Alternatives To Hormone Therapy For Prostate Cancer
Published on Apr 02 2010, in the categories: Alternative treatments
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) also known as hormone therapy is a treatment procedure used in the fight against prostate cancer since 1941, when it was first discovered by Charles B. Huggins.
This therapy procedure also known under the name of “chemical castration” is done by depriving the organism of testosterone because it was discovered the fact that the male androgenic hormone is the cause for the rapid growth of the cancerous cells in the prostate gland.
Two drugs are used in the hormone therapy: the anti-androgenic drugs and the LH-RH agonists, usually this treatment having some serious side affects like impotence and gynecomastia or breast enlargement, the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders or incident diabetes, and sometimes causing even death.
If this information about the hormone therapy has frightened you enough, you should probably know that there are some other alternative treatments, sometimes with better results.
Usually, before giving you an advice about what treatment procedure you should opt for, the doctor will always take in consideration the patient’s general health details, age, how advanced is the cancer and what are the patient’s preferences.
By definition, treatments are used to slow down the growth of the malignant tumor or the multiplying of the cancerous cells but also for relieving the patient’s painful symptoms.
There are two categories into which the treatments for the prostate cancer are listed: the conventional treatment procedures and the alternative treatments.
Apart from the hormone therapy procedure, in the conventional treatment list we find the most common treatment method for the prostate cancer: surgery also known as
prostatectomy, done removing the malignant tumor or parts of the infected tissues through an operation on the infected region of the body. A prostate surgery has its risks, since we are talking about a sensitive part of a men’s body so basically it can leave some serious psychological scars.
Cryoablation or cryotherapy is done by freezing the prostate, only in case the tumor had not spread far from the prostate area, and killing the cancerous cells but also the normal ones. This therapy treatment one of the newest available out there and performed under the guidance of the ultrasound images.
The radiation therapy is done by damaging the DNA of a cancerous cell so it won’t be able to multiply and we are referring to two radiation procedures: brachytheraphy or internal beam radiation, the direct placing of the treatment at a short distance away from the infected tissue, and the EBRT or external beam radiation therapy where x-rays with high energy are directed towards the tumor area.
The well known chemotherapy is a procedure used in advanced stages of leukemia or cancer; the drugs kill the multiplying cancer cells but with the cost of some physical side effects like hair loss.
The advance stage of cancer known as metastatic cancer does not have an effective treatment and usually in these cases doctors recommend a procedure reclaimed by both the alternative and the conventional treatments: expectant management or watchful waiting, described as the monitoring of the evolution of the prostate cancer without prescribing any treatment to it and based only on maintaining a strict nutritional diet.
And since I’ve mentioned about the alternative treatment, on its list we include homeopathy, herbal therapy, hydrotherapy, exercises for the relaxing of the mind and magnetic fields therapy.
Doctors will always recommend the conventional treatment, since the results appear faster, and though it’s a radical approach of treating the prostate cancer it’s the only one with reliable and verified results.
Of course, there is always the option of combining the herbal therapy with conventional treatment, but not before you consult a doctor about it.
This therapy procedure also known under the name of “chemical castration” is done by depriving the organism of testosterone because it was discovered the fact that the male androgenic hormone is the cause for the rapid growth of the cancerous cells in the prostate gland.
Two drugs are used in the hormone therapy: the anti-androgenic drugs and the LH-RH agonists, usually this treatment having some serious side affects like impotence and gynecomastia or breast enlargement, the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders or incident diabetes, and sometimes causing even death.
If this information about the hormone therapy has frightened you enough, you should probably know that there are some other alternative treatments, sometimes with better results.
Usually, before giving you an advice about what treatment procedure you should opt for, the doctor will always take in consideration the patient’s general health details, age, how advanced is the cancer and what are the patient’s preferences.
By definition, treatments are used to slow down the growth of the malignant tumor or the multiplying of the cancerous cells but also for relieving the patient’s painful symptoms.
There are two categories into which the treatments for the prostate cancer are listed: the conventional treatment procedures and the alternative treatments.
Apart from the hormone therapy procedure, in the conventional treatment list we find the most common treatment method for the prostate cancer: surgery also known as
prostatectomy, done removing the malignant tumor or parts of the infected tissues through an operation on the infected region of the body. A prostate surgery has its risks, since we are talking about a sensitive part of a men’s body so basically it can leave some serious psychological scars.
Cryoablation or cryotherapy is done by freezing the prostate, only in case the tumor had not spread far from the prostate area, and killing the cancerous cells but also the normal ones. This therapy treatment one of the newest available out there and performed under the guidance of the ultrasound images.
The radiation therapy is done by damaging the DNA of a cancerous cell so it won’t be able to multiply and we are referring to two radiation procedures: brachytheraphy or internal beam radiation, the direct placing of the treatment at a short distance away from the infected tissue, and the EBRT or external beam radiation therapy where x-rays with high energy are directed towards the tumor area.
The well known chemotherapy is a procedure used in advanced stages of leukemia or cancer; the drugs kill the multiplying cancer cells but with the cost of some physical side effects like hair loss.
The advance stage of cancer known as metastatic cancer does not have an effective treatment and usually in these cases doctors recommend a procedure reclaimed by both the alternative and the conventional treatments: expectant management or watchful waiting, described as the monitoring of the evolution of the prostate cancer without prescribing any treatment to it and based only on maintaining a strict nutritional diet.
And since I’ve mentioned about the alternative treatment, on its list we include homeopathy, herbal therapy, hydrotherapy, exercises for the relaxing of the mind and magnetic fields therapy.
Doctors will always recommend the conventional treatment, since the results appear faster, and though it’s a radical approach of treating the prostate cancer it’s the only one with reliable and verified results.
Of course, there is always the option of combining the herbal therapy with conventional treatment, but not before you consult a doctor about it.
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