Prostate Cancer Diet Update - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Prostate Cancer Diet Update

cashlessclay profile image
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Another PSA reading appears to show that cancer growth continues to be contained using diet and moderate exercise. PSA's in 2019 are 0.442, 0.435, 0.416, 0.427, 0.424, 0.431 and 0.415, this November.

These results come from a diet that minimizes insulin response and contains very little iron. The baseline is a vegan diet that allows some wild caught seafood, and does not allow foods that promote a large insulin response. I have no sweets, potatoes nor bread. Also, I walk about 2-2.5 miles per day, immediately after breakfast.

Cashless

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LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

Would you mind giving a full list of foods you avoid ?

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to LearnAll

LearnAll,

. . . starting with a vegan diet I do not allow any type of sugar except that found in small amounts of raspberries, apples, and pomegranate. No refined grains; no breads, muffins, cakes, etc. No fried foods nor processed foods. I allow wild caught salmon and herring; squid and some scallops, but no shrimp, mussels, clams, nor oysters. I have most nuts and some seeds. I do not have starchy vegetables.

I have experimented with foods for close to seven years. When my PSA rises, in can almost always be traced back to an "insulin" response issue or to dietary "iron".

Cashless

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to cashlessclay

thank you

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to LearnAll

LearnAll, If I recall correctly, you are doing something similar. If so, can you tell us what you are doing and how it's working.

Cashless

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to cashlessclay

Yes. I believe diet ,exercise ,anti inflammatory ,anti oxidant food and supplements have a definite role in PCA treatment. I am a vegetarian (plant based + home made fat free yogurt only) .

I do not eat any meat, fish or any sea food. Every day, I eat lentils, yogurt, lots of cruciferous vegetables, ginger, turmeric, garlic , tomatoes, pomegranades, limes, 2 or 3 whole wheat bread (hard for me to stop) ,black tea/green tea etc. I have dozens of research papers confirming that such foods have capacity to slow progression of PCA.

I walk 4 to 5 miles a day.. Do Yoga and stretching daily. I am on Lupron+zytiga but interestingly I have almost minimum side effects from ADT. Something is stopping side effects. .but I don't know what . I am 3 lbs above my ideal body weight (142lbs).

PSA is 0.6 and ALP is 59. C reactive protein is 1.4. I don't have any symptoms at present.

Recently I have started drinking Guava leaf extract, Soursop leaf extract and chewing 7-8 Neem leaves.

tom67inMA profile image
tom67inMA in reply to LearnAll

I also have limited ADT side effects, and my fatigue levels continue to improve. Comparing my lifestyle to yours, it's gotta be the exercise, because my diet includes meat, a moderate amount of sugar, etc, etc. I'm an "everything in moderation" kind of guy.

BTW, do you live somewhere warm to be able to walk so regularly? I'm going to go for a walk this morning, as in walking behind the snow thrower.

And also for reference, at last check PSA was <0.01 and ALP was 41-ish. The ALP may be more significant, as I suspect my cancer doesn't make much PSA until it's truly out of control.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to tom67inMA

Tom, Exercise is definitely a factor in both our cases...I live in tropical climate and have a nice public park close to my house...if it raining I walk inside my house or on a treadmill. But must complete 4 miles before end of the day

ALP is certainly a great biomarker of status of bone mets. 41 is excellent level.

About "cancer does not make much PSA until it is out of control" This statement is NOT true...In fact, most aggressive and virulent type of cancer make very little PSA.

When cancer cells from glandular tissue (causing Adenocarcinoma) multiply, they mostly retain their glandular function and are not very distorted...so they still have enough normal structure to keep churning out a lot of PSA.

When cancer cells get too distorted and out of shape.. they lose capacity to produce much PSA and end up giving us a very fast growing ,aggressive variety.

You might have noticed that on this very forum, we have people who had initial PSA

in thousands and still did well for many years . On the other hand, we had people whose cancer cells were hardly able to make PSA and became Neuroendocrine or such other badly distorted cells to cause very short life span.

One additional reason for right nutrition is that such diet prevents normal cells into becoming cancerous quickly due to their metabolic integrity.

