The prostate cancer is usually detected with the help of the screening tests or the prostate biopsy. The screening tests have to be done regularly and they are recommended for men who have reached the age of forty or fifty. The prostate cancer has no early symptoms so these tests are important to discover the organ-confined tumor in its early stages. Left untreated it will eventually develop and spread in the body becoming locally advanced or in the worst case, metastatic. The result of the above tests can be normal and that means that cancerous cells are not detected or abnormal. In this later situation the prostate biopsy is necessary to make a correct diagnose, since cancer is not the only disease affecting the prostate and not all tumors, like the malignant ones, can develop cancer. The screening tests imply two procedures: the digital rectal exam or DRE and the prostate specific antigen blood tests or PSA.
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The first medical procedure is a bit unpleasant and the doctor has to insert a gloved finger into the rectum to palpate the prostate. If he feels hardness or a lump on the surface of the prostate that usually indicates the existence of a tumor. The other procedure is less unpleasant and the blood test uses as an indicator for determining the existence of cancer the prostate specific antigen. The PSA is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate organ and is regarded as a tumor or a biological marker. The PSA blood tests measure the level of the PSA in the blood, in normal cases being very low. A sample of blood is examined in the laboratory and depending of the test results the doctor will decide whether to further examine the patient or look for the prostate cancer signs.

The PSA blood tests don’t accurately indicate the existence of cancer, since a tumor is not only malignant but also benign. Cancer is not the only disease which affects the gland; the prostatitis or the benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH are not related to cancer, and even though a patient is diagnosed with these disorders that does not mean that cancer won’t develop as well. The level of the prostate specific antigen doesn’t indicate the existence of cancer or that of a benign tumor. This blood test is recommended to be done annually because according to its results small tumors can be detected: if the PSA test result indicates under four nanograms per milliliter of blood then it is considered as a normal result, the result between four and ten is at the borderline, depending on the patients age, genes, symptoms and even race, while a result higher than ten is abnormal, and it is necessary for a doctor to inquire further medical investigations to reach an exact diagnosis. Values between thirty and forty indicate the existence of a prostate cancer.

The PSA blood test is a bit controversial because there is a possibility that the diagnose is nor entirely accurate. For example, small tumors may be detected early but there isn’t the certainty that these tumors will actually develop in the near future into cancer or if they are life threatening. This situation known as overdiagnosis can create some complications for the patients and even though both screening tests don’t give a one hundred per cent accurate result, they still remain the best methods used for discovering the prostate cancer in its early stages.

The basic information about the prostate cancer will help you avoid or prevent this terrible disease from happening. It is a general fact that patients will contact a doctor only when they start to feel uncomfortable because of certain symptoms they have no explanation for. Causes like age, genetic background, a high diet in animal fats, excessive drinking and smoking, and even race could be held responsible for the apparition of the tumors. The exposure to secondhand smoking is also very dangerous because this smoke usually contains more than sixty known carcinogens.<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Age is the main cause for developing a prostate cancer but there are some other important factors as well. Medical research studies have indicated that African-American males have a higher risk of being affected by this disease, while a diet based only on unhealthy foods such as animal fats, excessive drinking and smoking will only increase the risk mentioned earlier. The cancer could be inherited so make sure to know your family medical history: the cancer can also be inherited by males if the family has a history of breast cancer. Once you are diagnosed with a prostate cancer, the doctors will prescribe the right treatment for you. Even if the treatments have good results, remember the fact that cancer is a treatable but not a curable disease so the possibility of cancer recurrence will always be there. The best option is to stay informed about this illness and try to avoid or prevent it by all means.

Conventional treatments such as the surgery or prostatectomy, the radiation therapy, the androgen deprivation therapy, the cryotherapy or the chemotherapy are used by the medical researchers to lessen the symptoms of the disease but they can’t help in getting definitively ridden of it. Try to avoid as much as possible to consume alcohol in large quantities, the frequent smoking and foods saturated in animal fats. Learn about your family medical history, this will have to be the first step you make to avoid this terrible disease. Your nutritional diet should contain mostly natural products like fruits and vegetables but should also be rich in mineral supplements and antioxidants such as lycopene, calcium, lignans, isoflavonoids, resveratrol, magnesium, zinc, selenium, high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, enzymes, essential acids and amino.

