Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, with over 200,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. It occurs when cells in the prostate, a gland located under the bladder that is necessary for proper sexual function in men, becomes cancerous due to a flux in testosterone. Most cases of prostate cancer don’t occur until after 50 years of age, but in recent years the percentage of men in their 30s and 40s diagnosed with prostate problems and prostate cancer has been steadily rising.

Conventional treatments for prostate cancer include surgery to remove the prostate gland or radiotherapy. These are aggressive options and complications including impotence and urinary incontinence can result from surgery, and the risk of secondary cancers is a concern since science already knows radiation exposure causes cancer.

The PSA blood test is another area of confusion. A report published in the June 2009 issue of “A Cancer Journal for Clinicians” shows routine PSA blood tests often result in over diagnosis of prostate cancer, which then results in unnecessary treatments. The PSA test can be deceptive. There can be different reasons for an elevated PSA level, including prostate cancer, benign prostate enlargement, inflammation, infection, age and race.

Prostate cancer is typically slow growing and is very much a disease that can be managed…if you make the appropriate lifestyle changes. Early detection is important and there are natural and nutritional agents that can help you to prevent and treat prostate cancer.

1. Get lots of sun exposure to drive up your vitamin D levels. A recent study found men with prostate cancer are seven times less likely to die if they have high levels of vitamin D.

2. A study conducted at the University of Illinois found a relationship between prostate cancer and the daily consumption of broccoli and tomatoes. These are natural lycopene foods, as are raspberries and watermelon, which contain compounds that can fight cancer.

3. Keep your insulin levels below three as high insulin levels drive and promote cancer.

4. Free radical damage from oxidative stress acquired through aging or exposure to cancer-causing substances is associated with an increase in a man’s risk for prostate cancer. Taking certain antioxidants, such as vitamin E, selenium and lycopene are thought to lower this risk.

5. We know that our diets are intimately linked to the formation of cancer, and yet most of us continue to eat poorly. One reason that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is cancer-preventative is due to its rich glyconutrient and phytochemical content. Studies in numerous scientific journals, including “Molecular Urology”, have shown that glyconutrients not only retarded human prostate cancer cell growth, but also encouraged their destruction. It is also believed that glyconutritional supplementation may enhance the effects of chemotherapy.

Recently, there has been numerous study reports published that address the benefits of Hormone therapy combined with Radiation therapy in treating prostate cancer. This article wishes to provide readers some helpful updates with regards to the new standard treatment for prostate cancer.

In 1995 to 2005, a randomized study was jointly conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the United Kingdom Medical Research Council and the Southwest Oncology Group in the United States. 1,205 men with high risk prostate cancer in the United States, Canada and in United Kingdom were part of the study. These men were assigned with either receiving hormone therapy alone or a combined hormone therapy (with external beam radiation treatment). Follow ups were made among patients for an average of at least 6 years and findings from this study presents that adding radiation therapy significantly reduced the risk of death among the study group given with the combined therapy.

In another study report published by Bolla et al from an EORTC study in 1997 showed an increase in the probability of a progression-free and overall survival of European patients diagnosed with a locally advance prostate cancer high risk (T1-2 and T3-4NO-1MO) tumors. Patients who were given external beam radiation therapy plus an adjuvant hormonal therapy for three years showed an increase in survival rates compared to the patients who received external beam radiation therapy alone. Additional data from the American studies show similar results. According to this study, two to three years of hormone therapy combined with radiotherapy improves survival among patients but is accompanied by a number of adverse effects such as impotence, hot flashes and risk of acquiring heart attacks.

Horwitz et al reported a US study (RTOG 92-02) in 2008 that radiotherapy plus extended adjuvant hormone therapy for 28 months increased the probability of the disease-free survival and disease-specific survival rates among its study group. The group who received a combined therapy obtained a lower probability of a local progression of the prostate tumor and biochemical failure rates were also lowered. The combined therapy prevented further metastasis (spread) among its study group compared to the radiation therapy group. Overall the survival rates in this study showed an increase rates among patients with a pre-treatment Gleason score of 8-10 with no metastasis to the lymph node or the pelvis with a PSA level of 150 ng/ml and below.

Prostate cancer is believed to be caused by an exposure to the male hormones testosterone. An increase in the testosterone levels in the body stimulates prostate cancer cells to grow. Hormone therapy is given to patients diagnosed with prostate cancer as a means to decease the testosterone levels in the body, it is also referred as the Androgen Deprivation Therapy (in which production of male hormones are prevented). Radiation therapy is given to directly kill and destroy the cancer cells by using external beam radiation.

Numerous studies conclude that combination of hormone therapy plus radiation therapy promotes good survival rates. Hormone therapy helps by reducing tumor growth. It also potentiates killing of the cancer cells when combined with radiotherapy.