Tom...lets keep moving...my friend ! Movement is life..stopping is death !

tom67inMA profile image
tom67inMA in reply to LearnAll

My statements about PSA are based on my personal experience. PSA went from 2 to 216 in 13 months. Now either that's very super aggressive cancer, or the cancer was developing for years and then something turned it "on" and it started making PSA. My biopsy said Gleason 8, intraductal carcinoma.

Also interesting: An initial Eligard injection caused PSA to plummet, but ALP didn't come down as quick. Chemotherapy dropped ALP with each infusion, but the PSA drop levelled out.

Yes, I have noticed the different varieties of cancer here on the forum. I am of the opinion mine put all its mutational powers into aggression, and nearly none into treatment resistance. Others seem to have less aggressive cancer, but it resists all treatments. Sort of like that slow, unstoppable monster in a horror movie.

Yes, keep moving! Use it or lose it!

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to tom67inMA

Your body immunity was resisting cancer for a while and then suddenly it started throwing out PSA...I call it "tears of cancer cells" It was a cry for help ! (Compare it to someone whose tears have stopped and he became totally numb....worse situation .)

Characteristics of your PCA does not fit into intra ductal variety....which normally has low PSA. Because it arises from ductal cells who don't produce a lot of PSA. Have you got a second pathologist to read your slides carefully ?

Like you ,my initial PSA was a shocking 830. ALP was 190. Bone scan was shiny.

But it took only 15 days on Bicalutamide to pull it down to 248. Within 6 months, its now howering around 0.6- 0.7...what a downward journey like dot.com stocks . your PCA does not seem super aggressive at all...just shedding too many tears only means that it wants solution.. it has not given up.

tom67inMA profile image
tom67inMA in reply to LearnAll

Yes, I had an inadvertent second opinion. When they did my TURBT on the bladder, they pulled out a second, non-bladder-cancer tumor. The lab report on that said "yep, it's prostate cancer, but it's funny looking, like it's intraductal carcinoma or something." I don't have the lab report handy, so I paraphrased :-)

I don't know what my ALP was at diagnosis, but a month after diagnosis it had spiked to 905. Bone scan was a "super scan". The one study I've seen said that intraductal puts out about 30% less PSA on average, but of course they don't say what the range is.

Also weirdly, my biopsy showed that the majority of the cancer was confined to the right side of my prostate, with 5 out of 6 cores on the left side being cancer free.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to tom67inMA

There is something called "ALP flare" This is a well known phenomenon. When you are started on any type ADT such as Lupron, in many people , the ALP responds with a furious rise only to drop like a rock thereafter.

The phenomenon of "ALP flare" does not happen in everybody. In those who have it they have better overall as well as progression free survival. So its not bad.

In my case, after 2 weeks on Bicalutamide, ALP rose from 190 to 470 and then it dropped like crazy to 59. Its good to have "ALP flare".

I can explain you the entire patho-physiology of "ALP flare" but it will take too much space.

tom67inMA profile image
tom67inMA in reply to LearnAll

Apparently I had T, PSA, and ALP flares in response to my first Eligard shot without any 'lutamide pre-treatment.

Since we're talking PSA, and you seem to know a few things, here's my mental model of PSA: prostate cancer produces PSA in response to T, which slowly leaks out of the cell. Kill the cell and you get a spike of PSA as it is released all at once ("shedding tears"), followed by a sharp drop. Remove the T and it will stop producing PSA, causing a more gradual drop. Now kill the cell and there's not much PSA inside to cause a spike.

Is that at all backed up by science? I've heard ALP can also be produced by cancer cells in bone, so those might shed ALP tears when they die.

SooHwa99 profile image
SooHwa99 in reply to tom67inMA

If you live near a Mall that is a good place to walk during all kinds of weather, even if it is too hot. Also many gyms have walking tracks.

I have also walked in a Walmart when we are visiting my in-laws.

tom67inMA profile image
tom67inMA in reply to SooHwa99

That's awesome SooHwa. I really do admire LearnAll 's consistency. My company has a fitness room with treadmills. The running club has access to an indoor track once a week. I have options, but they do require a certain amount of planning ahead. Today it was beyond my abilities to pack a gym back between clearing snow and rushing off to an appointment for my Xgeva shot (Hamster Power!!!)

I suppose I could drive to Walmart, try on some shorts, and go running through the aisles :-)

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to tom67inMA

you could even get a job as a walmart welcomer...............

