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Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer
The most serious diagnosis for the prostate gland will be briefly discussed. As a very general rule of thumb, carcinoma (cancer) is usually best treated with a COMBINATION of conventional therapies (in fact one of the most effective chemotherapy regimes is the one for prostate cancer, in terms of relatively few side effects and a good cure rate, especially with early detection) and supportive complementary treatments, which will be discussed below.
Prostate cancer is very rarely seen in males under 50 years old, and is rated third in cancer deaths in male patients over the age of 65 (behind lung and colon). Most are adenocarcinomas. They are associated with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), but there is no specific causative link. Cancer can be tricky. Signs and symptoms may not present at all. Or you might experience urinary frequency, urgency or needing to pee during the night. A physician will often find a firm, hard prostate on rectal digital exam.
The role of healthy eating can not be overemphasized in both prevention and reversal of cancer. In general, the eating principles with prostate cancer are based on alkalinizing the system. Alkaline fasts must be undertaken under physician supervision -- a physician well versed in therapeutic fasting, and with a good grip on nutritional biochemistry.
Therapeutic foods to consider are: pumpkin seeds (raw) dosage: 25 four times daily; anise, tangerine, cherries, figs, litchi, sunflower seeds, mangos, seaweeds; Zinc-rich foods, squash seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, tahini, Vitamin E rich foods, kelp. Additional supplements, geared towards resolving malignancy, as opposed to specifically towards the prostate, are: Vitamin A (high doses, under physician guidance); Selenium; Zinc. The botanicals listed are, again, geared to halting the progression of cancerous growth, and to ameliorating the side-effects of chemotherapy. They are listed alphabetically, and with their particular restorative function. For doses and duration please consult a qualified herbalist or naturopath.
Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies will not be discussed in great detail here because it is critical to not hope that they would suffice, alone, to treat cancer. However, the following guidelines towards understanding a TCM diagnosis are offered: Zeng Ye Tang plus chrysanthemum flower (ju hua), trichosanthes root (tian hua fen), glehnia (sha shen), dioscorea (shan yao) and moutan bark (mu dan pi): Large Intestine Dryness: oral side-effects of radiation therapy: dryness that is worse at night, irritability, dry tongue, rapid thin pulse; Dang Gui Ji Xue Teng Tang: Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency): leukopenia or thrombocytopenia during radiation therapy or chemotherapy; Hoelen Five Herbs F. (Wu Ling San): side-effects from radiation; Ji Xue Teng Qin Gao Pian (patent): increases white blood count; Ci Wu Jia Pian (patent): Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Kidney Jing Xu (Essence Deficiency): enhances immune system, helps protect body from radiation; inhibits metastasis; He Che Da Zao Wan (patent): Kidney Yin Xu (Deficiency); Ling Zhi Feng Wang Jiang (patent): Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency); Chih-ko and Curcuma C. (patent): All tumors; Blue Citrus (patent): Groin swellings.
Homeopathic remedies that might be chosen are: Conium maculatum: stony, hard prostate, inability to have erections but high sex drive; intermittent urination in old people; urine flows and stops; weight like a stone in perineum; Crotalus horridus: cancer with hematuria; Iodatum: incontinence of urine; complete prostration of strength and general emaciation; worse from external warmth; Psorinum: discharge of prostatic fluid before urinating; several organs flabby, torpid; aversion to coitus; Selenium: lot of sexual activity that led to debility, masturbation; worse in hot weather, after sleep and anything that causes relaxation; involuntary dribbling; Sulphur: offensive sweat around genitals; Thuja occidentalis: pain, burning on urination or ejaculation; lot of sexual problems; frequent and urgent desire to urinate.
Flower essences to consider: aloe vera; dandelion; mallow.
Colors to work with: lemon (helps to dissolve blood clots; acts as a chronic alterative); indigo (an astringent, antipyic, antiemetic, and hemostatic) on area; orange (acts as a decongestant) on area may further reduce mass.
