What are 1 in 6 American men diagnosed with?  Prostate cancer; and it is serious stuff, as it claimed almost 30,000 lives last year. 

You may be familiar with the old saying that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Here’s another truism – the key to a man’s health and his enjoyment of life, particularly as he ages, is his prostate.  The treatment for cancer (usually the removal of the prostate) is not pleasant and has various side effects, particularly loss of libido and sexual performance.  Now there is a news of a discovery that may help doctors determine how aggressive the prostate cancer is and the most appropriate treatment.

Meet the Prostate Gland

The prostate is a small gland and is a key part of the male reproductive system. It is located under the bladder and surrounds the urethra. The urethra transports urine from the bladder and ejaculates semen. The prostate acts as a valve that permits both sperm and urine to flow in the proper direction – out of the body. It receives sperm from the testicles and produces nutrients to nourish the sperm. The prostate also functions as a filter. It ensures that the seminal fluid is a healthy environment for sperm cells by filtering out impurities from the blood stream. Healthy sperm increase the likelihood of a healthy baby! In young men the prostate is about the size of a walnut. However, it commonly enlarges with age. 

There are three main prostate disorders – prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostate cancer. Prostatitis is pain from the swelling of the prostate gland. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that makes urination difficult.  Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Almost 200,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2008.  Often, it grows very slowly and may take decades to produce symptoms.  However, sometimes it grows rapidly and spreads outside the prostate. By the age of fifty, 75% of men have enlarged prostates and 33% have cancer cells in their prostate. By the age of seventy five, 75% have cancer cells in their prostates.  Approximately two million American men are living with diagnosed prostate cancer.

The New Discovery

Making prostate cancer treatment tricky is not knowing if the cancer is of the slow growing or aggressive growing varieties.  While 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with it, only 1 in 35 will die of it.  An aggressive treatment of a slow growing cancer may be more than the man requires and may significantly reduce his quality of life.  A recent scientific breakthrough may help doctors determine the best treatment for their patient.  The discovery was made of an amino acid derivative called sarcosine which indicates if a man has an aggressive or benign form of prostate cancer.  The study showed that benign cancer cells exposed to sarcosine became more aggressive and invasive.  And the even better news is that sarcosine can be identified from a simple urine test, so the highly invasive needle biopsy may no longer be needed.  Of course the scientists state that further testing must be done to validate their findings.

Healthy Prostate = Healthy Man

Signs of an unhealthy prostate may include pain in the penis, pain in the testicles, pain in the perineum, frequent urination, burning urination, night-time urination, incomplete emptying of the bladder, painful ejaculation, painful urination, sensation of having to urinate immediately often accompanied by bladder pain or spasm, and recurring urinary tract infections. There are also some seemingly unrelated symptoms such as lower back pain (which is very common).

Of course the best plan is to avoid all this and to take good care of your man’s prostate.  Like any working part of the body good nutrition is the key.  To make sure your man is getting the best possible nutrition I have developed two specific products – An iron free Male Multiple and Prostate Formula.  You can find more information about them here.  My iron free formula is unique in the market and addresses the concern that most men simply have too much iron and do not need additional supplementation.  To get all the information you need to keep your man healthy I recommend my book Super Nutrition for Men. 

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20090211/key-piece-to-prostate-cancer-puzzle-found.

Key Piece to Prostate Cancer Puzzle Found: Finding Promises New Tests, Treatments for Prostate Cancer, By Daniel J. DeNoon, WebMD Health News, February 11, 2009.

Prostate Cancer Statistics