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All Prostate Disorders Special Reports
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Proton Beam Therapy for Prostate Cancer
If you've been diagnosed with prostate cancer and are exploring your treatment options, you've probably come across proton beam therapy (PBT) -- an increasingly popular form of external radiation treatment that promises fewer side effects. However, only a few centers offer it, and some experts don't believe it's superior to other advanced radiation treatments. Here's what you need to know. More...
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Vitamin D and Prostate Cancer
Vitamin D may turn out to be a ray of hope for men with prostate cancer. Laboratory and population-based research suggest that adequate levels of vitamin D reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer and may help suppress the growth and spread of prostate cancer cells in men who already have it. A significant proportion of older men have suboptimal levels of vitamin D, especially during the winter and spring months. But boosting your vitamin D levels isn't difficult. More...
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Taxotere: Chemotherapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer
Taxotere was originally approved in the U. S. for the treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer after failure of prior chemotherapy, as well as for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Today, Taxotere is the standard of care for men with advanced prostate cancer.
What can be done to prolong the life of a man who has advanced prostate cancer? More than three decades ago, chemotherapy was tried in an effort to… More...
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Understanding Your Pathology Report
Pathologists are the unseen and unsung heroes in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Their reports set the entire process in motion, determining in large part the treatment decisions that follow.
The pathologist is a medical doctor who has at least four years of residency training beyond the four years of medical school. The pathologist studies the slivers of prostate tissue (cores) removed during your prostate biopsy. The doctor who performed the prostate biopsy will have indicated… More...
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Simple Steps to Protect Yourself Against Prostate Cancer
Reducing your risk of prostate cancer begins with the big picture, those well-publicized major lifestyle changes that are widely recommended but often difficult to accomplish. Then there are the smaller details: cancer-protective foods, supplements, and medications. A serious prostate cancer risk-reduction program encompasses both approaches.
Achieving a healthy weight, committing to regular exercise, and altering long-ingrained dietary habits are the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from prostate cancer. And their payoff… More...
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Advice to Help You Cope With Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments
Hormonal therapy for prostate cancer can be rough with unpleasant side effects. Johns Hopkins provides advice to help soften the impact. The male hormone testosterone influences more than a man's sex life. It also plays a role in bone health, muscle mass, levels of energy, and even psychological well-being. Hormonal therapies for prostate cancer, known as androgen-deprivation therapy, shut down testosterone production. When testosterone levels plummet, the effects are swift and unpleasant. Knowing what side effects… More...
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New Treatments for BPH
Investigational new treatments to relieve symptoms of enlarged prostate, BPH, include aspirin, Viagra, Botox, and a number of promising new drugs.
Current medical treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, or an enlarged prostate) relies on alpha-1-adrenergic blockers (alpha-blockers), which relax muscles in the prostate, or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, which lower androgen levels within the prostate. … More...
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New Biomarkers Offer Hope for Improving on PSA Test Results
Widespread yearly screening with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has done a good job of detecting prostate cancer before it has spread. Thanks to PSA testing, many men today who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have early-stage disease that can be managed effectively with either radical prostatectomy or radiation treatment. More...
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When the Diagnosis Is Prostate Cancer -- Seeking a Second (or Third or Fourth) Opinion
Determining a course of treatment for prostate cancer is one of the most harrowing decisions in modern medicine. Not only do treatments such as surgery and radiation therapy have troubling side effects, but doctors can’t agree on which treatments work best—and are more likely to recommend the option that they specialize in. Hence, to be in the best position for making decisions about your own treatment for prostate cancer, it’s vital to get more than one opinion.
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Getting Your PSA Tested for Prostate Cancer
The PSA test, first approved by the FDA in 1986 as a way to monitor treatment of prostate cancer, is now widely used as a tool to screen for the presence of prostate cancer. Thousands of men, including public figures, have had their prostate cancer diagnosed with the help of this test (which measures prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced in the prostate and released into the blood). But the use of PSA testing has also been accompanied by controversy. More...
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Finding Help for Sexual Function Problems After BPH Treatment
Nearly all of the treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer
have the potential to cause sexual problems. For instance, surgery and radiation therapy can result in erectile dysfunction, and BPH medications and hormone therapy can produce both erectile dysfunction and reduced sex drive. Even the anxiety and stress
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Minimally Invasive Treatments for BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)
Transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) is the gold standard treatment for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), but in recent years, clinicians have developed and refined a number of minimally invasive alternatives for those patients with prostate disease.
Two such treatments for BPH—transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) and transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT)—have become increasingly popular among prostate patients because of their ability to relieve symptoms of BPH while producing fewer
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