It is therefore reasonable to consider the possibility that prostate cancer is a disease that quietly and gently builds during the younger years, and culminates at time that one hits old age. To that end, prevention should begin from the times when one is still young – and this is where the challenge lies. Because so little is known or understood about prostate cancer even by the medical community, they generally have limited knowledge concerning how to prevent prostate cancer, save advice on diets and lifestyle. Fortunately, there are a few herbal remedies work precisely in this regard.

Preventing prostate cancer by herbal medications is actually quite easy once on knows what herbs to be on the lookout for – and that is not so difficult to come about either. For instance, most men already are aware of the fact that green tea is medicinal; the only added knowledge is then that it is also considered to be medicinal against prostate cancer, although as yet medical science has only been able to establish that green tea helps to treat an enlarged prostate.

But so what? For all that is understood of the disease, prostate cancer could very well be prostate enlargement gone wrong! And it does not take a genius to be able to mix up a green tea brew, every morning, does it?

It is possible that a lot of people are unaware that men who have a diet rich in lycopene, a type of antioxidant, have a reduced chance of getting prostate cancer; if they knew it they certainly would consume a lot more of tomatoes and red pigmented fruits and vegetables like watermelon and pink grapefruit because that’s where lycopene comes from. Sure, it is no guarantee against the disease, but what harm is done.

Another herbal remedy that is sure to blow most people out of the water is pepper. That’s right; good old red hot chili. The spice/vegetable/fruit is known to contain an ingredient called capsaicin that is believed even now to work as well (if not better) than pomegranate juice in the treatment of prostate cancer. Not only is it effective in preventing the disease, it also attacks advanced stage prostate cancer and cause the tumor cells to commit apoptosis. Certainly folks who eat more of it daily ought to be able to keep the disease at bay.

Well, that’s herbs in the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer.

But these are just the disease being nice; advanced prostate cancer typically spreads to other parts of the body and causes additional symptoms. Of these symptoms, the most common symptom is bone pain, which is frequently found in the bones of the spinal columns, the pelvis, or the ribs; it may also spread into other bones, such as the femur, usually to the proximal part of the bone. And in the end stages prostate cancer can metastasize into the spine and begin to compress the spinal cord. This would cause characteristic leg weakness and urinary and fecal incontinence.

Early prostate cancer can be cured; late stage disease (or advanced prostate cancer) cannot. The bone pain is due to metastatic tumors starting to grow on the bones as they are incident from the bloodstream. They cause regions higher bone concentration to develop, resulting in hot spots; and regions of lower bone concentrations causing cold spots. Together they make the bone fragile or brittle, and vulnerable to spontaneous fractures.

Treating the end stages of prostate cancer can be a challenge depending on how aggressive the cancer is. Generally though, since the specialists are by and large not trying to cure the disease, their aim would be merely to provide palliation, a situation in which treatment focuses on extending life and relieving the symptoms of metastatic disease.

In order to reduce PSA levels and tumor size in aggressive advanced-stage prostate cancer, abiraterone acetate may be the best choice to slow disease progression and postpone symptoms, chemotherapy may be offered; and to delay the fractures or the need for radiotherapy, bisphosphonates are the best ports of call. This is especially true for patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer.

As for the bone pain, it may get no better than morphine or other opioid pain relievers can provide it; otherwise, radioisotopes can be injected into the patient to aim at bone metastases and help relieve pain. Ultimately, prolonged patient survival times, reduced pain and improved quality of life are the goals.

The most common symptom of advanced prostate cancer is bone pain. This bone pain is due to the metastasis of the disease into the skeletal system all across the body, with preferred sites in the vertebrae, pelvis and ribs. Another commonly affected bone in the body by advanced metastatic prostate cancer is the femur (thigh bone), often in the proximal part of the bone. Further advances of the disease may cause the cells to deposit in the spine and begin to compress the spinal cord, leading to further complications like leg weakness and incontinence - both urinary and fecal.

The treatment of advanced prostate cancer, for the record, is merely for palliation and not for cure. Perhaps sometime in the future, when some miracle cancer cure is found, they would be able to treat and cure advanced stage prostate cancer, but that day is not today.

