686 The Politics of the Prostate

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Newsletter published on 8 October 2014

The Politics of the Prostate

By Peter Myers

The Prostate is the male equivalent of the Uterus. Its main function is
to produce fluid for semen, which transports sperm.

There's an epidemic of Prostate problems, but they are of two distinct
types:
- difficult urination, when the Prostate squeezes the urethra, caused by
"Benign prostatic hyperplasia" (benign tumor growth)
- Prostate Cancer

Men reporting problems are sent for a PSA test and an Ultrasound. The
Ultrasound measures the size of the prostate, while the PSA reading is
used to assess the risk of cancer.

Doctors prescribe Minipress to alleviate urination problems; this is a
blood pressure tablet that relaxes the pipework. For worse cases,
Flomaxtra is used, but it's not on the PBS.

Urologists can prescribe Duodart (Finasteride) to shrink the prostate.
However, the FDA warns that it carries "an increased risk of high-grade
prostate cancer." My doctor did not tell me that; I found it out on the
internet. Nor did he tell me that Duodart causes Chemical Castration.
Needless to say, I did not take it.

I'm quite sceptical about Doctors and Big Pharma, so I avoided their
medicines and treatments for 9 years, using herbal medicine instead.
Then I took Minipress (2 mg) or Flomaxtra (0.4 mg) for a year, in
conjunction with herbal medicine.

One morning you might find you can't urinate at all; and yet you're
busting. This is agonising, and it gets worse every hour you delay. If
it happens to you, go straight to Emergency at any hospital, any hour of
the day or night; tell them you have Urine Retention. They will insert a
catheter up your penis and drain the urine. There are different sizes:
size 12 hurts less than size 14.

After needing this four times, I finally decided to submit to a Rebore
(TURP). This is an operation to cut away part of the Prostate. A
catheter (size 24) is inserted up the penis into the bladder. Surgical
instruments are operated through this tube, and the flesh is removed
through it too. You won't want to be awake during this.

Afterwards, you "piss blood" for 2 or 3 weeks; then gradually recover.
After that, one patient told me, "you can piss like a racehorse". If
you're lucky, you get 10 or more years before you need another TURP.

So far, reader, you're probably finding this gruesome; but there is some
good news too. Namely that we should not worry too much about the other
Prostate problem – Prostate Cancer.

The PSA test is being used to mass-screen the population. And to freak
men out, pressuring them into having biopsies, radiation and removal of
the prostate. But the scientist who invented the PSA test now says it's
inaccurate and dangerous. Richard J. Ablin wrote in the New York Times
of March 9, 2010:

The Great Prostate Mistake
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10Ablin.html

"EACH year some 30 million American men undergo testing for
prostate-specific antigen … the P.S.A. test is the most commonly used
tool for detecting prostate cancer.

"The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health
disaster. It’s an issue I am painfully familiar with — I discovered
P.S.A. in 1970. ...

"Americans spend an enormous amount testing for prostate cancer. The
annual bill for P.S.A. screening is at least $3 billion ...

"Prostate cancer may get a lot of press, but consider the numbers:
American men have a 16 percent lifetime chance of receiving a diagnosis
of prostate cancer, but only a 3 percent chance of dying from it. That’s
because the majority of prostate cancers grow slowly. In other words,
men lucky enough to reach old age are much more likely to die with
prostate cancer than to die of it.

"Even then, the test is hardly more effective than a coin toss. As I’ve
been trying to make clear for many years now, P.S.A. testing can’t
detect prostate cancer and, more important, it can’t distinguish between
the two types of prostate cancer — the one that will kill you and the
one that won’t. […]

"So why is it still used? Because drug companies continue peddling the
tests and advocacy groups push “prostate cancer awareness” by
encouraging men to get screened. […]

"I never dreamed that my discovery four decades ago would lead to such a
profit-driven public health disaster."

Richard J. Ablin is a research professor of immunobiology and pathology
at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the president of
the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research.

He later wrote a book called The Great Prostate Hoax: How Big Medicine
Hijacked The PSA Test And Caused A Public Health Disaster. I have a
copy, and will show it to any doctor who tries to pressure me. There's a
good review at
http://australianleftbookreview.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/the-great-prostatehoax-how-big-medicine.html

The Wall St Journal reported on Sept. 14, 2014, "The surge of cancer
screening in the U.S. has increased the detection of precancerous
lesions that are often low-risk. Some experts now argue that cancer is
being overdiagnosed. […] As a result … experts say, many people may be
undergoing surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and other treatments
unnecessarily, sometimes with lifelong side effects."

Those side effects include Impotence (no erections or sex) and
incontinence (having to wear nappies, permanently).