To obtain a good health and maintain a healthy body, daily exercises are often recommended. Might sound strange but these exercises can also help you avoid diseases such as cancer. Be careful on you work environment and if you notice something to be unhealthy for you make sure to seek for a doctor’s advice. After the age of forty men have to do the screening tests periodically. If these screening tests indicate an abnormal condition, the prostate biopsy will offer better and clearer results. According to these results the doctors will make the correct diagnose and prescribe the best treatment in your case. Avoiding a terrible and recurrent disease such as cancer should be possible is you follow some of the above mentioned tips but be sure to search for a doctor’s advice whenever you are in need.

The male specific organ responsible for making the seminal fluid is known as the prostate; very small in size, could be compared to a walnut, this gland is found near the rectum and below the bladder.
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Certain causes like age, genetic background, a high diet in animal fats, excessive drinking and smoking, and even race could be held responsible for the development of the cancerous tumors. This terrible disease, common as it may be, has no early symptoms to make it detectable so doctors can determine the existence of the cancerous cells only with the help of the screening tests. These tests include the prostate specific antigen blood tests and the digital rectal exam. Unpleasant as it may sound, the last detection procedure is very important because doctors need to feel with their own hands if the tumor is palpable or not, suggesting how far spread it may be according to how big in size it feels.

No matter how good are the results of the treatments, there is always the possibility of cancer recurrence, this is why we dare say that cancer is not curable but treatable or in other words, the medication, the surgery or the other forms of therapy are used by the medical professionals to lessen the symptoms of the disease but they can’t help in getting definitively ridden of it. There are many ways to help prevent the prostate cancer from developing in the organism but we have to also stay informed about it and this suggestion should be taken in consideration especially by men who had reached the age of forty or more. If you start to feel uncomfortable and irritated by certain pains you never felt before, immediately contact your personal doctor and explain in details what bothers you. Some symptoms may appear because of some other diseases and not necessarily because of cancer so until you get a correct diagnose try not to make hasty presumptions and scare yourself more than you already are.

Medical researches have concluded that there are some common symptoms which almost all patients with prostate cancer have experienced: ache or abdomen and bone pain, leg weakness or incontinence, stiffness, back pains, compression of the spine, painful ejaculation, pain while urinating and weak or frequent urine stream. Here are some tips to prevent cancer: always eat your fruits and vegetables and limit the animal fats and the red meat from your diet, may sound strange but daily exercise is very important not only to maintain your general health but also to prevent cancer, learn about your family medical history, be careful about your work environment, drastically limit the alcohol intake and avoid as much as possible smoking and the exposure to smoke, because the secondhand smoke usually contains more than sixty known carcinogens, and last but not least, regularly get screened for cancer.

The nutritional diet, mostly consisting in fresh veggies, fruits, mineral supplements and antioxidants such as zinc, selenium, resveratrol, lycopene, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, essential fatty acids and enzymes, should be respected accordingly to your doctor’s or herbalist’s advices. They will know exactly what food you need to avoid and what to include on your diet list. Remember, there are ways to prevent the prostate cancer, but you just have to give them their significant importance.

Prevention is probably the keyword for a healthy and balanced life.

No wonder doctors give advices about what should we do to maintain that healthy life and what to avoid; diseases are better to be prevented than treated.

It is the exact case of the prostate cancer: because of its frequency it is considered as a common disease affecting a great part of the male population so treatments are available for it but an even easier way is to make sure you do all that is left in your power to prevent it.

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Medical research studies concluded that there are two methods of treating the prostate cancer and that would be by using the conventional treatment or the alternative treatment.

Conventional treatment is used only after the cancer is diagnosed and since there are no early symptoms to make it detectable at an early stage, the screening tests and the prostate biopsy are recommended.

In this article the alternative treatment is our main interest. This type of treatment includes the herbal therapy treatment or the natural treatment method based on plants, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.

Doctors did agree that the best way to prevent the prostate cancer and not only, is by creating yourself a balanced and nutritional diet, consisting only in natural products like fruits and vegetables, but also rich in antioxidants and mineral supplements such as magnesium, zinc, selenium, lycopene, calcium, resveratrol or phyto-oestrogens with its two groups: isoflavonoids and lignans, found in berries, nuts and cereals, vitamin C in high doses, also vitamin A and E, amino and essential fatty acids, enzymes.

Below is a short list of foods used for the prevention of the prostate cancer.

The African plum tree also know as Pygeum lowers the cholesterol, the pomegranate juice from the Punica granatum tree has anti-inflamatory properties, zyflamend extract from the olive oil, hot peppers and jalapenom habenero reduces the growth of prostate cancer cells, the saw palmetto and the soy are considered miracle herbs, soy products such as tofu or miso have isoflavonoids.

