--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "I am the eternal" <l.shad...@...> wrote: > > On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 12:42 PM, ruthsimplicity > <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "I am the eternal" > > > > I skimmed through these threads about your friend. I take it you are > > in Texas. If he hasn't been there already, I recommend MD Anderson > > Cancer Center in Houston for evaluation. http://www.mdanderson.org/ > > Better than roaming from one expert to another. > > > > Given the limited facts your presented (age, Gleason score, PSA, but > > not tumor grading or PSA doubling rate) I likely would not do watchful > > waiting and I would not rely on Curcumin and the like! Prostate > > cancer treatment has so many options and each individual is different, > > so don't take anything for advice here. (Other than what I said about > > visiting a major cancer center, like MD Anderson). > > > > Best wishes to you and your friend. > > > > > After lots of reading and looking at my friend's doctor's website at > http://www.prostatecenterofaustin.com/cancer.php , of a number of > things, which I've conveyed to my friend: > > 1) To accept the curcumin and other things I ordered for him and start > taking them while waiting for his doctor visit. To want to do > anything more with the neutraceuticals is just magical thinking. I > went to the various websites supplied by yifuxero. I read the > testimonials there. I didn't read as many glowing reports as yifuxero > did. Nothing really about cancer. Now I was able to Google some > things about prostate cancer and curcumin. Curcumin does sound very > promising and exciting. It may explain why Indian men don't often get > prostate cancer but American men do, very frequently. It looks like > curcumin should have been a part of my friend's diet, starting decades > ago. But as Peter said, once the horse has left the stable, well it > may be true that curcumin does slow down the growth of prostate cancer > and that medical researchers are looking at how to come up with a drug > based on curcumin. But neither it nor the other things recommended > are magic bullets against cancer. Oncologists aren't that biased and > dumb. I attract doctors around me, though none of my friends happen > to be urologists or oncologists. Though weary, they really want > what's best for the patient, assuming insurance will allow it. If a > food like flax seed or a spice like curcumin did work, really work > against cancer, oncologists would be all over it like white on rice. > > 2) To immediately cut out the megadoses of vitamins and minerals my > friend has taken for decades. It looks like megadoses encourage the > growth of advanced prostate cancer and a Gleason sore of 7 is well > into the advancing stage. > > 2) That a Gleason score of 7 on 3 nodes (but still at stage T0, no > visible or palpable sign of cancer) is defined as moderate aggressive. > There is actually a risk to life at this stage, though the odds of > complete recovery are very good if one opts for the robotic surgery. > This is far past the time of hopeful watching with or without > nutritional aids. It's time for action and the best action right now > appears to be the robotic surgery. Very neat, very clean, very good > at getting out the cancer but leaving as much as possible intact. > Recovery won't be the neatest thing, having to have a catheter/bag for > 8 days and having to do physical therapy to get control of the bladder > sphincter back. But this surgery does a lot less damage than cryo, > inserted radiation rods or external radiation beam. The $25,000 HiFu > available outside of the US might have been an option in the hopeful > watching period and there is no track record on for this treatment. > > 3) That my friend lucked out with getting one of the best urology > clinics in Texas and getting a consult with a very thorough and > trained urology surgeon. Looking over the website, I get a very good > feeling that Dr. Fagin will be very easy for my friend to talk with > and that he will be open minded to all options for treatment and has > been down this road many times before. Dr. Fagin has started > prescribing every other day Viagra (to priests as well?) during > recovery because doing so has been shown to bring one's sexual ability > back. I feel that going to MD Anderson in Houston or some famous > cancer clinic elsewhere might be overkill, though of course I will > suggest that my friend get a second opinion. > > Now as far as Ayurveda, well my friend went to see Mark Toomey at the > Raj the same day I did. My friend had this cancer then and mentioned > his high PSA to Mark. Mark did not detect it. So much for Ayurveda, > which may have shortened the lives of many THMDs, THPs and members of > the TMO, what with the heavy metals and the tendency of Ayurvedic > preparations to fight the effects of radiation, cancer drugs and > chemical altering of hormone levels (because many cancer cells thrive > in estrogen or testosterone). > > A trip to Lourdes and tramping around the world sounds like a good > idea if you've got something that can't be cured. But if it's about > not wanting to go through the recovery of what is now relatively > unintrusive surgury, it's a dumb idea. > > I might not be the best person to advise my friend, as I have the > first two years of medical school (with good grades) under my belt. > I've stayed current with medical progress and I can read, understand > and judge the merits of research. But I was chosen to do the legwork > for my friend, which I'm happily doing. >
Sounds like you are on the right track. Again, best wishes to your friends.