Today advanced prostate cancer cannot be cured. All they can do is slow down the progression of the disease with either or both of hormonal therapy and chemotherapy, provide pain relief with radiotherapy or opioid pain relievers, and find a way to prolong the life of the patient while also sustaining a reasonable quality of life.

The prognosis for advanced prostate cancer is about five to eight years, but a lot depends on how aggressive the cancer is, how advanced it is by the time of detection, and the patient’s general state of health, which goes quite a long way to help determine which treatments may be available to the patient. Men with early stage disease have a 93 percent survival rate at ten years, and a 77% at fifteen; and several of them (are hoped) will survive to the twenty year mark.

When it is late stage or advance prostate cancer like this, the prognosis drops sharply. Several doctors will not even give the patient further than three years to live unless the patient has already outlived that time span, at which point they might commence to extend the life expectancy of the man.

The problem with waiting for the symptoms is that they generally come when the cancer is quite advanced, and may no longer be curable. To that end the medical community has instituted a lot of improved screening programs, especially to help with people who are at increased risk of the disease.

Prostate cancer research is by no means a walk in the park, taking years (decades even) before the results begin to trickle in; and it’s the donations for prostate cancer that make the critical difference between success and failure.

You could start with the federal government, and other government parallels. Only a few years ago, President Bush signed the approval of 5 billion to be funneled research over a period of five years. It wasn’t specifically for prostate cancer, but that would at least shed some light on how money is made for the studies. The American Cancer Society also does its own bit, funding brilliant minds in the studies of various forms of cancer, and leading several in fact to Nobel prices on the long run.

But it is not all about the government and established institutions all over the country - you and I also need to be able to offer our own contributions to these studies that might save us or our loved ones some day. There may be those who think that they are safe from prostate cancer, but the truth is with an incidence rate of as much as 200,000 new diagnoses every year, and a death toll that pushes the 20,000 man mark, how can one be entirely certain that one’s life is not inexorably touched by this? One can’t.

On the Prostate Cancer Charity website, there is room for making a donation for anyone who is interested in offering it. Visit the website, fill the online form, and the rest of the system just plays itself out with you following the cues as they come; even you can do that.

Look all around you and I can bet that you’ll come across a few people with the silicone rubber bracelet’s on their wrists that say “Prostate Cancer Awareness.” It’s not new: the bracelets cell for just $10 but a good portion of the proceeds go to funding several of the many prostate cancer research facilities all over the country. If you were to buy one for yourself, and a couple for those you live with, you would have contributed to saving a few lives - perhaps even yours.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation also has a website that allows you to make a general donation if you want to, and you should. Making money for the expensive research really comes in no other way.

Prostate cancer is the ninth most common form of cancer in the world, the most common non skin cancer in the United States and Canada, and responsible for the second highest number of cancer deaths amongst American men. More than 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and close to thirty thousand men die from the disease within the same time span.

The rate of incidence or occurrence of prostate cancer varies by race and geographic region. For instance, the adenocarcinoma is more common in the United States than is most other countries of the world, with the lowest incidences in Asia, Africa and South America. However it turns out African American men are more likely to develop the cancer than people of any other racial group in North America.

The actual cause of prostate cancer is unclear, but the risk factors that appear to contribute to the occurrence of the disease are age, race, genetics, diet, lifestyle medications, and a number of other factors that may vary. The disease occurs more in men over 65 than in men under 45; it appears to be more common amongst certain races than in others; and a blood relative having been diagnosed with the disease once typically doubles the risk of a man being diagnosed with the disease as well.

Certain foods have been implicated as causal factors in the incidence of prostate cancer, such as red meat, high fat, and processed foods. Certain other foods, such as vegetables, vitamins, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, have been found conversely to aid in lowering the risk of the disease. Some medications likewise lower disease risk, e.g., anti-inflammatory drugs; while certain infections increase risk. And generally exercise, especially aerobic exercise, aids in maintaining overall health.

There are no symptoms in early stage prostate cancer, but as the disease progresses, indicators such as painful urination, increased urination at night, blood in urine, and blood in semen may appear. Advanced stages of the disease, when it is no longer curable would likely include a lot of bone pain all over the body, and perhaps incontinence.