In pumpkin seeds, oysters, barley, chicken meat and sunflower seeds large quantities of zinc are stored.

The brown rice, liver and seafood in general are rich in selenium, as for meat, cold-water fish has a high amount of Omega 3.

In apricots, papayas, pink grapefruits, watermelons, red carrots, guava and of course tomatoes, cooked tomatoes we can find lycopene, with its antioxidant activity that has the benefic result of reversing or stopping the tumor from spreading.

About drinking products, water is the best, and the more you drink it the better it is. The daily recommended quantity would be fifty percent of body weight in ounces or at least eight glasses of water. Eucalyptus, green tea and lemon juice are alternatives for simple water.

Maitake mushroom extracts show some beneficial effects, but honey is also recommended especially fructose, found in all natural fruits.

Avoid pastries foods, sweet products made with processed sugar and artificial sweeteners, butter, large quantities of salt or meat processed foods.

As I’ve stated before, this is just a small list of foods used in diets for preventing the prostate cancer and the best way to know the complete list is to seek for the advice of a medical expert or an herbalist.

Prevention is the first step one has to make to live a long and healthy life, but it is also true the fact that out there are some negative environmental factors, making this prevention as difficult as it can get.

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Basic life knowledge says that if you want to prevent something from happening, you have to know first with what you are dealing with. In simple words, information is the key to prevention and I shall start this article by sharing the basic information about the prostate cancer.

The prostate gland is found only in the male reproductive system, has the size of a walnut and it’s responsible with the storing and the making of the seminal fluid; its location is below the bladder, near the rectum and surrounding the urethra.

The prostate cancer was officially recognized as a disease in 1853, but it was considered a rare one since cancer was not the only disorder affecting the prostate. In fact the symptoms of the prostate cancer were first described about three centuries ago, in the late 1500’s by a venetian anatomist, Niccolo Massa.



Doctors say that the prostate cancer doesn’t have early symptoms, but these eventually appear after some time, when the cancerous cells multiply and the tumor starts spreading: first is confined in the gland, after it affects the surrounding prostate area.

These symptoms are: frequent urination or weak urine stream, burning or pain while urinating, blood in urine or semen, painful ejaculation, back pains, stiffness, ache, frequent bone pain, pain in the abdomen, compression of the spine resulting in leg weakness or incontinence.

Studies have concluded there are several causes standing behind the development of cancerous cells in the prostate: age, is the first and most important factor because usually after the age of forty men experience internal body changes, race and genetic background, cancer being an inherited disease, and the high diet in animal fats or junk food, alcohol and smoking, increasing the exposure of developing cancer.

Knowing the causes my help prevent the formation of the malignant tumor, but in this case, you can not stop the aging process nor you can choose your genetic background.

Avoiding foods saturated in animal fats and the consume of alcohol in large quantities and the frequent smoking, these are things to be considered as important, because it is in your power to improve your life by giving up to these not-so-good-for-your-health factors!

Build yourself a nutritional diet, consisting only in natural products like fruits and vegetables, but also rich in antioxidants and mineral supplements such as magnesium, zinc, selenium, lycopene, calcium, resveratrol or phyto-oestrogens with its two groups: isoflavonoids and lignans, found in berries, nuts and cereals, vitamin C in high doses, also vitamin A and E, amino and essential fatty acids, enzymes.

Sure, the prostate cancer is a treatable disease, but who wants to go through such terrifying experiences?

No one, and this is precisely the reason why prevention is so important. Good health could only be attained and maintained if preventive measures are taken at the right time!

The prostate cancer is a common type of cancer affecting a serious number of men from all over the world.

Its early symptoms don’t exist, so the best medical advice to detect the prostate cancer at an early stage is to regularly have screening tests.

The most common manifestations of a prostate disorder are frequent and painful urination, problems of sexual function or blood found in the urine.

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If we talk about an advanced stage we encounter symptoms such as weakness in the legs, fecal an urinary incontinence, bone pain; if the cancer had spread to the lungs and liver it will cause breathing problems, chest and abdomen pains; if the spinal cord is affected it can cause the compression of the spine. If we are talking about metastatic cancer the most affected parts of the body will be the pelvis, ribs and vertebrae.

An early diagnosis of the exact disorder which affects the prostate can be obtained by using the screening procedure, done on a regular basis, the results being either normal when cancerous cells are not detected and abnormal, suggesting cancer.

