Tag Archives: Prostate Cancer

Shades of Grey with the PSA

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Shades of Grey with the PSA

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is an enzyme that is produced by the prostate and serves to liquefy ejaculate. There are a number of conditions that may cause an increase in the production of PSA including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis, and in general, the higher a man’s PSA level, the more likely it is that he has prostate cancer. Sounds pretty cut and dry doesn’t it? We have a marker that is specific to the prostate that we can test in serum and is elevated in prostate cancer patients – what a perfect screening test!

Unfortunately, the situation isn’t quite that black and white. First of all, it turns out that PSA isn’t specific to the prostate, or even specific to men for that matter. Furthermore, only a quarter of men who have elevated PSA levels are diagnosed with prostate cancer upon biopsy. Unnecessarily subjecting 75 men to the possible side effects of biopsy to detect 25 cancer cases would possibly be worth it except that nearly all prostate cancer cases are slow growing and unlikely to have a significant impact on mortality. That’s right, several large studies have found that men who have annual prostate cancer screening are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but not more likely to die from the disease than men who are not screened. This indicates that screening may lead to additional diagnostic procedures or unnecessary treatments, many of which can have significant side effects, but not contribute to a longer life. Simple needle biopsy of the prostate has been reported to result in difficulty urinating and increased urinary urgency as well as erectile dysfunction, with increasing incidence directly correlated with number of samples taken. And for men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer, most are treated with surgery or radiation which often results in erectile, urinary and bowel problems for decades after treatment.

While this information may sound controversial, a large number of busy practitioners still routinely run screening PSA levels because they either believe that it is a simple screening test or that it is required for liability purposes. However, most of the organizations that make recommendations for cancer screening are no longer recommending PSA screening. The U.S. Preventative Task Force Service has given PSA screening for prostate cancer a grade D, meaning that not only do they not support this practice, but they recommend that physicians actively discourage its use. The American Urological Association recommends against PSA screening in men under 55 and over the age of 70, or in any men who have an expected life expectancy of less than 10-15 years. In the 55-69 group, they recommend that the potential harms associated with additional screening and treatment be discussed with the patient for shared decision making. The American Cancer Society has similar advice, stating that men should not be screened until they have been informed about the uncertainties and risks as well as the potential benefits of screening.

Like many areas of medicine, this topic offers a great opportunity for educating the patient on the risks and benefits of PSA screening and more importantly the potential side effects of additional diagnostic procedures and treatment options. Unfortunately, many patients are frightened when they hear the C-word and may react rashly out of fear. In the case of prostate malignancies, the time should be taken to fully explore all of the treatment options, including the option of not treating.

There are many resources that can be recommended to these patients including the documentary Surviving Prostate Cancer.

For over 25 years I have recommended all my male patients over 50 years old use Willow Flower Tea on an on/off basis forever. This is available on my website from Apricots from God or call  (800)395-7379 (Maddie / Jason)

I would also like to mention during the Vietnam War 58,000 young men died.  Autopsies were done on many of those young men. Surprisingly, many of those young men had cancer cells present in the prostate even though they would not have symptoms until their late 60’s, 70″s, 80’s.

References:

  • Diamandis EP, Yu H. Nonprostatic sources of prostate-specific antigen. Urol Clin North Am. 1997 May;24(2):275-82.
  • Barry MJ. Clinical practice. Prostate -specific antigen testing for early diagnosis of prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 3:344(18):1373-7.
  • Andriole GL, Crawford ED, Grubb RL, et al. Prostate cancer screening in the randomized prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening trial: mortality results after 13 years of follow-up. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 Jan 18; 104(2):125-32.
  • Klein T, Palisaar RJ, Holz A, et al. The impact of prostate biopsy and periprostatic nerve block on erectile and voiding function: A prospective study. J Urol. 2010 Oct; 184(4): 1447-52.
  • Resnick MJ, Koyama T, Fan KH, et al. Long-term functional outcomes after treatment for localized prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jan 31;368(5): 436-45.
  • Final Update Summary: Prostate Cancer: Screening. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. July 2015. Prostate Cancer Screening website
  • Carter HB, Albertsen PC, Barry MJ, et al. Early detection of prostate cancer: AUA guideline. J Urol. 2013 Aug; 190(2):419-26.
  • Prostate Cancer Website