It must be why there are two kinds of bone cancers - primary and secondary tumors. Primary bone tumors understandably are tumors that originate in the bone itself, which then may migrate (or metastasize) to other parts of the body; secondary tumors are metastatic cancers from other parts of the body that have come to make their abode on the bone.

It is rather difficult to detect bone cancer before it has spread to other parts of the body, at which point it is quite advanced. Generally it is a slowly growing mass that is not painful to touch but that may cause some discomfort for the patient.

Diagnosing the condition may require all of x-ray examinations to reveal structural changes; radionuclide bone scans to assess active bone formation; computerized axial tomography (CT or CAT) scans to demonstrate enlargement of the cortex of the bone; and arteriography, an x-ray procedure involving the use of dyes to identify affected arteries to help define the extent of the tumor.

However, if all else fail to confirm the disease, there is certainly still the biopsy of the bone, which is sure to show the abnormal cells that are producing unmineralized bone.

Bone cancer metastasis is often though the bloodstream to the lungs, but certainly other parts of the body may be affected as well. Prostate cancer metastasis on the other hand tends to begin with the regions closer to the prostate itself, once the disease starts to spread. The pelvic region is affected first, the lymphatic system next, and then the bones of the spine, the ribs, the thighs, and sometimes even the skull.

Diagnosing prostate cancer has been made relatively easy in recent times due to ever improving screening methods. Today, it is possible to detect prostate cancer before it has fully developed, and even cure the condition then. However, all of that changes when the cancer has spread dangerously to the bones. No longer curable, all that can be done at that time is to provide palliative prostate cancer care for the patient. Treating bone metastasis requires pain relief and anything to slow the progression of the cancer. Treating bone cancer generally requires chemotherapy and radiation, and saving the bone is only possible if metastasis has not occurred yet.

Prostate cancer is certainly a disease worth preventing, and herbal remedies are about the best way to prevent the condition. More than that, they are also very helpful during treatment of the adenocarcinoma anyhow, so they apply either way.

Every evidence that there is confirm that prostate herbal remedies help encourage good prostate health; and that is why herbs are growing in popularity and more and more people are turning to natural remedies rather than prescription drugs or conventional prostate cancer treatments or prevention interventions.

One of the most popular herbal remedies that work in the prostate cancer arena is saw palmetto, famous already for prostate health. The berries of the plant have a therapeutic benefit that researchers have extensively studied with promising results. They contain fatty acids and other compounds that are thought to be effective for promoting proper prostate function. And the fact that there are very few side effects for most men, besides perhaps a little stomach upset, makes it all that more appealing.

The stinging nettle is another herb that is growing in popularity and believed to be able to aid in preventing prostate cancer. The herb has some stinging barbs that may be blended with other herbs like the saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pygeum, and quercetin in convenient capsules; or that may be produced all by themselves to aid in keeping the prostate healthy.

One well known product with belended herbs is the Prostate Power Rx. Getting the benefit of multiple ingredients in right quantities is certainly beneficial to prostate health.

Perhaps in a different category, one should also consider hot chili for its remedial effect, especially against advanced prostate cancer. Yes, capsaicin in red peppers has been known to be medicinal for a long time, and now it has been found to aid in the treatment of problematic late stage prostate cancer.

Lycopene also, found in tomatoes and other red pigmented fruits and vegetables is also helpful as a herbal remedy. So perhaps, just sticking with a lot of vegetables and natural foods is as good a herbal remedy for prostate cancer as any.

One identified risk factor for prostate cancer in the environment is cadmium, to which several people are exposed in their workplace. Cadmium is a soft malleable toxic bluish white metallic chemical element that is used in various industrial applications.

There is a link, according to some studies, between occupational exposure to cadmium and prostate cancer; specifically, the statement is that “environmental factors such as workplace exposures to cadmium are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.” Although how it happens is not clear, it is clear that avoidance of the element may be helpful for those who are interested in preventing the disease from happening to them.

Another environmental factor that may affect the occurrence of prostate cancer is diet. A high fat diet will almost certainly increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, while one that is rich in vitamins and certain other substances not only appears to help prevent the disease, but it also aids in curing it. Other dietary factors that may increase prostate cancer risk include low intake of vitamin E and selenium; while lycopene which is found in tomatoes is sure also to help in some way.

