If you are looking for ways to keep or kick the “C” word out of your life you’ll find no shortage of techniques in the news and on the web. I seem to stumble across one just about every time I research any aspect of my personal favorite, prostate cancer. One by one, each seems worth a try. Eat less of this, do more of that—sure, why not? What have I got to lose?
But when considered not one by one, but as a single formula for cancer control, it is overwhelming. To maximize our vigilance, must we really implement every item on that ever-growing list of instructions? And if we did, would there be any remaining life worth living?
Absolutely maybe
… we remain ever-hopeful and understandably tempted to tweak our lives again, again, and again …
Why even bother at all? While virtually nobody argues that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of lung cancer, few if any anti-prostate cancer techniques are offered with anywhere near that level of conviction. Instead, we find an abundance of equivocation.
Still, we remain ever-hopeful and understandably tempted to tweak our lives again, again, and again—just in case. But before we allow cancer avoidance to consume our life one small tweak at a time, let’s remember to keep our eye on the ball. In this case the ballgame—the big picture—is life.
The fine print
Toward that end, I have compiled a list of 25 possible prostate cancer miracle methods, followed by a daily routine to incorporate them all. Each listing includes a link to the original source article and a brief pull-quote directly from it. The highlighting/italicizing is mine, to emphasize the prevaricating words—the fine print.
25 Ways to Defeat Prostate Cancer (and destroy your life):
Food (click to show):
Coffee … Four or more cups of coffee a day may keep prostate cancer recurrence and progression away … Bioactive compounds in coffee may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects …
Green tea … Chemicals in green tea may help inhibit development of prostate cancer in men at high risk, according to results of a randomized, controlled trial …
Whole ginger extract … ginger could be the answer to preventing and even treating prostate cancer …
Fat … while obesity may not make prostate cancer more likely, it does appear to fuel its growth if a tumour is already present …
Resveratrol … laboratory studies have demonstrated the ability of resveratrol to prevent the growth of cancer cells. However, it is not clear if similar effects could occur in humans, and its hormone-like properties may stimulate some types of cancer cells.
Pomegranate Juice … components of pomegranate juice may stop prostate cancer cells from moving … patients may also experience lowered levels of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) …
Avocado … Avocado extract has also been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells … in isolated cells … doesn’t really prove anything about what happens in a living, breathing human.
Alcohol … moderate drinking has no effect on prostate cancer risk, but regular heavy drinking may …
Mediterranean diet … Mediterranean diet could reduce prostate cancer mortality risk … seeds, nuts, avocados, and oil-based dressing could reduce the risk of death for men with prostate cancer …
Vegan Diet … The relation between diet and prostate cancer is still unclear … Vegan diets may confer a lower risk of prostate cancer …
Drugs & Supplements (click to show):
4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) … an over-the-counter supplement (4-MU) is effective in both preventing and treating prostate cancer … Treating mice with the supplement appeared to inhibit prostate cancer …
Vitamin A: … Although … high levels of vitamin A in the blood can reduce a man’s risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer, simply eating vitamin A-rich foods or taking supplements may not be enough …
Vitamin B: … studies on supplemental folic acid have suggested significant cancer risks … excess folic acid from supplements could be risky … Men should be cautious …
Vitamin C … It has been suggested that dietary intake of vitamin C-riched fruit and vegetables might prevent the onset of prostate cancer … should be confirmed …
Vitamin D … new research suggests that vitamin D supplementation may improve low-grade prostate cancers by reducing inflammation, perhaps lessening the need for eventual surgery or radiation treatment … don’t know yet whether vitamin D treats or prevents prostate cancer …
Vitamin E … vitamin E supplements reduced the risk of prostate and colorectal cancers in male smokers. However, … vitamin E taken alone or with selenium for five years, did not reduce the risk of prostate cancer …
Activities (click to show):
Exercise … Evidence suggests that men who are physically active after a prostate cancer diagnosis have better cancer survival than men who aren’t active. It’s not clear yet how this works, but it might be that exercise affects the way some genes regulate cancer cell growth and DNA repair.
Acne … studies have apparently suggested that having acne is associated with a decreased risk for a diagnosis of prostate cancer … and aggressive forms of prostate cancer in particular.
Pilates … practicing Pilates, the risk of prostate cancer may be reduced …
Running … results suggest that men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer progression after a diagnosis of prostate cancer by adding physical activity to their daily routine …
Smoking … If a man stops smoking before he is diagnosed with prostate cancer, he may slow the development of the disease, or may have a less severe-and more likely curable-form …
Sleep … Men who sleep well at night may be at less risk of developing advanced prostate cancer …
Well, there you have it: twenty-five techniques that may or may not help you live cancer-free. It’s perhaps a bit much, so now I’ll sum it up by offering you a single creative daily routine that covers all the bases. Try it at your own risk.
A day in your new life (click to show):
If you’re not too fat and have at least a little acne you’re in good shape. Take your morning no-folate-multi-vitamin tablet and a 4-MU pill. For breakfast enjoy two cups of coffee and a tomato. Follow that with an hour of challenging Pilates positions, and then relax in your favorite chair while sipping a tall pomegranate avocado cashew smoothie as a well-deserved snack.
… look in the bathroom mirror. If you’re not too fat and have at least a little acne you’re in good shape …
Next, find a way to have an orgasm, but afterward resist the temptation to light up a cigarette or have an alcoholic beverage—instead, take a nice relaxing shower. Use the remaining time before lunch however you wish—it’s your life—and for lunch have a tomato broccoli salad with olive oil dressing, and an eight ounce glass of—you guessed it—pomegranate juice. For dessert try some avocado cream pie sprinkled with ginger, along with your third and fourth cups of coffee. After all that coffee and juice you’ll need to run to the bathroom (run fast and count this as exercise), and then race around the block a few times while imagining the prostate cancer monster behind you, falling further and further away. When the feeling of euphoria hits you, head to the gym and lift weights until it hurts.
… find a way to have an orgasm, but afterward resist the temptation to light up a cigarette or have an alcoholic beverage …
You’ve worked hard at beating cancer all day, so reward yourself with a big dinner of beans and cauliflower sprinkled with sunflower seeds. Sip some red wine to make it special, and have another glass to wash down a much needed aspirin or two. Take another long, hot shower to help ensure that all important deep sleep, and before you retire for the night give yourself a gold star for living a perfect and prudent day.
But if at the end of that day you find yourself wondering, “Is this how I really want to spend the remaining days of my life?” give yourself an extra gold star and make plans to live an opposite kind of day tomorrow, just in case they have everything backwards.
But wait … there’s more!
I’m betting that if you google “prostate cancer” with just about any other word—especially a food, drug, or activity—you’ll find a connection. It seems that virtually everything might be related to prostate cancer, and it’s hard to argue the contrary. Furthermore, it’s likely that some of the claims have merit, but it’s frustrating if not impossible to figure out which.
With so many ways to allegedly combat prostate cancer it’s amazing even one in seven men still pulls the short straw.
Have something to add to my list, or a comment about this topic? Email me!
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