More Stuff That Doesn't Help

If it sounds too good to be true...

Over the years there have been many studies and articles touting one food or vitamin as preventing or slowing prostate cancer. In many cases it later turned out that there was no benefit or even a negative relationship.

In an article by Dan Zenka, a prostate cancer survivor and VP of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, he discusses some recent studies. The article is A Fresh Look at Six PCa Myths. It is based on research gathered by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. Some of this may surprise even you long time survivors. I'm going to mention five of these myths--you can go to his article to see all six.

Some commonsense beliefs from the past--now rejected

1 Eating tomato-based products prevents prostate cancer. For years men were encouraged to eat red pasta sauce, ketchup, and other products high in lycopene. Turns out there is no association with preventing prostate cancer. So go ahead and eat your red stuff, but don't expect it to save you.

2 Having high testosterone increases your risk of prostate cancer. Nope. Testosterone levels have no association with prostate cancer risk. Numerous studies have confirmed this.

3 Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) decreases prostate cancer risk. Actually, high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids increase the odds of developing high-risk prostate cancer. Fish oil has always been considered the 'safe' supplement. Go figure.

4 Vitamins and dietary supplements can prevent prostate cancer. I think most of us have heard that this wasn't necessarily true, but recent studies confirm that there is no association with prevention for most vitamins and supplements and increased risk from others. For example, vitamin E has been shown to actually increase the risk of getting prostate cancer.

5 We don't know which prostate cancers need to be treated and which need to be left alone. That was true at one time but not now. Of the more than 27 known varieties of prostate cancer, there are differences in how they should or could be treated. There are several factors to help your oncologist determine how fast or slow your prostate cancer is growing and how large and aggressive the tumor is. The PSA test is one piece of the puzzle and the biopsy tells you how big the tumor is and how fast it is growing (Gleason score). Then make sure you are a part of the decisions  made regarding treatment or active surveillance.

There are no silver bullets to protect you from prostate cancer (except maybe being born female). Being active, eating healthy foods (as best you can determine), keeping an open mind, seeing your medical team on a regular basis, and maintaining a positive attitude might help (I believe this helps me, but I could be wrong).

axman

Is Sleep Really Overrated?

Not mine!

There was a time when I considered sleep a waste of time or necessary evil--there was too much I wanted to do. In my late teens and twenties I often went to school by day and worked by night. There would be days on end when I didn't sleep more than two or three hours. No sweat. I don't remember being sleepy or fatigued. Maybe that's a bit of selective memory, but I survived.

Years passed and I discovered that I needed more sleep to function--at least five or six hours a night. Late nights would find me nodding off the next day (hopefully not when driving or operating heavy machinery).

Now in my retirement years I find myself sleeping more and more, including a nap most days. Is it related to the medications I take? Or my body valiantly fighting the prostate cancer?  Eight or nine hours isn't unusual. Is that normal? I guess it is for me but some of my geriatric friends say they have difficulty getting quality sleep most of the time. Is that normal?

I guess I'm lucky to go to sleep so easily but there's always a fear that I'll need more and more. Of course getting up every couple of hours at night takes a little of that sleep time. I'd hate to sleep so much I missed out on meals.

axman

Every Few Years…

There are those pesky scans and tests

Because prostate cancer tends to go on and on and on (that’s actually a good thing), it’s possible and important to check out what’s happing internally from time to time. There might be tumors or lumps or spots or bulges or something else.

It was my turn. My PSA jumped up a little so I was scheduled for a bunch of blood tests, a bone scan, a CT scan, and we topped it off (or bottomed out) with a colonoscopy. Woo Hoo.

This all required most of three days ay my clinic of choice at OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University). That was not my favorite way to spend a few days but I admit I was a little curious about what they might find.

I doubt that the whole process makes my Health Insurance provider very happy.

After the tests there’s that gap of days or weeks before I get to know the results. I was pretty sure everything was OK, but the longer the wait the more I wondered.

Finally the results—everything (every test) was OK and normal (as normal as I could ever be, anyway) and I can breathe a sigh of relief and toast my good fortune with a glass of wine. I’d drink the wine whatever the results were, of course.

And in another few years…

axman