Prostate cancer is considered as the most common cancer in men over the age of 50.

Adenocarcinoma is the most ordinary form.

Prostate cancer once in while produce symptoms till the cancer is in advance stage so early diagnosis is vital because in the early stages the disease is treatable.

Location And Function

The prostate is an organ forming part of the male reproductive system. It is situated below the bladder and in front of the bowel. It produces fluid which shields and increases sperm.

In fledgling men the size of the prostate is similar to the size of a walnut. It is dough nut shaped as it encircles the start of the urethra, the tube which delivers urine from the bladder to the penis. The nerves that control erection around the prostate.

Symptoms

• Waking-up at night to urinate frequently
• Sudden need to urinate
• Difficulty in urinating
• Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
• Discomfort when urinating
• Blood in the urine or semen
• Decrease in libido
• Reduced ability to get an erection

Men incline to accept the beginning of one or more of these symptoms as being a natural concern of aging. While, anyone feeling any of the above mentioned symptoms is suggested to consult a doctor without any delay. Early expert diagnosis and treatment is essential and may divert severe health consequences.

Prostate cancer is actually one of the slower developing cancers. Over decades ago, it was most encountered by men over the age of 70, and many of those lost their lives due to other causes prior their prostate cancer could have killed them. And this led to the old saying “most men die with, not of, prostate cancer.”

While, that is not true at present. Three advancements have changed things substantially:

• Men live longer, giving the cancer more time to spread beyond the prostate, with possibly fatal consequences.
• Men in their early sixties, fifties and even forties are being spotted with prostate cancer. Earlier commencement with greater male life prospect, means those cancers have more time to branch out and turn life-threatening if diagnosed and treated.
• Prostate cancer in younger men tends to be more hostile and hence more life-threatening within a shorter period of time.

Risk Factors & Testing

Risk factors for prostate cancer take into account diets rich in fat and low in vegetables. Certain risk factors include; 75 percent of cases are in men over 65 years. Prostate cancer is determined by physical examination or by screening blood tests, like the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test.

The PSA test assess the blood level of prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme generated by the prostate. The risk of prostate cancer amplifies with increasing PSA levels.

Majority of the men in the age of 85 years, have cancerous prostate cells, but the disease is developing so steadily that it never threatens their quality of life.

Genetic factors play a vital role, specifically for families with whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age, and the risk of prostate cancer increases with the number of close relatives who struggle with the disease.

Preventive Measures

Certain researchers discovered that men who consumed cooked tomatoes or foods prepared from them more than twice a week were less likely to grow prostate cancer.

Use of anti-inflammatory medicine like aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen may lessen prostate cancer risk. Frequent ejaculations also seem to have a certain protective effect against prostate cancer.

Most prostate cancers are not meant to be lethal, and most men are likely to die from causes other than of the disease. As many prostate tumours are slow developing, survival rates are amazing when the disease is detected in early stages.

Treatment

The most proper treatment is mainly determined by the stage and belligerence of the disease when it is found out. Detecting prostate cancer early is crucial in beating the disease.

Numerous factors influence the decision whether or not to treat the disease: the patient’s age, whether the cancer has spread, the presence of other medical conditions, and the patient’s general health.

Treatment for prostate cancer may include waiting, surgery, radiation therapy encompassing brachytherapy and external beam radiation, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), chemotherapy, cryosurgery, hormonal therapy, or some combination.

Since the last few years, there has been substantial amount of research concentrating on the disparity in the Redox homeostasis as a probable factor in the growth of cancer.

Ayurvedic Treatment

The Ayurvedic treatment of prostate cancer is meant to treat the local tumor and averting or thereby lessening its spread. Medicines used to treat the local tumor are: Triphala-Guggulu, Kanchnaar-Guggulu, Gokshuradi-Guggulu, Chandraprabha-Vati, Punarnavadi-Guggulu, Punarnavadi-Qadha, Arogya-Vardhini, Punarnava (Boerhaavia diffusa), Deodar (Cedrus deodara), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Haritaki (Terminalia chebula), Guggulu (Commiphora mukul), Erandmool (Ricinus communis), Gokshur (Tribulus terrestris), Sunthi (Zinziber officinalis), Marich (Piper nigrum), Pippali (Piper longum), Musta (Cyperus rotundus), Saariva (Hemidesmus indicus), Pashandbhed (Bergenia lingulata), Apamarga (Achyranthus aspera), Sahinjan (Moringa pterygosperma), Kuchla (Strychnos nuxvomica) and Varun (Crataeva nurvala). Medicines like Kanchnaar-Guggulu and Maha-Manjishthadi-Qadha are prescribed in high doses in order to prevent the spread of the cancer to other body parts.

Medicines such as  Suvarna-Parpati, Suvarna-Raj-Vangeshwar-Ras, Suvarna-Malini-Vasant, Trivang-Bhasma, Tamra-Bhasma, Abhrak-Bhasma, Suvarna-Bhasma and Heerak-Bhasma are used in a blend with other medicines to both enhance the immune status of the body and to help control the spread of tumor.

Ayurvedic medicines can be used as a supplementary therapy at any stage of orthodox treatment, so as to enhance the therapeutic response and the general survival rate. Such patients should be under the regular care and observation of an Oncology team.