Hello. we are new to this disease and just looking for answers. My husband is 68 and diagnosed with Advanced Prostate Cancer. I am a RN. We are both retired healthcare workers for 2 yrs. He has tumor in prostate and in 2 lymph nodes, he is High Risk genetics. Gleason score was 7, 8, 9 in 7 of 12 biopsy samples. PET scan also showed 2 small densities in surrounding tissue, iliac chain and presacral region. Saw MO on Aug 8th, got all the reassurances and plan of care. Very helpful and very positive. Hormone therapy with radiation is our journey we have begun. Have heard about mushrooms and how they help the body heal. Saw Fantastic Fungi and how Turkey Tail Mushrooms 4 tabs 2x/day helped his mom beat breast cancer. Id just like to keep it from spreading at this point, that's what this Hormone and Rad therapy will hopefully accomplish. I would like to know if anyone here has looked into mushrooms and what they found. We've asked our MO about using them as supplements, he said not enough study here in US, but if we wanted to try them, thats up to us. Of course we dont want to take the amount that may be harmful, so not sure if the general directions would be beneficial to immunity and healing. Im hoping it will help with his side effects at the least. If you have any personal information or know where i could find more research information related to mushrooms and cancer, especially Prostate, please share. Much appreciated.
C
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Tried Lion's mane mushroom for a time but didn't seem to do anything either way. I regularly use Psilocybin for the rare times I have pain which did work. I also take recreationally. doesn't seem to have any affect on my cancer
Well, if you've taken psilocybin I think it will be interesting if you read the Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. It's not cancer related but may give you a raised eyebrow here and there. 🙂
2 days micro two full doses, then 2 more micro alleviates pain. I also use recreationally, it leaves me with great mental clarity. I have tried different strains with Golden Teacher being most effective
I haven't seen the film Fantastic Fungi, but I assume it's the story of Paul Stamets? Maybe?
Mr Stamets has a company that produces a mushroom product range called Host Defense.
I looked into this a while back. From what I remember, the product and its processes look very good. If people are looking to supplement mushrooms, I think it's one I would consider for sure. It's expensive but has well controlled processes for growth and extraction etc.
What I will say though, is I've never read anything that would convince me that mushrooms alone would be instrumental in PCa treatments. If mushrooms were effective enough to move the needle significantly, I'm sure you'd be hearing it by now. I'm not saying don't consider them as part of some adjunct strategy to your treatments. I'm saying that, as I understood it, although it's stated that Mr Stamets mum recovered from breast cancer, she was also receiving other treatments. Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't. But there's nothing I've researched that really convinced me one way or the other.
I've tried various mushrooms. I've created my own extractions (because I wanted to control what was in the tinctures and how they were extracted) for Turkeytail and Reishi types.
I didn't see any results I would consider significant. Maybe others have a different experience.
I'm not trying to discourage you from trying them. In fact I think they're relatively safe and all options are on the table and why not give it a go. I'd just consider these as a possible adjunct to any treatments you currently have.
when i did radiation initially i sought out and obtained what i thought was a good mushroom supplement. i think i did turkey tail but it might have been a mix. it contained high (third party verified)levels of beta glucans and poly saccharide peptaise (or whatever this is from memory) The company that made is it still in business selling through a US distributor Orieveda sold by Modern Herb Shop.
I followed Paul Stamets, I have his books, know a few people who know him personally etc. I believe that he started out with good intentions and did a lot for the field of mycology. However as his products became more and more popular his valuable discussions on his web site (Host Defense) became more and more contradictory and basically full of crap. I can give specifics from memory if anyone is interested. I can not find the useful information as it has all been withdrawn from the current site. Two points that would steer a thinking person away from his products are the following: After a while Paul contently said that there is no benefit to testing for potency. I wish I could find the support for this idea because it was truly mind numbingly stupid. The other was the way he vacillated between recommending ground fruiting bodies and extract from mycelium. In early versions of the we site he said that the only good supplements are from a combination of water and alcohol extraction. This coexisted on the site along with recommendations to only take ground up mushrooms and the fact that most of the products were just that. I think they even withdrew and extracted products.
I have not followed Stamets recently because it just seemed like so much crap.
an important consideration is that certain mushrooms might interfere with radiation. According to my radiation oncologist, radiation is an oxidative process and that is what kills (or prepares them to dies) them. So taking an antioxidant might be contraindicated when doing radiation treatments. Probably safe to take Host Defense because there is so little active ingredient but stay away from the good stuff at least during radiation and some reasonable time before and after.
Fasting is thought to kelp radiation and chemo. I might be getting back on Pluvicto and am considering some sort of fast for the duration of that treatment?
Yes it was Turkey Tail by Orieveda, sold by Modern Herb Shop (currently closed until Sept 1). Orievda, a Dutch company, uses a superior extraction process. I take them. You might find extensive information about this by searching on this site, including posts by Patrick O'Shea.
I drink Ryze mushroom coffee. I like the taste with some local honey and soy or hemp milk. I also use white button mushroom powder. It may be a waste of money, but I eat completely differently than I did before PC and it shows in the toilet. My gut has never been healthier and I'm on strong medication.