Metaphors and correlations to ponder:
The most serious diagnosis for the prostate gland will be briefly discussed. As a very general rule of thumb, carcinoma (cancer) is usually best treated with a COMBINATION of conventional therapies (in fact one of the most effective chemotherapy regimes is the one for prostate cancer, in terms of relatively few side effects and a good cure rate, especially with early detection) and supportive complementary treatments, which will be discussed below.
Prostate cancer is very rarely seen in males under 50 years old, and is rated third in cancer deaths in male patients over the age of 65 (behind lung and colon). Most are adenocarcinomas. They are associated with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), but there is no specific causative link. Cancer can be tricky. Signs and symptoms may not present at all. Or you might experience urinary frequency, urgency or needing to pee during the night. A physician will often find a firm, hard prostate on rectal digital exam.
The role of healthy eating can not be overemphasized in both prevention and reversal of cancer. In general, the eating principles with prostate cancer are based on alkalinizing the system. Alkaline fasts must be undertaken under physician supervision -- a physician well versed in therapeutic fasting, and with a good grip on nutritional biochemistry.
Therapeutic foods to consider are: pumpkin seeds (raw) dosage: 25 four times daily; anise, tangerine, cherries, figs, litchi, sunflower seeds, mangos, seaweeds; Zinc-rich foods, squash seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, tahini, Vitamin E rich foods, kelp. Additional supplements, geared towards resolving malignancy, as opposed to specifically towards the prostate, are: Vitamin A (high doses, under physician guidance); Selenium; Zinc. The botanicals listed are, again, geared to halting the progression of cancerous growth, and to ameliorating the side-effects of chemotherapy. They are listed alphabetically, and with their particular restorative function. For doses and duration please consult a qualified herbalist or naturopath.
- Avena sativa: nervous debility of convalescence
- Baptisia tinctoria: for tumorous or malignant conditions
- Berberis aquifolium: dyscrasiae due to cancerous cachexia
- Conium maculatum (toxic): pain of cancer
- Echinacea spp.: increases interferon production, purifies blood
- Gentiana lutea: bitter: promotes appetite, improves digestion in chronic debility
- Phytolacca decandra (toxic): carcinoma, adenoma; hard, swollen lymph nodes, especially in the pelvic region
- Rumex crispus: early stages of cancer; to prevent
- Taraxacum officinale: loss of appetite, weak digestion
- Trifolium pratense: alterative; purifies blood, cancerous diathesis; with daily use: patients are slower in developing carcinoma after excision
- Viola odorata: malignant disease, neoplasm in alimentary canal; after tumor extirpation to protect from metastases. Combines well with Galium aparine
- Viscum album (toxic): tumor-inhibiting effects reported, main use as follow-up therapy after surgery or radiation. Extracts available: Iscador (Weleda), Phenesol (Madaus), Helixior
Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies will not be discussed in great detail here because it is critical to not hope that they would suffice, alone, to treat cancer. However, the following guidelines towards understanding a TCM diagnosis are offered: Zeng Ye Tang plus chrysanthemum flower (ju hua), trichosanthes root (tian hua fen), glehnia (sha shen), dioscorea (shan yao) and moutan bark (mu dan pi): Large Intestine Dryness: oral side-effects of radiation therapy: dryness that is worse at night, irritability, dry tongue, rapid thin pulse; Dang Gui Ji Xue Teng Tang: Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency): leukopenia or thrombocytopenia during radiation therapy or chemotherapy; Hoelen Five Herbs F. (Wu Ling San): side-effects from radiation; Ji Xue Teng Qin Gao Pian (patent): increases white blood count; Ci Wu Jia Pian (patent): Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Kidney Jing Xu (Essence Deficiency): enhances immune system, helps protect body from radiation; inhibits metastasis; He Che Da Zao Wan (patent): Kidney Yin Xu (Deficiency); Ling Zhi Feng Wang Jiang (patent): Qi Xu (Deficiency) with Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency); Chih-ko and Curcuma C. (patent): All tumors; Blue Citrus (patent): Groin swellings.