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

J-o-h-n Monday 12/02/2019 5:57 PM EST

Cheerr profile image
Cheerr in reply to LearnAll

From where do you get the Guava and sour soup leaf extract?

We too prefer all things natural, but do not have access to guava and sour soup leaves as of now.

rassusukumaran profile image
rassusukumaran in reply to cashlessclay

Well done George. You are the proof. It does not seem to work for me as mine is a more advanced disease although I still stick religiously to the morning steel cut oats with Raspberries.

Magnus1964 profile image
Magnus1964 in reply to cashlessclay

It sounds like you're 2 steps away from the Ketogenic diet.

Hex40 profile image
Hex40

I’ve been to 2 comprehensive cancer centers here in Chicago plus my regular hospital group and the only advice I’ve been told is to eat heart healthy all in moderation. This has been one of the most confusing topics I had to deal with in my journey.

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to Hex40

Hex 40. The diet is heart healthy. When a health professional uses the term "moderation", he is trying to say . . . " I haven't a clue . . . please stop asking me about diets."

The only reason I can talk about a PC diet is because 1) I tightly control what I eat, and 2) I get an ultra sensitive PSA test from Labcorp every 5 weeks. This allows me to do careful food experiments. Some food choices show up in PSA within days, others can take months, which makes drawing conclusions tricky. All tests have to be repeatable to draw any conclusions.

Cashless

Hex40 profile image
Hex40 in reply to cashlessclay

If someone can direct me to a broad scientific study that supports this I would love to read it. Thanks all.

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to Hex40

You might want to look at the Ornish study . . . INTENSIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES MAY AFFECT THE PROGRESSION

OF PROSTATE CANCER.

drbalasschooloffitnessandpr...

Anyways, we have a remarkable opportunity to measure your OWN progress using the ultra sensitive PSA test, which is better than any generic study in my view.

Canoehead profile image
Canoehead

Interesting stuff. Thank you. My only issue in going meatless is that ever since my chemo and radiation I have been slightly anemic. Hemoglobin, red blood cells and platelets all a bit below low normal range. How do I avoid iron and build my hemoglobin back up?

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to Canoehead

Its not about getting more iron in food. Besides iron, Bone health is related to many different minerals which are found in vegetables, fruits and nuts. Also, iron gets absorbed better if you have enough citrus fruits in your diet. Physical activity keeps bone marrow active so it can keep on making red cells/Hemoglobin,

Its a myth that one needs meat to prevent anemia.

2dee profile image
2dee

I am and will continue to follow MY personal and lifestyle food choices. They have gotten more and more restrictive since bypass surgery in 2002, stage 2 pre diabetes seem to continue to elevate more recently. Dx APCa in 2018 with PSA over 1300. Soooo diet didn't stop or even reduce the severity of my cancer. And though I mostly toe the mark I can find no evidence that it really helps.

I have evolved to accept that heart healthy, Mediterranean, plant based, whatever, food choices SHOULD be "healthier" for my immune system and just accept that. Anything else I'm coming to believe is just a bonus.

In my local support group only about 25% do anything about diet restrictions.

From this post it may be difficult to judge my feelings. I will keep on keeping on with my restrictive food choices regardless of all the anecdotal stories and limited tests.

Make your own choices based on your knowledge and experiences. We are each so very different for anything to work for all...

2Dee

billyboy3 profile image
billyboy3

I have to state that there is NO scientific proof that any diet will cure prostate cancer, nor will it, unto and by itself be sufficient to keep it at bay. Common sense would preclude that lessening stresses upon the body is a good idea-for everybody. A better lifestyle may give one extra time, but to focus one's entire life on going overboard is a FALSE BELIEF and very dangerous in my view.

Your own case notes are for a very short period of time and NOT one to base anything that you might be doing be considered a resultant of your actions. By propagating your NEW way of treatment, this is doing a disservice in my view to those who, without doing proper research to likewise attempt to do the impossible by diet alone, as you suggest is possible.

I have not seen a single cancer patient cured by diet alone in over 19 years, including reviewing the records of over 26 alternative medical practicioners. What I did find though was that a number of people died far too early by listening to those who profess to offer a cure by anything other than scientifically approved medical treatments, and found out to late that although perhaps healthier, still had their cancers advance forward, leading to their demise.