Screening tests include two procedures: the digital rectal exam or DRE, when the doctor searches for hardness or lumps on the surface of the prostate gland by inserting a gloved finger into the rectum and the prostate specific antigen blood tests or PSA using as an indicator for the spreading of the cancer the prostate-specific antigen.

If the PSA test result indicates under four nanograms per milliliter of blood then it is considered as a normal result, the result between four and ten is at the borderline, depending on the patients age, genetic inheritance, symptoms and even race, a result higher than ten is abnormal, as also if the values are between thirty and forty which definitely indicate the existence of a prostate cancer.

In this last case the doctor has to inquire further medical investigations to reach for an exact diagnosis. A biopsy is the best procedure used in this case and is described as the withdrawing of one or two small pieces of the prostate tissue, using a needle trans-rectally, all this is done with the guidance of ultrasound images of the prostate area.

Biopsies can also be performed near the lymph nodes, the urinary bladder or the rectum. If the cancer has spread to the bones, radionuclide bone scans can confirm that, if we are talking about affected surrounding organs coaxial tomography or CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging or MRIs can tell how much the cancer has spread in these areas.

If cancer is diagnosed, a pathologist uses the Gleason scale to classify the stages of the cancer: scores of two to four indicate a slow growing tumor, scores of five to six indicate an intermediate aggressiveness of the tumor while scores from seven to ten indicate the rapid growth of the cancerous tumor.

There is also the staging process which indicates how spread is the disease, and there are usually four stages: stage I, stage II, stage III and stage IV.

The next step is to start treating this disease under the guidance of a doctor and to start caring about what foods you consume. For that a doctor’s advices are imperative.

This is an article on prostate cancer prevention. Current information on risk factors for prostate cancer, suggests that some cases can be prevented. A possible risk factor that can be changed is diet. You can decrease your risk of prostate cancer following a diet low in fat and rich in vegetables, fruits and cereals.
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The U.S. Cancer Society:  Eat a variety of healthy food, with emphasis on vegetable and limiting red meat intake, especially fat-containing or being processed. We recommend eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Bread, cereals, bran products, rice, pasta and vegetables are also recommended. These nutrition recommendations are also used to reduce the risk of other cancers and are reflected in the European code against cancer.

Tomatoes (raw, cooked or processed as in sauces and ketchup), citrus and watermelon are rich in lycopene. These vitamin-like substances are antioxidants that may help prevent DNA mutations and, therefore, lower the risk of prostate cancer. It seems that the vitamins and mineral supplements can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Some studies suggest that 50 milligrams (or 400 IU) of vitamin E per day may lower the risk. However, other studies indicate that vitamin E is not beneficial.

Reasonable doses of vitamin E produced no significant side effects and are not expensive. The mineral selenium may reduce the risk. In addition vitamin A supplementation according to the latest research can increase the risk. However, one must consume vitamin supplements with caution. It is more advisable richly varied diet with a predominance of plant foods of animal origin, which contain all these micronutrients and act positively and synergistically.

The clinical trial called SELECT (Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial: a clinical trial for cancer prevention with vitamin E and selenium) is a major clinical trial designed to determine if these two supplements (vitamin E and selenium) can protect against prostate cancer. This study opened in 2001 and recruited men 32.000. Unfortunately, the results of this study are not available until 2013. This study is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute of America.

The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial is a clinical trial that has recruited over 18,000 men over 50 years to determine the protective effect of a substance called finasteride, which may protect the prostate of male hormones, and may reduce cancer risk prostate. Androgens are male hormones known to promote growth of both normal and cancerous prostate cells and may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer. This study (PCPT) was initiated 9 years ago to test the ability of finasteride to prevent the occurrence of prostate cancer. Subjects were randomized to receive placebo or finasteride during this time.

At the end of the study or at any time provided there was suspicion of cancer prostate biopsy was performed. Although the number of cancer cases was lower in subjects taking the drug, we can not speak of success. Tumors, although less frequently, were more malignant in patients who received finasteride. The real goal of cancer prevention is not to reduce the number of cases but improved survival. However, the drug appears to achieve a 25% lower but more aggressive tumors.

It seems that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen, taken daily are associated with a lower incidence of prostate cancer in men aged 60 years or more in some studies as published in Oncol Rep., January-February 2000. For more information on prostate cancer prevention, you can check mayoclinic.com.