Localized disease is treated with total removal of the prostate or radiotherapy, whereas metastatic disease is usually treated with hormonal manipulation. Prostate surgery involves work deep in the pelvis. Patients may bleed a lot, usually requiring several weeks to recover their strength. And many are left impotent when doctors, cutting and stitching by touch at times, inadvertently damage nerves. Some are even left incontinent.
Cancer cells are virtually inevitable in the prostates of men who live to their 70's and 80's; however, at autopsy, 15 to 30% of men over 30 who die of other causes have microscopic clusters of prostate cancer cells. It is not know what keeps some prostate cancers latent or what stimulates others to grow. However development of prostate cancer could be related to several factors such as genetics, growth hormones, environment, and diet. It is thought that a number of different fatty acids drive prostate cancer cells once they have developed, and accelerate the growth of tumour and increase their propensity to metastasize. The greatest risk is associated with unsaturated fats found particularly in red meat, whereas the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish have For those diagnosed as having prostate cancer, many experts now recommend the Swedish approach to treatment: "watchful waiting". This approach, as the name would suggest, means keeping a close eye on any signs of the disease progressing, but holding off on extreme treatments, such as drugs, surgery, and chemotherapy, unless absolutely necessary. There is almost no difference in survival rates, and the quality of life of those treated in this way is obviously superior. For instance, statistics show that a healthy 60-year-old man has an average life expectancy of another 18 years. A 60-year-old man with prostate cancer, who does not have prostate surgery, has a life expectancy of another 16 years, while a 60-year-old man with prostate cancer who does have surgery has a life expectancy of another 17 years.
Researchers compared dietary patterns of 76 men with prostate cancer to that of 7,651 males without cancer. Men who ate the second-highest and third-highest amount of boron also had a lower risk than men in the study who consumed the least amount of boron.
2. The long-held theory of prostate cancer, that testosterone is bad stuff, and even worse when it's converted to dihydrotestosterone, is gradually falling into disfavour. A more prevalent current opinion is that prostate cancer has more to do with oestrogen than with dihydrotestosterone. It appears that many men, as they get older, convert too much testosterone to oestrogen and that this excessive oestrogen is the cause of prostate enlargement or prostate cancer.