MMK-XFuture profile image
MMK-XFuture in reply to billyboy3

Tend to agree with you, Billyboy3. My friend had stage 4 colon cancer, tried to 'starve the cancer' believing its a cure but ended up starving himself of the very nutrients his body needed.

billyboy3 profile image
billyboy3 in reply to MMK-XFuture

Sadly, your friend is one I have seen many many times, as people are being allowed to spew trash in terms of the magic cure, when none exists. This misinformation has led far too many men from getting scientifically proven treatments, and I wish we could screen or stop these sorts of falsehoods from showing up on this and other sites.

I am all for healthy living etc. but to attempt to portray some diet as a cure or control of prostate cancer is criminal in my view!!!

Schwah profile image
Schwah in reply to billyboy3

Interestingly, I felt the same way until a couple weeks ago. I have been going to prostate oncology specialists now for about 12 years. Three drs there but I Mostly see Dr. Scholz. Dr. Scholz, when I first started going there said exactly what you do. That there is no proof That diet has any impact on prostate cancer. However in the last couple years his mind has been changed. Keep in mind their practice has about 2500 prostate cancer patients. I asked him what changed his mind and he offered to take me to lunch two weeks ago to explain. And he did. He gave me three primary reasons why he now believes a plant-based diet can help. First, he had a number of patients with bio chemical recurrence Who started the diet on their own. Consistently, within a month after starting the diet their PSA stop going up and in some cases even went down. This despite a consistently increasing PSA for a number of previous months. Reason two. He referred me to something called the China study. I have not read it yet but apparently it studied various groups of people living in the same community for life and each community had their own very homogenous diet for life. And In different locations, the diets were quite different. In areas where 50% of calories were from animal product, cancer rates were consistently the highest. In areas with 30% calories from animal-based products, cancer rates were a bit lower. In areas with 10% or less of the calories from animal-based products, Cancer rates were virtually unheard of. No real difference in cancer rates between zero and 10%. Reason three. And this one I may have a science a bit wrong but as I understand it, some of the scans for prostate cancer cells Use amino acids to cling to the cancer And light them up for the scan. This implies amino acids are what the cancer is feeding on. Anyway, unfortunately I am now convinced and trying to change my diet. It’s really hard though. Especially giving up all sugar.

Schwah

pjoshea13 profile image
pjoshea13 in reply to Schwah

Not long ago there was a brief Scholz video that I commented on. He mentioned the China Study. The book has been highly influential. However, it has also drawn criticism from Campbell's peers. Rather that spend time looking for the best critique, these are the first few I came across this morning:

sciencebasedmedicine.org/th...

chriskresser.com/rest-in-pe...

blog.daveasprey.com/the-chi...

I'm not saying anything negative about vegan diets in this post, merely that the book may not be reliable.

I doubt that Dr. Myers would have been as sloppy as Scholz was in that video.

-Patrick

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to pjoshea13

To be honest, I only judge by my own results. From my own experiences, since I stopped meat, chicken, sugar and dairy( I eat salmon a few times a month, eat nuts) LOST about 50 pounds, have more energy, blood work is perfect aside from psa rising). I do work around the house all day long outdoors, never tired. This is just my own experiences. I don’t care what they call this in terms of diets. It’s just me, I will never go back to eat what I was eating before. IT WORKS for me. I look older though but I feel healthier

dentaltwin profile image
dentaltwin in reply to pjoshea13

Do you follow Anthony Pearson (the skeptical cardiologist)? I like to read it as a corrective (if you will) of vegetarian orthodoxy. He's into high-fat diets including full-fat dairy. I can't say most of my reading agrees with him, but it's nice to see the other side of the coin.

pjoshea13 profile image
pjoshea13 in reply to dentaltwin

I don't so much follow anyone, it's more that I react against dubious advice. Men with advanced PCa deserve dietary info that may extend life. "Eat a healthy diet" is unhelpful advice. Dr. Myers was horrified by what many new patients were calling a healthy breakfast - all carb, but healthy according to the food pyramid! Yet these men were is serious danger of CVD. Dr. Greger uses PCa research in a distorted way. Dean Ornish did not include advanced PCa cases in his study. etc. He even included at least one man with Gleason <6.

I just looked up Pearson:

theskepticalcardiologist.co...