Willow Flower Info Directions

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The best Willow-Herb comes from Germany. Willow Flower Herb has proven to be far better than Saw Palmetto for the prostate. Willow Flower Herb Works!  By law it cannot be said what it does to help prostate cancer. But what can be said is  that it strengthens the prostate by helping remove toxins brought to the prostate via the bowels and urinary tract.

**The biggest point of interest with Willow Flower Tea is that is strengthens the prostate gland even though you did not realize your prostate gland was not strong to begin with.

Since there are several species of Willow-herb some people are uncertain which are the ones with the medicinal properties. So here they are:

  • Pink Willow-herb (Epilobium parviflorum),
  • Mountain Willow-herb (Epilobium momanum),
  • Dark-green Willow-herb (Epilobium obsaJrum),
  • Lance-leaved Willow-herb (Epilobium lanzeolatum),
  • Hill Willow-herb (Epilobium collinum),
  • Marsh Willow-herb (Eppilobium palustre,
  • Gravel Willow-herb (Epilobium anagallidifolium).

The Willow herbs with the color is reddish, pale pink to almost white. The flowers stand on top of the long thin pod like seed vessels. These later split, disclosing many silky whites hairs in which are embedded the tiny seeds.

Of the varieties mentioned, the whole herb is gathered, that is, stems with leaves and flowers,but care should be taken to pick the herb in the middle of the stem – it breaks easily – so that it can form new side shoots. The plant is cut in the fresh state. Even in the most severe cases only 2 cups of Willow herb tea are drunk, 1cup in the morning on an empty stomach and 1 cup in the evening, But it does not mean that a visit to the doctor is not necessary. In any case, for every serious illness, a doctor should be consulted.

Two species of Willow-herb which can hardly be mistaken for the smaller species are the Great Hairy Willow- and the Rose Bay Willow-herb. These cannot be used. The first.has large rose-purple flowers. It grows, much branched, in masses by ponds, in marshes and damp meadows and reaches a height of 150cm. The stems and leaves are fleshy and slightly hairy. The Austrian botanist, Richard Witlfort, who knew the Willow-herb as a medicinal plant well, does not mention it in his book. As he said, it could easily be mistaken for the Great Hairy Willow-herb, also known as Fireweed, Blood Vine, Blooming Sally, grows in copses, waste grounds recently cleared and edges of woods and reaches a height of 150 cm. The slightly reddish stems end in long showy spikes of rose-purple flowers. When the abundantly growing Rose Bay Willow-herbs flower, they turn areas into fire-red patches.

**The curative effect is so great that, often suddenly, all complaints caused by prostate disorder disappear. There are many cases where men were to have an operation, the urine came only in drops and 1cup of this tea brought relief. Of course. the tea has to be drunk throughout a period to bring about complete recovery.

NOTE: The FDA does not conduct studies on the curative properties of water, foods or plants–so no studies done on Willow Flower or most any herb for that matter.

Directions:

  1. Pour one and 1/4 cups of water in a pot and heat (distilled is always best for tea because distilled water is empty and more apt to absorb the nutrient from tea leaves. Spring water is what most people use and if not use any water–just make the tea)
  2. Put one decent sized teaspoon of the Willow-herb into the pot and simmer for a few minutes, stirring once or twice.
  3. Pour into a mug and drink.
  4. You may add honey (the good stuff) but maybe best if you take it plain.
  5. At this point there should be a little left in the pot. let this soak till night time when you add another cup of water and another tea spoon of Willow Herb. Use the same process, however,discard these remains -~rather than soak overnight again.

Willow Flower Herb will make a difference in just a few days. Return it if it doesn’t.