Third amongst environmental issues of prostate cancer is exposure to ultraviolet light. The natural instinct upon reading this is probably to start thinking of ways to avoid UV light exposure, but incidentally the relationship between the two is not a negative one. Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure can increase the vitamin D content in the body, reducing the risk of prostate cancer, because lower blood levels of the vitamin actually may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. As a result lower exposure to UV light is discouraged to some degree. However, UV light exposure has to be moderate, not excessive; more harm may be done if it is not in controlled proportions.

And still on the subject of environmental issues of prostate cancer, the environment produces several herbs that may be used in the prevention of prostate cancer, and also in its treatment. One such herb is the saw palmetto, another is lycopene from tomatoes, and a third is pomegranate juice. Green tea, pygeum africanum, capsaicin from peppers, and wheatgrass also feature and environmental products that may deter prostate cancer.

Patients diagnosed with early sage prostate cancer can undergo a radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy to save their lives, but a patient in whom the tumor has had the chance to progress to stage IV of the disease can hardly be saved by either. Radiotherapy may be used as a pain relief alternative to certain medications (or as a compliment), but not as an effective treatment. Therefore life expectancy cannot be good.

In stage four prostate cancer the disease is well out of the prostate gland and is certain to have metastasized to various regions and locations all over the body. Certainly the lymphatic system would be compromised and the lymph nodes would likely be swollen, but the patient will also be experiencing a lot of bone pain by now, especially as a result of bone metastasis of the disease.

In order to effectively determine the extent of disease invasion, treat the condition, and provide a reasonable diagnosis, several tests have to be carried out by the specialist in addition to the initial screening tests - DRE, PSA, and biopsy - that were done. These new tests include an MRI scan, a CT scan, and a ribonucleic bone scan. Piecing all the information together, the urologist or oncologist would be able to provide the needed projection on how long the patient might survive.

Life expectancy for a man with advanced stage prostate cancer is rarely more than five years. As a matter of fact, most cancer specialists offer only three initially, and extend it by two if the patient is still alive by then. Gradually, if the patient continues to live, they continue to add some extra time, figuring that if something is keeping him alive all this time, it might just continue to. Some patients have been known to make it as far as eight years, though, with reasonably good palliation, and a few even further.

Studies recently published have however suggested that if a patient were to undergo a prostatectomy in advanced stage prostate cancer, his life expectancy could be doubled or even tripled, pushing life for such an unlikely patient to a figure as far out as 14 or 15 years. Naturally, news like this would cause a split right down in the middle of the medical community; and it did, with several doctors wondering if it was worthwhile to keep a patient on palliative care for that long, while others would give it if the patient wanted. When the final results of that one present themselves, time will tell.

But newer methods for treating the disease are springing up all the time. There are new therapies, for instance, that employ new drugs and new procedures, some improving on old ones, and others just being so radically different and innovative that they are quite stunning.

One new drug for prostate cancer treatment follows the concept of hormonal therapy - inhibiting the activity of androgens like testosterone that help drive prostate cancer tumor growth. Existing anti-androgens attempt to “shut down the factory that produces the hormones, but the new drug blocks the receptors for those androgens on the tumor cells,” according to Dr. Howard I. Scher, chief of the genitourinary oncology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and co-author of a report to be published online by the journal Science.

The drug, yet referred to as MDV3100 has been requested for large-scale trial that would be international in scope. The application was submitted to the FDA by Medivation Inc., the California-based biopharmaceutical company that has it licensed. They have a lot of confidence that the trial will lead to FDA approval of the drug for clinical use.

And while all of that is going on, a new immune system treatment for advanced prostate cancer has been realized to be safe and effective enough to begin U.S. sales, having already been approved by the FDA. A panel of FDA advisors concluded the Provenge helps to prolong the lives of patients suffering from advanced stage prostate cancer, a phase of the carcinoma that is most difficult to treat. There were natural apprehensions about getting the drug approved, but they were apparently baseless.

A trial at the Mayo Clinic also has yielded some encouraging results for a new experimental drug that was tested on some patients, two of which had cancers that were inoperable. After a while, they made remarkable enough discoveries to go public about it. You can get your hopes up, because these medications will soon hit the drugstores and you can soon get them with a prescription from your doctor, and get saved from prostate cancer.