& it's refreshing to read some of his posts.

Thanks! -Patrick

dentaltwin profile image
dentaltwin in reply to pjoshea13

So I don't have to read this whole thread--what is Myers recommending? Pearson has written about Ornish, and not kindly. I tend to reject extremism here too. Frankly, I'm amazed there is such a variety of diets out there from the usual suspects, and they are all dogmatic. Seems to be too much like politics these days.

pjoshea13 profile image
pjoshea13 in reply to dentaltwin

Myers has been impressed by the PREDIMED [Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea] study. He follows a Med diet & recommends it. Has even co-authored a book. He notes that it is a 40% fat diet. It would be pointless to adopt a low0fat version, & his low-fat patients didn't do well.

He has also praised the Barry Sears Zone diet, which is restrictive only in that every meal & snack should maintain the Zone ratio of carb:fat:protein.

-Patrick

dentaltwin profile image
dentaltwin in reply to pjoshea13

Gotta love these acronyms. I would guess a low fat Mediterranean diet wouldn't be a Mediterranean diet.

My wife gets Nutrition Action Newsletter (from CSPI), and they recently did a review of a few diets. They're pretty middle-of-the-road, but of course they do counsel against high saturated fat diets.

dentaltwin profile image
dentaltwin in reply to pjoshea13

Oh, also--while on the subject--perhaps you've seen this article from last week regarding two studies associating high-protein (ketogenic) diets with renal problems:

medscape.com/viewarticle/92...

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to Schwah

He made a video on YouTube which he explains these points exactly.

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to Ahk1

And in the same video he mentioned something I never heard of it before, he said cancers feed on sugar except prostate cancer feeds on fat. Sonething to this extent

pjoshea13 profile image
pjoshea13 in reply to Ahk1

The phrase "cancer feeds on ..." is often misunderstood. Many believe that one can affect the growth rate of the cancer by dietary means, but this ain't normally so.

I don't know why people (even doctors) use "sugar" rather than "glucose", it has misled a huge number of people who think that all one has to do is give up sucrose. All carbohydrate - even those with a very low glycemic index, ends up as glucose. Unless on a keto diet, the body maintains circulating glucose levels within a narrow range. Cancers that require glucose take what they want, just like normal cells. No more; no less. Doesn't matter what one does.

The preferred fuel of normal prostatic cells is palmitic acid, & this doesn't change as PCa develops. If one is on a high-carb diet, excess carbs are converted to palmitic acid - so forget trying to limit it via low-fat diets. Palmitic acid is the starting point for more complex fatty acids that the body needs. One can try to avoid intake, but the body will make what it requires. And, once again, the cancer proliferation rate is not driven by availability - it takes only what it needs.

-Patrick

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to pjoshea13

Thanks, Patrick. The strange thing is I have been following cashless with his diet and how strict is with his carbs/ fruit and he is getting great results you can see it above and also when he strays away by adding something, he and only he can see the results good or bad depending on what he does. Very strange to me and I failed to have the same results

pjoshea13 profile image
pjoshea13 in reply to Ahk1

Cashless seems concerned with maintaining insulin sesistivity, i.e. avoiding insulin resistance. That's very important IMO. & hard to do on a high-carb diet. My feeling is that we might do best by eating as though we are headed towards diabetes. Check-out the diabetes sites - I doubt that the advice would be to eat a low-fat diet. Metformin can help to restore insulin sensitivity.

The Med diet is very attractive to me (in most of its forms). Dr. Myers seemed to have embraced it because of proven cardio benefits & cardio issues in his patients. He did not build a good case for benefit in PCa, IMO, but I have come around. I like his use of nuts to get meals into the 40% fat ballpark.

A big challenge for many, I expect, is losing visceral fat. If the diet isn't helping with that, it needs to be tweaked.

-Patrick

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to pjoshea13

Thank you, sir. I have started taking Berberine a couple of weeks ago to control the insulin spikes coming from carbs although I am not diabetic or pre diabetic on the hope it might slow progression of psa.

markoch26 profile image
markoch26 in reply to billyboy3

Billyboy3, you had better believed diet does play an important role in how PCa progresses. Fresh plant-based foods is the number one option. Along with it, you can have some white meat (not red meat and no egg yolk as well) and fish. Seafoods that can build up testosterone are not recommended. No alcohol, even red wine. Doing exercise should be included (seven days a week; there shouldnt be any holiday). What is good for the heart is also good for prostate.

billyboy3 profile image
billyboy3 in reply to markoch26

you can perhaps slow down the progression but you will NOT stop PR progression as you suggested. To stop scientific based treatments is bad news.

