Running Away From Prostate Cancer - Part 13

My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term "survive " as "to live or exist longer than; outlive". The summer of 2010 marked three years from the cancer surgery. All my checkups leading up to this point had been good. My PSA results continued to be <.1 ng/ml. However, is three years a sufficient amount of time to declare yourself a "survivor"? Did I really "outlive" the cancer?

My understanding is that if you make it to five years, then you're considered cured. But just the stealth nature of this disease made me feel uneasy. I never really had any symptoms leading up to my diagnosis, just an increasing PSA reading. Despite my generally positive attitude, I continued to wonder if bad news was lurking around the corner, waiting to beat me down again.

In the early summer of 2010, we added a new member to our family. We've always found comfort in having animals in our house. With several cats and one aging beagle, we welcomed Calvin, an adorable 2.5 month old yellow labrador retriever to the mix. Animals don't ask for much, but who can deny the unconditional love pets provide their owners. Being a lab, I knew that it was just a matter of time before Calvin would be joining me on my regular runs at home. The veterinarian had advised us to wait until Calvin was around one and a half before taking him on longer runs. We did take him for long walks though and he loved going.

I hadn't told many people about my diagnosis at work, other than some of my work running buddies. I also asked them to keep this information to themselves. I didn't want to discuss my situation at work so I kept things to myself. Work was an escape for me. I focused in on all the projects before my group and it helped pass the time. When I wasn't busy, my mind would sometimes wander and I would find myself thinking about things that could go wrong. I didn't want to become a hypochondriac in the process. So I made a point to stay busy both at work and home.

Life is full of good and bad things. I guess that's suppose to help balance things off. I remember telling my friends about my diagnosis at a local pub after a run back in late 2007. The usual cast of running characters were there. In particular, Doug Zimmerman learned of my cancer at that time. Little did we know that less than three years later we would lose Doug during a run from an apparent heart condition. I wondered back then if my days were numbered. I was the one with cancer.

For some reason, we didn't get 2010-2011 Gampel season tickets to the UCONN Men's basketball games. We had gotten season tickets for the past six or seven years until then. But we faithfully watched them on TV every game. Wouldn't you know it, the UCONN Men went on a roll, lead by Kemba Walker and won the Big East and NCAA tournaments with a remarkable eleven game winning streak. This should go down as one of the greatest tournament runs ever in NCAA history. It's amazing how a little distraction can help get you through tough times.

Prostate Cancer and Impotence

All treatments for prostate cancer cause side effects. Urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction are two of the most common side effects. Erectile dysfunction also referred to as impotence is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficiently firm enough to engage in sexual intercourse. The possibility of being rendered impotent is one of the most common and terrifying aspects of prostate cancer surgery and other treatments used to treat prostate cancer. Erectile dysfunction in particular negatively affects men and typically causes them to feel a great sense of loss in addition to experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

Men lose a great part of their self-esteem and are often embarrassed and feel humiliated when they are unable to perform sexually. In addition to having low self-esteem they begin to question their manhood. The feeling of inadequacy due to erectile dysfunction also creates a negative impact on many non-sexual aspects of a man's life. It can negatively impact their friendships, families and workplace life.

They can stop enjoying hobbies that they regularly engaged in. One man talk about how loved playing drums. He had been playing in a band for fun, but it was also a part-time job. Once he realized that he was impotent he stopped going to rehearsals and showing up for performances. He didn't talk to any of the other members of the band. Also, he was less effective on his primary job. He also became angry over the least little thing with his wife and children.

He soon sunk deeper and deeper into a severe state of depression. Desperate for help his wife was able to convince him that he needed professional help. He sought the services of an excellent psychologist and was after some time able to resume a normal life. He soon returned to his normal healthy mental state and resumed his band activities.

Erectile dysfunction is a treatable medical condition with various options available such as medications, surgery and non-surgical methods. All of these methods are available to help men suffering with erectile dysfunction and the methods chosen are successful with many of them. However, these treatments also have major side effects. Therefore, men should carefully discuss all treatment options with their physician before making a decision. Two non-surgical methods to treat erectile dysfunction are medications and the vacuum constriction device.