PCa treatments such as ADT come with side effects that include psychological issues. Taking mushrooms that also affect one's mind could potentially take one into uncharted mental health territory. It always surprises me when health professionals don't get this.
I believe that psychedelic mushrooms can be of great benefit not only to people facing serious psychological issues such as fear of death and all the fun stuff that goes along with PC. There are studies undergoing now. Psychedelics took a big hit wit the war on drugs that put their research and understanding back by decades. Psychedelics are proving to be very useful for the treatment of PTSD and a variety of other mental conditions.
These drugs can also cause thought disturbances up to and including serious ones. These drugs open your mind and if you are not ready for what it there it can be a problem.
So if you are not experienced with mushrooms and other hallucinogens it is highly recommended to have the drugs administered is a supportive environment with a guide who is experienced in dealing with the few negative side effects that do show up.
I had a guided trip with a fairly high dose and am not sure what i got out of it. I think a more clinical setting might have been better for me than being at home with Tibetan music playing.
I was in a skilled nursing facility for about 5 days after surgery for a pathological fracture of my femur. I weighed the perceived advantages and disadvantages of taking mushrooms. The environment was foreign and not at all pleasant in spite of the efforts of the largely excellent staff. I thought I might go completely insane when the screamer started up. I took the chance and did mushrooms at a little more than a micro dosing for the remainder of my stay and believe that the mushrooms helped me to accept the inevitability of my condition. I was better able to accept the screaming as part of my environment.
I also started taking high CBN cannabis orally. This was for sleep and I do believe it has more effectiveness for me than anything that has been prescribed for sleep. There is a little THC in the herb but not enough to keep my mind reeling. The mushrooms and CBN worked well together
three years ago, my prostate cancer metastasized in my brain. I had a craniotomy. Months later three tumors returned. I had stereotactic radiation at that time. I studied the use of mushrooms. I took three Lions mane tablets with breakfast, two turkey tail mushroom tablets with dinner. I also followed the Microdosing regimen recommended by Paul Stamets the mushroom guy. Frankly, I’m not supposed to be alive. Prostate cancer in the brain is rare, and terminal. The terminal part has escaped me. Over three years later no trace of the disease. I take Lupron and Erleada. I currently take one tablet of Lions mane in the morning and one turkey tail in the evening, just a maintenance dose. Feel free to contact me if you want more info. Go Noles!
After my PCa diagnosis and surgery, my dietician advocated AHCC which is a supplement in capsule form. It is derived from shiitake mushrooms
She said it will “hunt down and kill” any cancer cells in the body. While I take it regularly, I am still a skeptic. Like most cancer patients I think we want to believe there is a magic bullet out there .
You can pick your friends.......... I've been there and have the old emails to prove it......my brother pasted away last November without a spoken word between us for approximately 6 or7 years. Good Luck and may your sister have a lousy birthday.
Unfortunately, very little science other than lab studies appears to have been done to prove that mushrooms fight cancer, for example
DOI: 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.v7.i3.71
“A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments have also been carried out to demonstrate that white button mushrooms can be a chemopreventing agent against prostate cancer. A 20% methanol extract of white button mushrooms has been found to contain phytochemicals that suppress steroid 5α-reductase and aromatase. Steroid 5α-reductase converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and has been shown to play an important role in the development of prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia.”
The City of Hope Medical Centre have started doing some limited “clinical trials”. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT04519879
This phase II trial studies how well white button mushroom supplement works in reducing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in patients with prostate cancer that has come back (recurrent) or has favorable risk and has not undergone any therapy (therapy naive). PSA is a blood marker of prostate growth. White button mushroom supplement may affect PSA level, various parameters of immune system and levels of hormones that may have a role in prostate cancer growth.
“in Japan in 1990 and 1994, respectively, long-term follow-up indicates that frequent mushroom consumption is associated with reduced prostate cancer risk. The effect was especially pronounced in men age 50 or older and in those with relatively low in fruit and vegetable intake and high in meat and dairy intake”
”Results of stratified analysis according to tumor stage also suggested a beneficial effect of habitual mushroom consumption on prevention of prostate cancer regardless of clinical stage (i.e., localized or advanced and metastatic).”
”The mechanism of the beneficial effects of mushrooms on prostate cancer remains uncertain. Some biological properties of culinary mushrooms related to prevention of prostate cancer have been reported by in vivo and in vitro studies. One of these components is l-ergothioneine, an antioxidant, which might mitigate oxidative stress/damage.22 l-Ergothioneine is reportedly present in large amounts in shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, maitake mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms.23 These mushrooms also contain considerable amounts of the antioxidant glutathione.24 Additionally, in Phase 1 clinical trial, white button mushrooms also appeared to have antiprostate cancer activity through immune modulation,10 although the active compounds are still unclear. Therefore, we assume these bioactive components might play a role in the observed inverse relationship between mushroom consumption and incident prostate cancer, because shiitake, oyster mushrooms, maitake and white button mushrooms are commonly consumed in the study areas.”
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Does my MO’s plan with UCLA’s PSMA scan make sense?
Proton Therapy
Follow up after MO Visit and PSMA Pet
My brother has advanced prostate cancer