We need to stop propagating the falsehood of one diet or another can lead to a cure, when this is false.

markoch26 profile image
markoch26 in reply to billyboy3

If you read my first reply to you again, I said "... how PCa progresses." I didn't say it will stop PCa progression, but rather slow progression. I didn't include "stop medical treatment. Three things go hand in hand for the best of prostate health: 1) medical treatment 2) diet, and 3) doing exercise. Thanks

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to billyboy3

Its not about proper nutrition vs medical treatment. Its more like proper nutrition+ exercise AND medical treatment.

We need to get out of All or None mindset....Do every logical thing to stop cancer progression.

SooHwa99 profile image
SooHwa99 in reply to LearnAll

I agree wholeheartedly. Eating a whole food plant based diet along with moderate daily exercise and medical intervention is at least giving one the best possible chance. And for heavens sake eating better and exercising will not hurt you.

in reply to SooHwa99

Exactly!

billyboy3 profile image
billyboy3 in reply to LearnAll

why do you insist on using the words STOP cancer progression. Once one has advanced prostate cancer, there is NO stopping it, NO present cure available, thus NO matter what one does, and this reality, sad as it is, is in fact the truth, and no matter what one does, your cancer will continue to grow, and all that one can do is attempt to slow it down and with luck, have one die of some other ailment.

We need to stop the bs and giving false hope to men and their families. It is doing terrible harm to far to many who enter onto the chain.

We should be focusing upon living the best that we can for whatever time we have left and not spend the rest of our lives in attempting to thwart the gods of life by chicanery and hopping from one fad to the next.

I suggest you all make up a bucket list and start to focus your time, energy and money towards doing as many things as you can, while you can. Live life large while you can.

Remember, we are all going to die from some cause or other, in our case, many of us will die of PC, or the effects of treatments. That is ok men, and once we embrace this, then maybe one can free oneself to live.

To spend one's last few years by this milkshake roll of the dice is plain a waste of our remaining days.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to billyboy3

Stopping progression and slowing progression are only matter of semantics. The message is the same...and goal is to delay progression of PCA for as many years as possible by a Comprehensive Treatment Plan.

Without proper diet. adequate physical activity added to your standard medical treatment...your treatment remains incomplete. But, in the end what you believe is your own choice.

lincolnj8 profile image
lincolnj8 in reply to billyboy3

Thank you

blkman60 profile image
blkman60

Hi all, it's been awhile since I last post and 17 months since I had seed implants. Since this was Thanksgiving weekend I went off my diet and indulged in sweet potato pies (that's with an "S") and an apple pie. No turkey but salmon and tuna stake, collard greens black eye peas and grits. It wasn't the typical Thanksgiving meal but it was delicious and I ate like I didn't have prostate cancers. I promises my self on Christmas I'm going to eat in moderation. My wife don't believe I will but prostate cancer is no joke, and although I fell off the eating healthy bandwagon for the past 3 days I'm jumping back on first thing tomorrow.

Does anyone think my PSA might have went up a notch or two as a result of my indiscretion?

Jongilorun0 profile image
Jongilorun0

I'm over 50 and still too scared to go see GP for the PSA test because of all that I hear happen to people and dangers . I sometimes see symptoms that gives me concern but m too afraid to see doctor. Is there a do-it-yourself kit I can use to test?

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to Jongilorun0

Yes, Book a PSA test on an online lab ...costs about $30....get the result in 48 hours...this is probably a good start.

pakb profile image
pakb in reply to Jongilorun0

I would think of the dangers of NOT knowing your PSA. There is a huge difference between prostate cancer found early and prostate cancer found after metastasis. 💙

AllenMarco profile image
AllenMarco in reply to Jongilorun0

In your situation, I’m not sure why you would monitor a site like this? Seems like it would compare to watching a scary movie, lol.

