After my brachytherapy my PSA start to increase (0.18). I started including tomato paste (high in lycopene) in my morning breakfast smoothie (about 2 oz). My next PSA was 0.09. Will have another PSA in about a month and see what is happening.
Best wishes
A spike in PSA happens for many after radiation, but I have no quibble with eating healthier including cooked tomato products. Exercise is the bigger factor for many in helping to lower PSA and conversion to castration-resistance. My MO says the biggest fault she sees in her PCa patients is they do not sustain a healthy lifestyle. PCa is relentless and so should our lifestyle changes be permanent non-negotiable aspects of our lives.
I still work, and a couple months ago had an Accommodation request letter sent by my MO to reinforce that I need flexibility (WFH), lower stress.. (And it goes almost without saying a couple or 3-4-5-6 doctor/hospital "interactions" every month.) This letter is a very serious thing to do. Federal and state disability law becomes an official factor you do not need to point out applies. Accommodation requests can be altered as time goes on to the extent your medical situation changes.
Hey Mike! Good job liking the lycopene .. it’s is a basic for pc . I’ve been on 40 mgs lycopene per my nat onco since my inception of pc in 2015 . Along with many others . I’m told that it is near impossible to eat enough cooked tomato products of any kind to make a difference . Lycopene is cheap . Two pills per day . Pure encapsulations is the brand . Good luck Sir! 🇺🇸
Yikes - $70/month for that brand is not cheap!
I invite you to watch this video by Dr. Michael Greger about lycopene:
nutritionfacts.org/video/fr...
Happy health!!
And if you watch that, pay particular attention to the story at the beginning of the man who cured his cancer with lycopene. Although Greger says was with natural product, if you look at the study report on the screen, it was actually done with supplements. He leaves this our totally. Hate when their bias is so evident.
I have reduced my PSA temporarily with lycopenes and I credit it with my control of stage 4 since 2012, but I must forewarn about a couple of things. It may help most with lower levels of PSA, like yours, below 1, but as PSA rises exponentially without ADT, (during a vacation), it fails. I condider it a supplement to Lupron. Also, I have had problems lately with hypertension, and I attribute it to my lycopene intake of high sodium foods, probably catsup and tomato-based condiments. I have cut down sodium a lot with "no salt" catsup and low sodium foods. I do take 20 mg per day lycopene and I recently bought 200 capsules thru Amazon for $20, so $0.10 per day, not bad. Totally I think I consume around 50 mg per day, starting each morning with low sodium V8, 1/4 cup. Furthermore, I use other alternative means, heat and magnetics, to kill cancer cells and eliminate pain, when necessary. Cancer grows 24/7, so controlling it is a full-time job.
p.s. Lycopene need oil to get into bloodstream, so I tend to consume a lot of unsaturated oil such as with fried foods, and I empty the capsules on the fried foods like a spice. Spaghetti sauce is a good source. But watch the sodium.
Does lycopene kill cancer cells or just lower PSA? My understanding from TA is that it's two different things.
My understanding is that lycopene causes your immune system to enlist T-cells, which kill and consume cancer cells. The lower PSA is a result of fewer cancer cells. At a certain point, however, there are limits to what lycopene can do.
I don't fry foods so how else can I get the oil on a daily basis? I do use oil sometimes at dinner but not every day.
Just take a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil by mouth if you can’t find any food to drizzle it over.
I used to put a few drops of soybeanl oil into 1/4 cup of V8, or I would keep leftover potato chips and eat a few with the V8.
I probably shouldn't say this but I believe your body needs vegetable oil for a lot of reasons, like vitamins A and E and D and who knows what else. I have no fear of frying in soybean oil. I believe oil prevents aging. I do avoid frying in olive oil as it can break down to transfats which lead to heart blockages. And I avoid canola oil having read about it.
I’ve got no quibbles with any of that.
I pan fry eggs and the like with avocado oil… many of the same benefits as olive oil but with a much higher smoke point.
Love the idea of V8 as a chip dip.
Cheers.
I asked my urologic oncologist if there were any supplements I should be taking. She said the only one she firmly recommends is lycopene.
I'd love to hear TA's take on this.
As a long time proponent of lycopene, I interject the following: Lycopene is oil soluble. If there is no oil present in your digestive system, lycopene will pass through without being absorbed into the blood stream. Personally, I favor California EVOO, because I trust the label.
I’m assuming you mean California Olive Ranch brand. I agree about their EVOO. It’s usually the top pick for flavor and polyphenols from consumerlab.com, but the latest tests they put the COR everyday blend as top pick and evoo as recommended.
There’s a pretty good thread about olive oil in this forum from a while back if anyone’s interested.
I’m not a fan of California Olive Ranch, only because they dabble in imported oils and I think some of their marketing misleads consumers into thinking they’re buying California when they’re not. A better way to buy California is look on the bottle for the COOC (California Olive Oil Council) seal. They are policing the millers and marketers and will only allow the seal on certified EVOO’s.
Fair enough. I trust consumerlab.com (a paid product testing site ran by doctors), if they give it a thumbs up for quality and the polyphenols or whatever ingredients are and confirm no bad stuff in it, I don't really care where the oil came from. FYI, consumerlab did give a not recommended to COR's "global blend" olive oil.
Hello Mike, Thank you for your service....I was a USO commando.....
Dark chocolate covered tomatoes are delicious..........Healthy too if served with Chocolate chip ice cream (two scoops)....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Sunday 04/02/2023 7:29 PM DST
Weird thing but true. Despite having a chef as a son, I'm a rubbish cook. Since Christmas I've eaten way more Heinz, low salt, baked beans than previously in my life. Had 2 of my lowest PSA scores since eating more beans, no other changes in drugs or supplements. I have also remained on Enzalutamide and ADT.
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