the male androgens to grow, essentially testosterone, dihydroepiandrosterone, and dihydrosterone (DHT). As such, hormone therapy, which is also referred to as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), or androgen suppression therapy (AST) is usually administered to men with the goal of reducing levels of the male hormones (androgens) in the body. Lowering these androgen levels has been found in many studies to make prostate cancer cells/tumors shrink or grow a lot more slowly.

It is an unfortunate fact that hormone therapy does not cure this disease because cancers that initially respond to the treatment tend to become resistant after one to two years. However, hormonal therapy can be used when cancer has spread from the prostate or for men undergoing radiation therapy or surgery to help prevent a relapse of the condition.

Also, if a patient is not able to have surgery or radiation, or if it is determined that the patient cannot be cured due to metastasis; or if the prostate malignancy remains or comes back after treatment with surgery or radiation therapy , hormone treatments are as close to ideal. Hormonal therapy can also be employed to try and shrink the cancer to make other treatments more effective

A surgical castration, or orchiectomy, is a hormone treatment operation to remove the testicles that produce testosterone in men, to make the hormone unavailable for prostate cancer growth and metastasis. It usually makes most prostate kind of cancers stop growing or shrink for a time. It may cause reduced or absent libido (sexual desire) and impotence, hot flashes, growth of breast tissue, osteoporosis, and a few other side effects, but the side effects can be prevented or treated.

The use to Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogs costs cost more than orcheictomy, but most men choose it because of the lesser invasiveness it offers. It lowers testosterone levels by lowering the levels of androgens made by the testicles; and it also causes hot flashes and osteoporosis, but anti-androgens for a few weeks when starting treatment with LHRH analogs can be a great deal of help.

Firstly, it is still pretty alarming to know the rate at which people die of prostate cancer. This type of cancer is among the top killers of all cancer types that affect men. Yes, recent statistics have revealed prostate type of cancer as the second killer of men, right after skin cancer. In America, African-American men have the highest number of cases diagnosed. Since the rate of deaths from prostate cancer patients has become alarming, medical researches have continued in various studies to develop more effective medications for this disease.

So far, the best treatments and medical procedures that have been developed in fighting prostate cancer are: radical prostatectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, cryotherapy, and Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADP), etc. These treatments have succeeded somewhat in providing relief and inhibit cancer growth in the victims. However, there are limitations to these treatments and this has led researchers to look for alternative medicines for fighting prostate cancer. Alternative Medicines are medications in the form of herbal supplements, nutritional supplements, exercises, physical therapies etc. Hence, they are procedures that do not follow the conventional method of treating prostate problems. Below are two very important reasons why alternative medicines are recommended:

1. The major reason why most research efforts are now channeled to adopt alternative prostate cancer medicine is because of the side effects of conventional or orthodox medicines. Undergoing treatment the conventional way brings about serious side effects, which might be dangerous than the cancer itself. Erectile dysfunction and even complete impotence are two such side effects. But it is agreed by experts in the alternative medicine debate that alternative treatments and medicines don’t have such side effects.

2. Alternative medicines are needed in fighting prostate cancer because they help the body to build up nutrients and boost the immune system. Some herbal and nutritional supplements assist the body to develop a stronger immune system, which will fight off any illness in the body. Moreover, the procedure of taking alternative medicine is simple and might save you the rigors of undergoing the procedures like prostatectomy, which is a more invasive approach.

So, alternative medicines are very effective in fighting prostate cancer because they have minimal side effects and help the body to build up the immune system, among other important reasons. But of course, no matter how wonderful the things are that you have heard about alternative solutions and even the many so-called wonder herbs that cure prostate cancer, you should thread with caution. It’s best to seek your doctor’s advice and guidance before using any of these so-called alternative herbal prostate cancer solutions.

To read specifically about Laser treatment for enlarged prostate, natural treatment for enlarged prostate or even microwave treatment of enlarged prostate, see the other “related articles” on this site for more information. With the 1,000+ articles on this website about prostate cancer, we are proud to say we have virtually every important topic and subject covered as very well written and highly informative and educative prostate cancer articles!