Homeopathic remedies that might be chosen are: Conium maculatum: stony, hard prostate, inability to have erections but high sex drive; intermittent urination in old people; urine flows and stops; weight like a stone in perineum; Crotalus horridus: cancer with hematuria; Iodatum: incontinence of urine; complete prostration of strength and general emaciation; worse from external warmth; Psorinum: discharge of prostatic fluid before urinating; several organs flabby, torpid; aversion to coitus; Selenium: lot of sexual activity that led to debility, masturbation; worse in hot weather, after sleep and anything that causes relaxation; involuntary dribbling; Sulphur: offensive sweat around genitals; Thuja occidentalis: pain, burning on urination or ejaculation; lot of sexual problems; frequent and urgent desire to urinate.
Flower essences to consider: aloe vera; dandelion; mallow.
Colors to work with: lemon (helps to dissolve blood clots; acts as a chronic alterative); indigo (an astringent, antipyic, antiemetic, and hemostatic) on area; orange (acts as a decongestant) on area may further reduce mass.
Metaphors and correlations to ponder:
- The prostate represents the masculine principle.
- Loss of sexual function after surgery is more likely to be related to the patient feeling unattractive, to lack of information, or to lack of support in dealing with postoperative psychological reactions than to surgical loss of sexually-responsive tissue. Many sexual problems will be solved by just the chance to discuss them; patients need to hear that their sexual concerns are completely normal.
- Comprehensive cancer management should include members of the medical discipline who provide holistic and humanistic treatment. One team member should be both a qualified sex therapist and psychotherapist. This individual should be introduced to patients at the onset of treatment, be involved in a preoperative assessment, during hospital stay, and during the post-operative period.
- Visualizations and affirmations for approaching cancer must be individualized so that they are deeply meaningful for you. It is quite likely that someone in your community will be able to guide you in creating specific healing metaphors and imagery to work with the issues that have produced prostate cancer. Have faith in the healing power of your own mind and your own body.
About the Author:
Emily Kane N.D.
Emily A. Kane was raised in North Africa. Her parents were with the United States Foreign Service. She came to America at age 16, graduated from Harvard University in 1978, and lived in Paris, Washington DC and New York City before coming to Seattle to begin naturopathic medical training. A graduate of Bastyr University in Seattle, she completed both the Naturopathic and Acupuncture/Oriental Medicine programs. Her preceptor work (similar to residencies) took place in Seattle, West Virginia and China, with emphasis on gynecology, counseling, herbal medicine and naturopathic manipulation (body work). She worked as a Licensed Massage Therapist in Seattle during her medical training for 7 years.
Dr. Kane maintains an active clinical practice and sees patients of all ages. She has recently published a concise and informative book on achieving and maintaining excellent health entitled "Managing Menopause Naturally", available through Amazon.com. She is the former senior editor of the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine (1989-96), the scientific, peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She regularly leads retreats and therapeutic fasts, and teaches health classes through her local community college. (Occasionally, she holds retreats further afield!)
Emily Kane N.D.
Emily A. Kane was raised in North Africa. Her parents were with the United States Foreign Service. She came to America at age 16, graduated from Harvard University in 1978, and lived in Paris, Washington DC and New York City before coming to Seattle to begin naturopathic medical training. A graduate of Bastyr University in Seattle, she completed both the Naturopathic and Acupuncture/Oriental Medicine programs. Her preceptor work (similar to residencies) took place in Seattle, West Virginia and China, with emphasis on gynecology, counseling, herbal medicine and naturopathic manipulation (body work). She worked as a Licensed Massage Therapist in Seattle during her medical training for 7 years.
Dr. Kane maintains an active clinical practice and sees patients of all ages. She has recently published a concise and informative book on achieving and maintaining excellent health entitled "Managing Menopause Naturally", available through Amazon.com. She is the former senior editor of the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine (1989-96), the scientific, peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She regularly leads retreats and therapeutic fasts, and teaches health classes through her local community college. (Occasionally, she holds retreats further afield!)
