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Cancer > The Prostate
A muscular gland somewhat
bigger than a walnut that adds seminal fluid to the
sperm before it is expelled during ejaculation - is
the second leading site of cancer in men.
This condition affects many men
in the 40 - 60 year age group. It is suspected that
the cause in part, lies with an inability to express
emotionally and the stresses involved with
performance anxiety and inadequate nutrition.
There are many health product
formula's available which are very effective in both
prevention and treatment.
As a last resort, treatment is
the operation feared the most. Having a cancerous
prostate gland removed means enduring a large
incision in the lower abdomen so that surgeons can
work deep in the pelvis. Patients may bleed a lot,
usually requiring several weeks to recover their
strength. And a great many are left impotent when
doctors, cutting and stitching by touch at times,
inadvertently damage nerves. Some are even left
incontinent.
Yet, tens of thousands undergo
radical prostatectomy every year because it's got the
best track record for beating a disease that kills
nearly 40,000 men annually in the USA.
Now, surgeons are using a
surgical procedure called "laparoscopic
prostatectomy," that avoids large incisions and
reduces blood loss - and gets patients back on their
feet quicker. It's carried out using slender tubes
tipped with cameras, miniature scalpels and tweezers,
and inserted through five small holes in the abdomen.
"It allows us to see in
these deep areas of the male pelvis and do a more
careful operation," said Dr. Douglas M. Dahl, a
urologist at the UMass Memorial Medical Center, while
performing a "lap prostate," as it's
termed. "And the patients have less pain."
However, there are other
choices.
Older or unhealthy men often receive the
less-invasive external beam radiation, which seeks to
contain the cancer rather than eliminate it. It
requires weeks of daily treatments and can cause
urinary and rectal problems.
Radioactive seed implants, tiny
pellets of radioactive metal inserted into the
prostate gland, have become an increasingly popular
alternative to surgery. The implants are relatively
painless and quick, but they remain controversial
because their long-term effectiveness is not known.
Moreover, the implants, once thought to have minimal
side effects, are proving to affect potency and
continence as well. |
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prevent, treat or cure any disease. Please consult a health care
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