There are popular prescription medications on the market that offer some level of success with erectile dysfunction. Your physician must determine if your medical condition will permit you to take these medications safely. However, these medications do not work for all men. Some men have to take more than the prescribed amount of medication in order to obtain an erection. Even with all of this some men who do achieve an erection cannot hold it long enough to have sexual intercourse. A few of the side effects of prescription medications are:

1. Sudden blindness or vision changes
2. Heart attack or irregular heartbeat
3. Chest pain or shortness of breath
4. Feeling light-headed of fainting
5. Ringing in ears or sudden hearing loss

Men who don't like the idea of using prescription medications or surgery to obtain an erection can consider a vacuum constriction device also referred to as a vacuum pump. This device consists of a plastic tube that fits over the penis, a pump attached to the tube and a soft elastic support ring. It works by creating a vacuum around the penis which naturally forces blood into the penis thereby creating an erection mechanically. The penis pump comes with a support ring which must be placed around the base of the penis to hold the blood in the area allowing the man to sustain an erection. This is a safe way for many men to deal with erectile dysfunction without the use of drugs or surgery.

Men should be aware that there is a recovery time after prostate cancer treatments before they can begin to have sexual relations. This recovery time will vary depending upon the individual and their overall health condition. Professional health care professionals are helpful in guiding men through this process as well as helping those who suffer with stress, depression or anxiety. As a result, many men are able to successfully cope with their situations.

Know The Risk Factors Of Prostate Cancer And Opt For The Best Prostate Treatment

Different diseases have different risk factors. Certain cancers are normally linked to things like smoking, which you can alter and decrease the risk. But a prostate cancer may have risk factors like the person's age, family history, nationality, etc, which cannot be altered. Understanding of the risk factors gives an insight into how susceptible one is to this disease. Having knowledge about the symptoms too is a good thing and helps you diagnose the condition quickly. This way, you can start early with the required prostate treatment and gain your health back in a shorter time. The risk factors listed below are known to have an effect on this cancer's incidence. However, there are people with one or more of these risk factors, who are healthy, without any symptoms of this condition.

Age: It is usually considered rare for a man below 40 to get prostate cancer. Once a man reaches the age of 40, his chances of getting this condition go up tremendously. As they reach the age of 65, it becomes quite common, as 2 out of 3 men have found to have this cancer.

Race: prostate cancer is normally seen more in African-American men than in the men of other races. Though the reason behind this is not well-known, it has also been observed that these men are more susceptible than the others.

Nationality: This condition is mostly seen in the countries of North America and North-western Europe. This is less common in Asia, Africa, Central and South America.

Family History: This cancer is generally observed to run in certain families more than others. Some inherited genes also may cause this condition to occur.

Diet: Men consuming high quantities of red meat or fatty dairy products, have higher chances of getting this condition. If these same men do not eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, the risk may become higher.

Obesity and Smoking: Obese men are found to have high risk of getting this cancer. Some studies have found that smoking can also be a risk factor to increase the chances of getting this cancer.

Prostatitis: Inflammation of the prostate may become a risk for prostate cancer. This is usually caused due to an infection.

Symptoms of prostate enlargement need immediate care. Make sure that the prostate treatment is given to the patient at the right time. As men advance in their age, regular checks for enlarged prostate is necessary, even if there are not any noticeable symptoms. Doctors suggest the right prostate treatment based on its severity. Some suggestions for prostate cancer treatment are expectant management, surgery, radiation therapy, cryosurgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and vaccine treatment. Your doctor can suggest the best treatment based on your health condition.

Three Foods to Help Prevent Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States each year. Prostate cancer typically is an extremely slow-growing cancer. It begins in the prostate gland and is easily treatable in this stage. However, once the cancer begins to grow rapidly or when it spreads outside of the prostate gland, it is potentially dangerous and even deadly.

