Circulation is a vital part of strengthening your immune system’s ability to fight off disease. This is especially true in the case of cancer. Providing a good amount of oxygen to your cells keeps them healthy and increases their resistance to disease. Oxygen also aids in the repair of previously damaged cells. Dr. Dean Foster and strength trainer Joseph Aviel are going to show you an exercise that will keep your heart and lungs at the top of their game, circulating as much oxygen as possible to your body.

A Clinical Sexologist talks about how to accept and grow with the inevitable changes that come with prostate cancer. It's “back to school” for learning a whole new sexuality when it comes to prostate cancer. 

Survival. It’s a huge word. Yet science uses it often, and without pause. It is a statistic. But for the cancer patient, the word survival is more than a statistic. It is one of the most personal statements about him and his cancer journey. It deserves more than common reference, and more understanding of its true definition. For the newly diagnosed prostate cancer patient, survival is one of the first thoughts. But we are still learning how to explain more clearly that every prostate cancer is different, and the majority do not even shorten survival. 

In my last blog I contended that of all the different ways to treat cancer—hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation or surgery for example—immune therapy has the greatest potential to save lives: Only the immune system, by its very nature, has the ability to adapt to the many thousands of varieties of cancer.  Also, new breakthroughs in understanding how it works have led to real progress inharnessing the immune system to fight cancer. 

PCRI is committed to giving you the most up-to-date information and connecting you with professional support to fight prostate cancer. The PCRI process of education leading to empowered decision-making rests on the foundation of the contemporary “Patient-Centric Healthcare” (1). One critical aspect of this is simply called “Self-Care” (2).

As a prostate cancer survivor, my husband has been a believer in diet, exercise, and quality lifestyle choices. As our busy lives take us off-course at times, we continue to look for inspiration and strive to be our best support to one another. We have been on an adventure since his diagnosis, and are healthier because of it. 

In 2010, Provenge was approved by the FDA, the first approved prostate cancer treatment that functions by enhancing the immune system.  Over the last couple ofyears Provenge has been gaining popularity with oncologists and urologists as well as with patients. What has been surprising to me is how slowly doctors and patients have warmed up to the idea of using the immune system to fight prostate cancer. For years my patients have been taking handfuls of Graviola, Shitaki mushrooms, Pau de Arco and Esiac tea because of unsubstantiated claims of immune enhancement. Yet, when the FDA approved an effective immune treatment that prolongs life I was surprised that my patients needed to be convinced to use it.  

Given enzalutamide’s unique and multi-targeted mechanism of action, its once a day oral administration, avoidance of accompanying requirement of a steroid, and its established safety and efficacy data, it appears to be a very promising therapy. Future studies should investigate both combination strategies with other approved prostate cancer drugs, as well as the potential role of enzalutamide in earlier stages of both CRPC and androgen-sensitive prostate cancer.

Radium-223 (or Alpharadin) is a new targeted alpha-emitting agent which has shown a prolongation of survival in castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients with bone-metastatic disease (5). 

Obtaining and maintaining copies of your medical information is an important part of understanding your cancer and your treatment options. It’s also a critical part of “new patient appointments” with physicians, ensuring you are equipped for emergencies and asking your doctor(s) the right questions in context of your individual biology.