Complementary therapy seeks to meet the needs of cancer patients.  What is needed varies from moment to moment.  Let’s start with the body.  Taking a holistic view of the cancer patient, it is important to be in a positive state of mind throughout treatment.  Even a traditional doctor will tell you that.

Yoga is a complementary cancer therapy that works to connect the mind, body and spirit.  It was developed thousands of years ago and is a form of exercise that concentrates on meditation, breathing and posture.  The result of practising yoga is a greater sense of awareness about yourself, peace, lower stress levels and increased strength.  For the patient undergoing cancer treatment, yoga can reduce or even eliminate the side effects.

Bio feedback is another complementary therapy that seeks to make a connection between the mind and the body.  It is much like mind over matter.  Through their relaxation methods, people learn to control processes within their body that are usually involuntary.  These processes include blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and others.  Biofeedback has been used to treat chronic pain.  It can also help improve the quality of life for cancer patients in all stages.

Changing what you eat can aid in your cancer treatment.  For instance, eliminating red meat reduces the amount of animal fat in your body to stimulate certain hormone production that feeds cancerous tumors.  Along that same line are vitamin supplements.  Getting the recommended daily dose of essential vitamins increases the tools the body has to work with when it is repairing itself.  A body battling cancer needs to be at its best.

So, are complementary cancer therapies effective?  In a way, they are.  No one is claiming that they cure cancer, but, in conjunction with traditional therapies they enable the body to fight back as hard as it can.

Watching the cancer is another treatment option.  This sounds like waiting for the other shoe to drop but it is not.  The doctors closely monitor any changes in the size of the tumor.  This works for men who have early cancers.  For your part, any changes in symptoms need to be reported immediately to your doctor.

Another option that men are seeking is hormone therapy.  This term is most common when talking about conditions that affect women, such as menopause.  But, hormones are a part of the normal functioning of the human body, female or male.

For men, the hormone in question is testosterone.  What this hormone does is increase the growth of the tumor.  Using drugs to block testosterone from having an effect on the prostate cancer is one way to keep the tumor from growing.

When considering hormone therapy, be well informed.  For tumors that are contained within the prostate, changing the levels of testosterone may do more harm than good.  This therapy has been shown to help men with advanced and metastatic prostate cancer.

Before giving up hope, consider your treatment options.

The main factor to consider when treatment is discussed is the stage of the cancer.  Staging is done to let you know at what rate the cancer is progressing and the severity at the time of diagnosis.  As you know, prostate cancer grows slowly and is highly curable while the cancer is within the gland itself.  Other factors include age, diet and lifestyle.

Prostate cancer that is caught early has the most treatment options.  One option is surgery.  The gland can be removed and the cancer with it.  There are different surgical options depending on your preference.  Removing the prostate whole involves a surgical procedure called a prostatectomy.  Before performing surgery, the surgeon will perform a procedure on the lymph nodes to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread.

A less invasive procedure is trans-urethral resection of the prostate.  The prostate gland is broken into smaller pieces and removed through the urethra so there is no incision made.  Surgery is an option for younger men that have the disease, since they have a higher chance of the cancer progressing and metastasizing as they age.

Surgical intervention has its side effects.  Men who have undergone surgery can suffer from urinary or fecal incontinence or erectile dysfunction.  These conditions do get better over time with drugs but some men will need further surgery to tighten sphincter muscles to control incontinence.

Another option is radiation therapy.  This is also termed brachytherapy.  For prostate cancer, radiation therapy is usually received through the implanting of radioactive “seeds”near the tumor.  There are also other methods of radiation therapy such as external radiation.

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More tell tail signs of Prostate cancer are:

Having trouble controlling the stream of urine.  This pertains to getting the urine to flow in the first place or stopping it at will.

Blood in the urine is the sign that usually alarms most men.  The blood may also be present in ejaculated fluid.

Pain or a burning sensation when you urinate or ejaculate is another noted symptom.