As men are pressured to undergo PSA testing, women are pressured to
undergo Mammograms. Dr David Browstein advises against them:

"[…] What can you do to prevent breast cancer? The number one thing you
can do is to eat a healthy diet free of synthetic hormones. That means
eating animal products that have not been fed synthetic hormones. […]
Instead of mammograms, perhaps consider thermography. … Although
thermascans do not prevent breast cancer, they do no expose sensitive
areas of the body to dangerous ionizing radiation."

Italy, Greece, India and Japan have lower incidence of Prostate
problems. But Japanese men who migrate to the US develop American-style
problems. This means that we can cure ourselves by changing our diet and
exposure to chemicals.

The prostate empidemic seems to be caused by an excess of estrogenic
hormones. A Japanese study concluded, "estrogens are key hormones for
the induction and the development of BPH."

Estrogenic  hormones are used in insecticides, from which they get into
the foodchain. They are also fed to chickens, pigs and dairy cattle to
increase production; and are present in plastic containers, from which
they leach into food. A study in Germany found that "plastic mineral
water bottles contaminate drinking water with estrogenic chemicals."

Cornell University put out a fact sheet:

"Consumer Concerns about Hormones in Food
Cornell University Fact Sheet #37, June 2000

"Certain hormones make young animals gain weight faster. ... In dairy
cows, hormones increase milk production. Thus, hormones can increase the
profitability of the meat and dairy industries. ...

"The female sex hormone estrogen was shown to affect growth rates in
cattle and poultry in the 1930s."

"The EU has banned all meat from animals treated with steroid growth
hormones; but they are still permitted in North America and Australia. […]

"Early puberty in girls may be caused by growth hormones in meat and
dairy products."

That Kentucky Fried Chicken – and all the other junk food we've eaten -
may not seem to taste good any more.

Perhaps by this time, reader, you may be ready to give herbal remedies a
try. Herbal medicines for the Prostate include the berries of the Saw
Palmetto palm, the bark of the Pygeum tree, the root of Stinging
nettles, Pumpkin seed kernels (or oil), and Epilobium Parviflorum (Small
Flowered Willow Herb).

You may be able to grow your own. Pygeum grows in the tropics, Saw
Palmetto in the subtropics (I grow it); Stinging Nettles and Epilobium
Parviflorum grow in temperate climates.

Stinging nettle root inhibits the binding of SHBG to the prostate cell
membrane. An articlle in LE Magazine of February 1999 says,
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag99/feb99-bph.html

"In addition to inhibiting SHBG binding, at least six constituents of
nettle root inhibit aromatase, reducing conversion of androgens to
estrogens. Combining nettle root with pygeum results in a stronger,
synergistic inhibition. ...

"In Europe nettle root is also used in combination with saw palmetto.
This combination is a logical one since nettle root acts through the
alternative signalling pathway in the prostate cell, while saw palmetto
acts on the primary signalling pathway by limiting DHT activity. In
effect, nettle root addresses the estrogen side of BPH, while saw
palmetto addresses the androgen side. Additionally, both herbs have
anti-inflammatory actions. […] Preliminary research suggests that a
constituent of nettle root inhibits the binding of EGF to human prostate
cells."

Blackmores is the leading Australian brand. Their Prostate Health
Formula contains Saw Palmetto, Stinging Nettle Root, Selenium, Zinc,
Natural Vitamin E, and Lycopene (from ripe tomatoes). American brands
are available on the internet. I take Life Extension brand "Ultra
Natural Prostate" containing Saw Palmetto, Stinging Nettle Root,
Boswellia, Cernitin Flower Pollen Extract, Pygeum, Pumpkin seed Oil,
Phytosterol Complex including Beta-Sitosterol, a lignan extract, and boron.

Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables contain quercetin. It's said to
inhibit the growth of cancer cells; organically grown fruits, fully
ripened, contain more. Turmeric rhizomes and almond kernels likewise.
The bitterness in apple pips and stonefruit kernels is cyanide, which
fights cancer; it's only an excess which harms you. Apricot kernels sell
on eBay for $42/kg, much dearer than apricots themselves. This and the
huge number of herbal Prostate remedies sold on eBay show that large
numbers of people distrust the Medical Establishment.

I estimate that I won't need to worry about Prostate Cancer for another
10 years. By that time, I hope that doctor-assisted suicide will be
legal – allowing a dignified exit, with a farewell party beforehand, and
freeing up funds so that other people can get the Pension at 65.

Nurses I discussed this with at Bundaberg hospital expressed similar
sentiments. "You'll find a way," one said.

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