Well published writer Sherry Baker, in today’s Natural News article, talks about the incidence of prostate cancer in the United States and the rationale for and against treatment.

A number of points raised deserve comment from me, as a lay person, I think.

The negative side of common treatments mentioned, such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, have a high risk of side effects including incontinence and erection dysfunction. These are caused primarily by nerve damage which also causes a loss of sensitivity in the genitalia as well as a loss of libido. Though the last point is more likely associated with the nasty drugs given in the process.

I note that it is suggested that if one takes the watchful waiting route it should be after having “two” biopsies and with follow up, periodic biopsies. Does this not fly in the face of research showing that biopsies can cause metastasis? And incidentally, that goes for any form of surgery once you have a cancer.

Treatment decisions are often based on the judged severity (albeit subjectively) of the cancer and in the age of the man. The older the candidate the less likely a need for aggressive treatment, indeed, perhaps none at all. It must be said here that many cancers develop within the core of the prostate where it is very difficult to estimate size or spread for Gleason scoring purposes. Biopsies taken of the outer areas of the gland itself can miss entirely the fact that the inner core is itself diseased. As I intimated above, a diagnosis by the urologist is mostly subjective; as is the analysis of the biopsy itself by laboratory technicians and must be treated with due circumspect.

Hence, selecting a preferred treatment option might be a matter of luck – good or bad – dependent upon how well the patient researches the matter. Whatever, prostate cancer is very slow moving and therefor time is on the patients side. He must not give in to the dismal, prognostic outpourings of his doctor, family and friends but take up the challenge, do his own research, decide upon a course of action, and stick with it. As stated in the article and I quote “Some men may be rushing into treatment that won’t necessarily benefit them, prevent problems, or prolong life“.

The article also states that “20 to 50% of all men diagnosed with prostate cancer will die from other causes”. Maybe so, but that statement needs qualification. For one thing it needs to differentiate between men who undertake conventional treatment; chemotherapy, radiation, hormone treatment or surgery, compared to those who take the ‘watchful waiting’ course.

We know that every one of these treatments has serious side effects arising from its application as well as the awful, debilitating poisons ingested. So what chance does one’s immune system have against such deadly attacks? Small wonder the patient dies from ‘other causes’. It certainly makes the cancer statistics look better though, doesn’t it. Think about it.

We should not forget that statistically, conventional medical treatment does not guarantee a longer life than if one does nothing. What it does do is ensure that what life span remains is endured with a body full of toxins and a very miserable existence. It certainly does nothing to enhance one’s quality of life.

Study Finds Many Men with Prostate Cancer may be Fine without Treatment
Extract:
(NaturalNews) Controversial radio personality Don Imus just announced he has prostate cancer. He’s certainly not alone. In fact prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men. About 186,320 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed last year, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). However, a diagnosis of prostate cancer isn’t an automatic death sentence — ACS statistics show that although about one in 6 men will be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime, only one in 35 will actually die from the cancer. And new research shows that a diagnosis of prostate cancer also doesn’t automatically mean all men even need treatment, such as often grueling chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery which can cause serious long-term side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Click here for the full article from Natural News

Today’s quote:

“In reality, a person very rarely dies of cancer. It is always starvation and toxicity. As the malignant tumor grows it gives off waste products, which must be eliminated through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs and skin. These waste products accumulate and gradually overburden the body. Most persons then die of toxemia.” Dr Kelly DDS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 11:57 am and is filed under Informative Web-Sites, News Items, Prostate Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.