Zoladex is a prostate cancer hormonal treatment drug that is employed as a super agonist in the treatment of primary prostate cancer tumors, preferably in the early stages of the disease. It is comprised of a chemical substance known as goserelin acetate, and otherwise referred to as AstraZeneca in parts of the United States and in other developed countries of the West in which prostate cancer is highly incident and treatment techniques are relatively advanced.

Zoladex is injectable, a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), also known as a lutenizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist, used to suppress production of the male sex hormone testosterone in the treatment of the disease. Zoladex has also found quite some degree of use in breast cancer treatment because it limits the production of the female sex hormone estrogen.

Cancer cells, it has been found, tend to feed on sex hormones in the human body, especially estrogen for breast cancer, and testosterone for prostate cancer. It is found that as long as this hormone is in full swing in the human body, so is the tumor, and the patient is thus at higher risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer, a problematic stage of the disorder.

This is the concept on which hormonal prostate cancer treatment is based, to shut down the body’s production of testosterone and starve the tumors to death, effectively stopping them from spreading and causing existing tumors to shrink. Once they have shrunk, they may be observed in that manner so as not to risk the potential complications of prostate surgery, or they could be removed by either that surgery, or by radiation therapy.

Using Zoladex to treat prostate cancer is by no means a new thing in the management of the cancerous disease. As a super agonist of the gonadotropin-releasing or the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (GnRH or LHRH), it may initially result in increased testosterone secretion, but shortly after, inhibit testosterone manufacture is inhibited and the prostate tumors shrink.

This prostate cancer hormone Zoladex drug has to be acquired in the United States only with a prescription from a licensed healthcare professional, and its pack comes with a syringe applicator that is equipped with a protective sleeve, or SafeSystem, to reduce and prevent needlestick injuries to the administering physician.

The choice to administer this treatment is a tough one for the doctor in charge of treating the prostate cancer patient because this kind of hormonal treatment rarely ever completely ‘cures’ the tumor. It shrinks it, and if it is continued the tumor remains shrunk for the greater part of eighteen months or two year. After this, the malignancy becomes resistant to the hormone treatment and could resume growth.

Knowing this, you should discuss what options are best for you to complete your treatment once you have started on Zolodex. It could be the doctor really believes that the cancer will go into complete remission; but it could also be the relapsing type, in which case you might need that surgery or radiotherapy.

Prostate cancer immune therapy is pretty much done in the same as way as any other kind of immune therapy, save in the part of the drugs that are administered ? the drugs boost your body’s immune system to fight the cancers off by itself. It relies on several antibodies, which are all naturally occurring proteins that are dedicated to defending your body against invasion by foreign substances. In one kind of prostate cancer immunotherapy, the antibodies are used to attack the tumor cells directly; in another kind, the antibodies simply deliver toxic agents like radioactive substances or drugs, to selectively target and harm malignant prostate cancer cells.

In certain cases, specialized monoclonal antibodies are produced scientifically in a laboratory and used to fight off the cancer through application to your body; and in certain other cases of immune therapy, interferon is applied, which is a naturally and synthetically produced protein that fights all kinds of disease-causing agents in the body. Interferon is administered to slow the growth of the prostate tumor cells in patients to prevent metastasis, and then it stimulates the immune system to attack them. And a third form of immune system therapy uses interleukin-2 to stimulate some kind of immune cell which attacks cancerous tissue. Interleukin-2 is a naturally occurring immune system chemical that that can be trusted in this regard.

A fourth form of immunotherapy employs colony stimulating factors to help and regulate the production of white blood cells in your body to enable your body better combat the disease, and that is not all. As earlier stated, immunotherapy is not yet a perfected technique and a lot of research and study is still ongoing concerning its application in the treatment of prostate cancer patients.

It is understood how the world can be impatient to get the ‘all-clear’ on this treatment approach, but that would be jumping the gun if all is not well with research results. What’s to say someone will not be making a critical error very soon that could hurt somebody; what’s to say that there aren’t some side effects of the treatment that aren’t yet known? What is good is worth waiting for; in the time being, talk to your doc and let him find you the best known treatment for your prostate cancer.