Women can’t get prostate cancer, just as men can’t get uterine cancer. But, women are affected by prostated cancer just the same, when someone they love is diagnosed with it.
Men who develop prostate cancer are becoming more open about it and that’s a good thing. This allows them to connect with other men who have or had it, and it allows them to research it and learn as much as they can. But what about their wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, female friends? Where can they turn for help?
The American and Canadian Cancer Societies, and many others, do a great job …read more

It may be heresy to say this. But, just as there’s a debate about how effective breast self examination is, there’s now a similar debate about annual prostate cancer screening.
The National Cancer Institute has issued a press release discussing a new report from a study by the  Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. It says that “6 annual screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease, …read more

Some hormone-blocking drugs may not be beneficial to the elderly prostate cancer patients.
Such were the findings of a new prostate cancer study.
A prostate cancer study that could change how doctors treat some patients found that widely used hormone-blocking drugs did not improve survival chances for older men whose disease hadn’t spread.
In fact, men given the drugs alone were slightly more likely to die of prostate cancer during the next six years than men who’d gotten medical monitoring but no or delayed treatment, another common treatment approach.
The study involved nearly 20,000 Medicare patients with prostate cancer that hadn’t spread. A surprising …read more

As proclaimed by President George W. Bush on April 1, 2008 in lieu of Cancer Control Month 2008:
During Cancer Control Month, we honor cancer victims and survivors, raise awareness of the impact cancer has on our citizens, and underscore our commitment to battling this deadly disease.
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, and we remain committed to making the medical advances necessary to prevent and treat this disease.
Scientists and medical professionals have made great progress in developing innovative treatments, improving diagnostic tools, and increasing our understanding of cancer. These advances have helped people with cancer live …read more

Administration of the popular anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex (celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in combination with Lipitor (atorvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug or statin) halts the transition of early prostate cancer to its more aggressive and potentially deadly stage.
“Anti-androgen therapy slows the prostate cancer but eventually the cancer becomes androgen-independent, the therapy becomes ineffective and the cancer cells become more aggressive,” said Xi Zheng, assistant research professor at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, who conducted the study.
“Treatments available for the later stage cancers are not very good,” said Allan Conney, director of Rutgers’ Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer …read more

Robert De Niro “won” against the cancer suit filed against him by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.
A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday granted the actor’s request to toss a lawsuit filed against him by an insurance company that claimed De Niro intentionally withheld that he had prostate cancer before the insurer signed on to cover one of his films.
Fireman’s Fund sued the Raging Bull star in October 2006, contending he wrongfully checked off a box indicating he had “never been diagnosed with or treated for” various conditions, including a diseased prostate, when he filled out his medical certificate.
The 64-year old old …read more

Amidst last week’s frenzy, I might have overlooked some important stuff involving cancer.
The following are still in my week-old (!!) notes:
Smokers Might Benefit From Earlier Colon Cancer Screening
New evidence suggests screening for colorectal cancer, which is now recommended to begin at age 50 for most people, should start five to 10 years earlier for individuals with a significant lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke, a University of Rochester Medical Center study said.
An examination of 3,450 cases found that current smokers were diagnosed with colon cancer approximately seven years earlier than people who never smoked. The study is also one of the …read more

Speaking of prostate cancer, it is important to catch it early, as with any other type of cancer.
Early cancer detection increases response to treatment, the chance of curing the cancer and patient survival. Most especially, it may prevent the patient from undergoing surgery.
As we know, however advanced procedures there may have, surgery doesn’t come with no risks.
As I was searching for prostate cancer, I found this YouTube video entitled: Close-up View of Robotic Surgery for Prostate Cancer (embedding is disabled, so i just link to the video).

According to new genomics research by a team from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, a blood test for five generic variants previously associated with prostate cancer will be able to gauge a man’s risk for developing prostate cancer.
As the researchers reported in New England Journal of Medicine:
Researchers found that a man with four of the five variants has an increased risk of 400 to 500 percent compared to men with none of the variants. The researchers then added a family history of prostate cancer to the equation – for a total of six risk factors. A man with at …read more

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that hormonal components in OTC dietary supplements may promote the progression of prostate cancer and decrease the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs.
According to Dr. Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at UT Southwestern and one of the study’s authors:
“Physicians need to ask their patients not only about the prescription drugs they may be taking, but — perhaps even more importantly — about the over-the-counter drugs and supplements, which may have a profound impact on certain health conditions.”
Dietary supplements in question here are the ones used to develop stronger muscles and enhance sexual performance (brand …read more