At the first sign of these conditions you should consult a doctor.  It could be benign prostate disease or it could be a cancerous tumor getting larger.

There are also signs of advanced prostate cancer.  This means that the tumor has gotten large enough to block normal function or the cancer has spread beyond the confines of the gland.

Typical symptoms include:

* Losing weight
* Fatigue
* Nausea or vomiting
* Pain in the pelvis, bones, lower back, ribs or upper thigh area

Don’t wait.  A clear diagnosis of your situation can make all the difference.

As we have mentioned in our earlier post, prostate cancer is one of the major cancers found in men.  It has a high cure rate as long as it is caught early enough.  You should know the symptoms and signs of this condition so that you can get medical attention before it is too late.

Why are these exams important?

Well, most cancers of the prostate occur in men who are over 65 unless there is a family history of the disease.  But, early intervention can help you avoid ever getting prostate cancer.  Doctors can detect subtle changes in the feel and size of the gland that could be a warning of things to come.

Currently, there are no warning signs if you are in the early stages of the cancer.  Know this: Prostate cancer grows slowly and those who have it are more likely to die of other causes than this cancer.  And, recognizing the symptoms and lowering your risk factors can keep it that way.

The symptoms will begin to present when the tumor begins to grow.  One tell-tale sign is frequent urination.  If you notice that you are getting up more than usual at night to pee, be on the alert for other symptoms that may also be occurring.

Begin to examine your urine.  A weak urine stream even when you know that your bladder is full can indicate that the prostate is getting bigger.  Because the prostate is surrounded by the urethra (carries urine from the bladder to the outside) any changes in size will press on these tubes.

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Increasing your intake of antioxidants through food can reduce your risk of cancer.  Where are these antioxidants found?  Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries contain antioxidants.  With vegetables, stick with roughage.  Eat broccoli, cauliflower, and leafy greens to increase your antioxidant intake.  Blueberries have one of the highest antioxidant counts of any food.

Antioxidants are also found in other foods.  Consider flaxseed.  You can buy it in seed form and use it as a complement in cereals, yogurt and other foods.  They contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids – good fats.

You may want to try soy products as opposed to red meats.  You can also purchase soy milk, yogurt, tofu and soy snacks.  Unlike beef, soy is a protein that comes from plant sources and is lower in fat.

Speaking of fat, restricting your fat to healthier sources is the key to lowering cancer risk.  Instead of animal fat, use liquid vegetable oil and extra virgin olive oil.  Avoid oils from tropical sources like palm oil.

Lower your risk factor of cancer; change your eating habits.  Reduce or eliminate red meat and increase plant food sources.

For the next week Goddess will dedicate a segment for Cancer Prevention in both men and woman. Please stay tuned we will have information and cool easy recipes!

One of the factors in prostate cancer and other cancers is diet.  As a way of lowering your risk factor for cancer and managing your health when diagnosed with cancer, doctors may suggest lifestyle changes that include changes to the food you eat.  Here are some suggestions for dietary changes to help reduce your risk factors.

In countries where red meat and foods high in fat are not eaten routinely or at all, the incidence of prostate cancer is low if at all.  That suggests that food plays a role.  It has been determined that animal fat increases the level of some hormones in the body, like testosterone and estrogen.  High levels of these hormones help cancerous tumors to grow faster.

You can lower your risk by eating more whole grain foods.  This includes whole wheat, oats, and other grains.  A whole grain contains the germ, and bran.  Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is important as well.

Vegetables and whole grains provide fiber.  Fiber does many helpful things in the body.  First, it helps to lower cholesterol.  Insoluble fiber can’t be broken down by the body, but it does carry some of the fat from your diet along for the ride when it is excreted from the body.  Lowering cholesterol can lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants are substances in the body that lower the amount of free radical damage.  Free radicals come from the environment, foods and lifestyle choices like smoking.  They contribute to a higher incidence of cancer.  An important antioxidant in cancer prevention and reduction is lycopene.  It is found in cooked tomatoes and other tomato products.