Geoff22 profile image
Geoff22 in reply to Jongilorun0

The first step is to get a PSA test. It is a simple blood test, not much different than a shot. I don't think there is a do it your self test. I would rather have a professional do the blood draw. Plus it must be sent to a lab to analyize the blood. Review the test result with your GP doctor. He will likely do a digit exam if you have an elevated PSA level. Go from there. Having an elevated PSA level (2 or 3) does not mean you have cancer. It could be inflamation. If you do have cancer and don't get tested it will probably the worst decision in your life

Doggedness profile image
Doggedness

I have heard that a plant-based diet is a good idea from some pretty impressive people in the medical world. Usually they have the caveat that research is slim, but they are al very sure that there is something in it. Can you tell me what your Gleason score was? I am also wondering whether you had any other treatment before changing your diet? I believe you completely, but I am wondering if your cancer is comparable to my husband's.

Cheers,

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to Doggedness

My Gleason was 6 from pathology with a doubling time of seven months. I have had no other treatment for PCa since 2011. Diet started in 2013.

Ralph1966 profile image
Ralph1966

We had the same conversation 5 months ago, and to save time to all readers of this post please know this:

Cashlessclay initial Gleason score was 6-7(confirmed pathology was 6) put him in low risk group. This diet most likely will not work for high risk PCa with Gleason 8-9 and above.

Those who are high risk PCa (like me) will need to eat (healthy) diet/excercise/meditation, plus continue a conventional PCa treatment and try supplements to block the metabolic pathways of cancer. Each of us have a different cancer aggressiveness even with the same Gleason score and progression will be different...

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to Ralph1966

I agree with Ralph. It is unlikely that I could stop an aggressive cancer with diet and exercise alone. I also would take the path that Ralph is taking if my cancer was aggressive.

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to cashlessclay

Hi cashless,

As you know, I have tried with the diet and couldn’t stop the psa rising. It’s true I don’t try as hard as you do and may be that is the reason. When we started chatting my psa was .22 about 2 years ago. Now, it’s .74

The intetesting thing is dr Myers used to give his patients metformin to control insulin spikes I guess which you also try to avoid. I couldn’t get a dr to prescribe it for me since I am not pre diabetic so two weeks ago I started taking Berberine to control it. Hopefully it has some effect. Congratulations to more success and happy holidays

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

Prostate Cancer is a heterogeneous illness. .that means its more like a spectrum disorder.

It can be mild, moderate or severely aggressive depending on each person.

There are cases which are called "indolent" means they are very very slow growing.

Others may be fast growing.

In both situations, proper nutrition and exercise helps ..However, in aggressive type ..the benefit is less.

These dietary and sport interventions are COMPLEMENTARY to medical treatment and NOT opposed to medical treatments.

dbrooks_h profile image
dbrooks_h

Are you on any medical treatments at all during past year, simple yes or no !

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to dbrooks_h

No. Surgery in 2007, radiation in 2011, recurrence March 2013. Have started with diet experimentation in March 2013, and have had no further medical treatment since 2011.

dbrooks_h profile image
dbrooks_h in reply to cashlessclay

Thanks for the info, all I can say is the proof is in your psa levels, what is most significant to me is the time line 2007 to present. To me the main data point is 13 years out, at 7 years out I was whistling dixie, at 8 years out had lupron needle 3 inches deep in my belly fat. At low gleason numbers diet and exercise seem to work for x number of years, I am very thankful for x and that is all I can do for now. Keep up the good work and keeping us informed.

billyboy3 profile image
billyboy3

I would like to know more about your case, i.e. were you cured by medical treatment although you noted a reocurrence in 2013, so apparently not. That said, I still maintain that NO diet is in and of itself going to cure you or anyone else of advanced prostate cancer. I think that living a healthy lifestyle can be beneficial, but to state that diet alone will prevent PC or cure it, is irresponsible in my view, as this is NOT scientifically proven or supported.

Isolate cases do appear but should NOT be considered the norm nor give one the belief that by becoming a vegan or eating spinach ten times a day is going to stop the progression of PC.

Further, what your position does do is potentially create false hope and cause anguish that some have caused this cancer to either occur or return because they ate animal protein etc. There is no proof that vegans do not get PC, so while you may have been one of the lucky ones by a roll of the dice, and perhaps your special diet has slowed the progression of your PC-if you still have it, your diet will NOT cure you, nor anyone else.

