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Prostate Cancer Surgery Can Wait

It is becoming increasingly clear that not every man diagnosed with prostate cancer should undergo surgery. Alternative methods have been proven to be as effective and are definitely more user-friendly.
 
Highly Treatable

By way of background, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed today in American men. The first is skin cancer of the non-melanoma kind. In fact, some schools of thought suggest that every man who lives long enough and who has circulating androgens will develop some sort of prostate cancer. Indeed, studies say that prostatic tissue searched out in pathology after surgery or during an autopsy produces the conclusion that 50 percent of all men older than 70 will have some degree of cancer.
 
The good news? Prostate cancer is not terminal when the disease is in its early stages. But, traditional treatments of medication, radiation and/or surgery are not solutions certain patients want to select for various reasons, including harsh side effects. That's when alternative treatment options come into play.
 
Dietary Concerns

Even though hereditary concerns and environmental factors have proven to come into play, pertinent scientific studies say that diet can play a huge part in fighting off prostate cancer.
 
That said, this kind of cancer has shown to be more commonly found in Western countries than in, say, certain Asian countries.
 
Why is this? Because people who live in places like Japan and China where men often choose to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle eating a lot of vegetables and fruit as well as maintaining a diet low in fat - have been able to boast the lowest incidents of prostate cancer in the world.
 
A Super Nutrient

In addition, the super nutrient known as lycopene found in certain fruits and veggies - like cooked tomatoes - acts as a powerful antioxidant. That said, a number of researchers think that taking in lycopene can slow the eruption of prostate tumors. Also being studied and therefore not conclusive, adding vitamin D3 to a man's diet is believed to help retard advanced prostate cancer.
 
Doctors Orders

Since so many new ways to fight off prostate cancer are becoming practical after proving to be effective through clinical trials, doctors who deal with this dilemma are keeping a watchful eye on the situation. Keeping in tune with your physician on what is currently working and what is being studied will certainly help you decide which regimen is right for you, and also which regimes sound promising as these concepts come into practice.
 
When necessary, finding excellent home care to support these alternative approaches can prove to be very important. So do your due diligence, and if you need help at home, be sure to hire a health professional who is also well versed in the studies currently being conducting regarding the very common malady known as prostate cancer.
 

Freelance travel writer Jane Lasky, contributes to publications such as Travel + Leisure, Vogue and Esquire. Her weekly sojourning column ran in 40 newspapers for 20 years. Jane is anything but an accidental tourist and always travels with her pillow. Check out her articles on Examiner.com.

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