Prostate cancer treatments typically involve surgery and radiation therapy. Oftentimes, major damage results from these treatments. These treatments are painful and expensive.They also have serious side effects. Side effects from surgery include:

1. Risk from anesthesia
2. Risk of a heart attack
3. Risk of a stroke
4. Blood clot in the legs
5. Infection at the site of the incision
6. Risk of bleeding and requiring a blood transfusion
7. Infections in the abdomen
8. Urinary incontinence
9. Death

Prostate cancer can oftentimes be prevented through consuming good healthy foods. Some foods are particularly beneficial to the prostate gland.Tomatoes and tomato products are among the top foods for prostate health.Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which is the carotenoid that gives many fruits and vegetables their red color.

Eating tomatoes often, preferably on a daily basis can go a long way towards preventing prostate cancer. This is due to the fact that lycopene can accumulate in the cells over time and build up the ability to fight off cancer cells. Tomatoes can easily be consumed fresh or cooked in your favorite dishes. In fact, cooked tomatoes appear to have more cancer-fighting properties than raw tomatoes.

Broccoli has been proven in many studies to be effective in fighting prostate cancer. Broccoli is a powerful cruciferous vegetable rich is sulfer containing compounds known as glucosinolates. Cruciferous vegetables are especially beneficial in prostate health as they aid in removing estrogens and other toxins from the body. It is very important to prepare the broccoli correctly in order to get its cancer fighting components. It is recommended that broccoli be gently steamed to retain most of its anti-cancer compounds.

Tomatoes and broccoli may be more beneficial when consumed together rather than separately. It is believed that the different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways. This is the reason the combination of these two foods can be highly effective.

Red raspberries are not only delicious, but are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals that can benefit prostate health and reportedly even prevent prostate cancer. Raspberries contain phytonutrients which are the healing components in the raspberries. These benefits are solely from fresh berries as opposed to processed berries or fruit drinks made from berries. So eating fresh raspberries each day is a good way to protect your prostate health.

As you can clearly see choosing to eat prostate healthy foods is one of the best and easiest things you can do to improve the health of your prostate gland and thereby decrease your risk of prostate cancer. There are many ways to include these delicious foods in your diet so plan to do so on a regular basis.

Prostate Cancer Alternative Treatment

Helping someone cope with the stress and anxiety that comes with a prognosis of prostate cancer can be hard. That's why there are some types of alternative prostate cancer treatment designed to help the patient learn to do activities that can help him cope.

There are a variety of therapies that can help with the coping mechanism including techniques of relaxation including muscle relaxation, movement therapies including art, music and dance, exercise, meditation and spirituality.

These approaches for prostate cancer alternative treatment are different than treatments from the doctor. The alternative treatment therapies work for many and have been highly recommended to be used before therapy/treatment starts from the doctor. Side effects of the doctor's treatment can also be helped by these alternative approaches

To understand this cancer and the diagnosis, one must know that the prostate gland is found only in men and is about the size of a walnut. It is located under the bladder and in front of the rectum. In the kidneys, urine passes to the bladder through the urethra, which passes through the middle of the prostate. When part of the prostate enlarges, it can infringe on the passage of urine.

If the condition is not cancerous, or benign, it is called BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia. The other major condition is prostatitis, which is a positive diagnosis for this cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, it is the second leading killer of men, only behind lung cancer.

When determining whether or not a man has cancer, the doctor will check the patient performing a digital rectal exam. With a gloved finger, the doctor checks inside the rectum to feel for some type of hard nodule. The results of a prostate exam can be quite devastating.

Prostate cancer alternative treatment can also include watchful waiting. Once the prostate cancer diagnosis is made early, and a biopsy is done rather than an operation or external radiation, the patient is then tracked for progress. Another alternative prostate cancer treatment would be supported by a cancer support group or PAACT. PAACT brings people together that have the same condition and teach this cancer sufferers to have hope in the face of darkness.

Other elements of prostate cancer alternative treatment can also include changes to diet, nutritional supplements taken orally, hormonal balancing, intravenous vitamin and mineral drips, programs designed for exercising, exposure to sunlight, fresh air, detoxification, stress management training and other immune enhancing activities.