What one needs to do is to get educated, react to the treatment modalities at the earliest, and get moving on scientifically based research and treatments. Healthy eating etc. are important for better health and quality of life, i.e. common sense.

Hex40 profile image
Hex40 in reply to billyboy3

Amen!

Doggedness profile image
Doggedness in reply to billyboy3

But I am grateful for the tips as a complementary action. I keep reading about diabetes as a ‘complication/side effect’ and reducing the sugar intake could be helpful... but I agree that the caveat needs to be added!

Geoff22 profile image
Geoff22

Gleason 8, radiation in 2011. My PSA started creeping then in 2016 it stayed at exactly 1.09 for the entire year (4 tests). By the end of the next year it was 4.26. Moral of the story is PSA levels do not rise in a straight line. I had salvage surgery in 2017. My PSA dropped to undetectable. For nine months I thought I was in the clear. Then my PSA jumped from 0 to 7 in 3 months

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

So ladies and gentlemen the answer is "fruits and nuts"....... on top of Chocolate chip ice cream (two scoops)....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

J-o-h-n Monday 12/02/2019 6:00 PM EST

There is scientific evidence for all of these. It is called the placebo effect.

Captain_Dave profile image
Captain_Dave

There is an old Chinese proverb that states, “He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.”

martinvs profile image
martinvs

Thanks for thinking about me Cashless. What I'm doing mirrors your approach in principle, and is only slightly different in execution - which is to be expected. What I learned when I was diagnosed two years ago regarding the Nobel-prize-winning Dr Otto Warburg and his discovery of the primary cause of cancer which is a lack of oxygen at the cellular level, has stayed with me. I moved to a largely vegan diet (some fish) and continued my regular exercise. The Warburg Effect continued to come up and when one month ago I read a short 2-page article "Why sugar makes cancer tumours aggressive" by Dr Adria Schmedthorst stating that scientists after a nine-year study determined not only did sugar awaken and stimulate cancer cells, it also made them more aggressive" and reading in the same article about the ketogenic diet which up till then had always seemed anathema, I decided to make this seemingly dramatic change. I'm only one month in but I know I'm on the right track. Take away the water and the body is mostly fat. I was stacking up on carbs which are just a simple form of sugar (glucose) and sugar is the worst thing imaginable. I continue my ozone treatment which is standard treatment in Germany and Russia but which your (I'm assuming you're American?) FDA and others deems good enough for animals and treating water, but not fit for humans (competition for your powerful, pill-popping, Band-Aid and poison dispensing, out-of-control pharmaceutical industry??)

I stay away from HealthUnlocked - too many horror stories about the so-called "standard western treatment" and a certain tall individual suggesting that anyone following "alternatives" is a brainless, uninformed idiot!

cashlessclay profile image
cashlessclay in reply to martinvs

Martin, I agree that sugar and all else that results in an "insulin spike" is a diet killer. I have seen this multiple times in dealing with oatmeal for breakfast. Overnight soaking, cooking with too much water, adding too much almond milk, and too much fruit on the oatmeal totally killed the diet. Each one of these killed the diet by itself. And when each was reversed, the diet was once again working. Juicing fruit killed my diet. So, I go to great extremes to prevent an insulin spike. If you were consuming simple carbs on vegan diet, it's unlikely you were having success. However, going to a keto diet that includes meat would not be the path I would choose. I would just remove the fast carbs from the vegan diet.

Meat, as part of a cancer diet, spells inflammation, arachidonic acid, and (heme) iron. Also, when meat is included, I don't think you get the additional benefits that I'm getting, such as my HDL being higher than my triglycerides, and very low inflammation markers.

Using my vegan + limited seafood diet my PSA's are now the lowest they have been in about three years. My last value was 0.363, down from 0.415 before that. I do not want to go much lower, since I believe that low PSA's can provide favorable conditions for cancer mutations; (see Robert A. Gatenby/Moffitt Cancer Center).

To sum it up, the diet should be "low insulin response", "low iron", include some soy, and raspberries, avoid supplements containing "chondroitin sulfate" and "iron", drink green tea, have lots of spices and foods containing sulforaphane.

Martin, I would do some extensive research on the inclusion of meat in your diet.

Cashless

martinvs profile image
martinvs in reply to cashlessclay

Thanks Cashless - I will research further ...

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