How to Fight Prostate Cancer

American Cancer Society states that one out of three new cancer diagnoses in men are prostate cancer. In 2007, 220 000 people were diagnosed with prostate cancer and it is estimated that over 30 000 deaths occurred from that disease. Prostate cancer is the number one killer for men over 85 years in age. An average of 1 out of 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime and an average of 1 out of 35 men will die. A five year survival rate for prostate cancer has increased from 67% in the 70's to 92% in the 90's. However, despite the survival rate, prostate cancer remains the second most cause of cancer death in men, following lung cancer. In the United State alone, prostate cancer account for 11% of all cancer deaths.

The majority of all prostate cancer diagnosis' are discovered with a PSA test. PSA stand for prostate specific antigen which are present in your blood stream where the cancer cells are growing. The primary treatment of prostate cancer for most patients consists of surgery or radiation therapy. Although these operations are adequate for permanent disease control in many patients, a significant number of people will relapse and develop metastases especially if the disease is treated too late. Radical prostatectomy (prostate removal) is the most common used therapy to cure prostate cancer. However, 1/3 patients will develop a biochemical recurrence. Biochemical recurrence happens when prostate-specific antigen (PSA) rises in the blood level. From these patients a third will develop metastases in 8 years frame from the initial PSA elevation and half of them will die 5 years later after the development of the metastases.

Patients who have undergone primary cancer treatments with curative intent with biochemical recurrence have limited treatment options. One option is hormone therapy. However hormonal ablation is associated with poor health and effect on quality of life, including fatigue, hot flashes, loss of libido, decreased muscular mass and osteoporosis (bone mass loss). While hormone therapy can prolongs a relapse, prostate cancer is known to become hormone independent and the therapy does not work. Strategies to delay clinical prostate cancer progression and prolong the interval from treatment failure to hormonal ablation would be desirable.

The good news is epidemiologic studies and basic science evidence suggest strongly that diet and plant-derived phytochemical may play an important role in prostate prevention or treatment. African American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world, whereas Japanese and Chinese living in their country that eat a low-fat and high-fibre food, including soybean and green tea phytochemical, have the lowest rate. Studies suggest that consumption of a rich phytochemical diet that includes fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of cancer. Fresh and processed foods containing high levels of a diverse range of phytochemical type like polyphenol, anthocyanins and flavonoids make a large proportion.

!: Interview And Mesothelioma !: Mesothelioma Survival Rate Quiz