When it comes to cancer, there’s not a lot of good news out there. It’s an anxiety-inducing and often terrifying subject to discuss, and we tend to think of cancer as both inevitable and fatal. But thanks to some significant scientific advancements, we know that neither of those things is necessarily true anymore. In fact, the...Continue reading
Tag: cancer
How PCORI is Advancing Men’s Health
June is Men’s Health Month, and the week culminating in Father’s Day, which this year falls on June 15, is Men’s Health Week. Created by an act of Congress in 1994, Men’s Health Week is a perfect time to remember the health issues facing men. At PCORI, we’re funding a wide variety of research projects...Continue reading
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month
With May rapidly approaching, and warmer weather giving way to more time spent outdoors – protecting our skin becomes a top priority. Skin cancer, the abnormal growth of skin cells, affects people of all ages and races and most often develops on those areas most exposed to the sun. It is the most common form...Continue reading
PSA After Prostatectomy – What Patients Should Know
What does a rising PSA after surgery mean? What can be done to help patients experiencing this? PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood tests are a familiar routine for men over the age of 40. This test is typically used as a screening tool for prostate cancer, and has helped countless men detect and treat their...Continue reading
Radiation For Prostate Cancer Has Proven Once Again That It Leads To More Complications Than Surgery
For men with prostate cancer, deciding whether to opt for radiation or surgical removal of the gland can be overwhelming. How does one decide with the risks such as the unpleasant side-effect of erectile dysfunction and incontinence? With prostate cancer the 2nd most common malignancy, second only to skin cancer. Unfortunately over 240,000 men are...Continue reading
‘Robotic’ Sperm to Fight Infertility
Up until recently, health and medicine was basically a hit or miss affair. We would discover interventions such as drugs that had benefits, but also many side effects. With recent research information from Dresden, Germany sperm can now be trapped in nanotubes (grown in a lab with a cylindrical structure that exhibits heat and electrical properties, which are...Continue reading
Radiation
Many people who’ve had cancer that has metastasized to their bones have had to endure multiple doses of radiation to control the pain. But it doesn’t have to be that way. According to recent research, a single dose is just as effective at controlling pain as multiple ones. The study, led by Justin Bekelman and...Continue reading
To PSA or Not to PSA: The Answer Is PSA Testing Plus…
New MRI Technology Is the Solution to the Vast Overtreatment of Prostate Cancer When PSA testing was initiated in 1990, it reduced the death rate from prostate cancer 40%, from 50,000 to 30,000 deaths per year. Yet government agencies and medical associations are now telling us to discontinue this test, despite the fact we have...
Beyond the “All-or-Nothing” Paradigm for Prostate Cancer, Part I
When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2011, I was told unequivocally that I needed surgery or radiation. I spoke with four experienced prostate surgeons, and they all said that because of my high PSA level and multiple biopsy cores positive for cancer, radical treatment that either removed the entire prostate gland or...Continue reading
Reducing Prostate Cancer: Fat Chance (and That’s a Good Thing)
In a previous post, we talked about how omega-3 fatty acids—as beneficial as they are in many ways—have been shown to increase prostate cancer risk, especially of the most aggressive and deadly forms. But other types of fats, including avocados, nuts, olive and vegetable oils (especially canola), and seeds, have precisely the opposite effect: they...Continue reading