Prostate Cancer
Hits Wives Hard, Too
Source: meridianhealth.com/index.cfm/MediaRelations/News/MensHealth/feb2003.cfm?PrintablePage=Yes
Spouses play key
role and suffer alongside husbands, survey shows
Wives of men with
prostate cancer are intimately involved in their husbands' care and they suffer
as they help their spouse battle the disease, a new national survey shows.
In the survey,
conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide, 83 percent of the wives said they play a
key role in boosting their husbands' morale; 67 percent accompany their husbands
to treatment; 59 percent make sure their husbands follow their treatment
regimen; and 53 percent play a role in treatment decisions.
Spouses Role Comes
With a Cost
Forty-two percent of
the wives reported stress, sleeplessness, and weight swings. And 51 percent said
they suffered feelings of helplessness, loss of intimacy, anxiety, and
depression.
Yet the survey
revealed 41 percent of the women said they had been drawn closer to their
husbands because of the disease.
The Two Against One
Connection Program Can Help
The telephone survey
of 302 spouses of men with prostate cancer was done from mid-December to
mid-January.
In a follow-up, a
new Internet-based mentoring program has been launched to help wives and other
loved ones of prostate cancer patients. The Two Against One Connections program,
introduced on Valentine's Day by prostate cancer survivor and New York Yankees
Manager Joe Torre and his wife, Ali, matches prostate cancer patients and their
families with others familiar with the disease. People share their concerns and
experiences via e-mail.
The program is a
partnership between the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, Amgen Inc., and
Praecis Pharmaceuticals.
Discussing the
disease with others who have dealt with it can be a source of comfort and
support for wives and other family members, says Skip Lockwood, coalition
spokesman.
"You can look
and see that it's not just you. There are many, many women out there who are
suffering and grappling with the same issues," Lockwood says.
Spouses Can Discuss
Feelings and Remain Anonymous
People involved with
the Connections program remain anonymous. That "allows women to talk to
other women and reveal as much or as little as they like without feeling they're
opening themselves up to the world," Lockwood says. "That really makes
it easier for people to be very honest and forthright."
Wives also provide
essential emotional support, which helps the patient's attitude and outlook.
Always consult your
physician for more information.
Herbal Treatment
Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer
It suppressed cell
growth in lab experiments
An herbal formula
sold under the brand name Zyflamend may offer new treatment and prevention
options for prostate cancer patients, say Columbia University researchers.
The formula, a
combination of 10 different herbs (including turmeric, ginger, holy basil, hu
zhang, Chinese goldthread, barberry, oregano, rosemary, green tea and
Scutellaria baicalensis), suppressed the growth of prostate cancer cells and
caused many cells to self-destruct in lab experiments, report the researchers.
They presented their findings at a recent meeting of the Society of Urologic
Oncology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md.
"This is a
natural product that contains herbs and spices and in our lab studies seems to
have an effect on the cancer we looked at," says one of the study's
authors, Dr. Aaron Katz, director of the Center for Holistic Urology at
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. "The compound needs
future research on the clinical side, but it holds the potential for prevention
and reducing PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels."
Cancer of the
prostate is a common and serious health concern. According to the American
Cancer Society, there will be approximately 220,900 new cases of prostate cancer
in the United States in the year 2003, and about 28,900 men will die of this
disease. It is the most common form of cancer of men over age 50—and the
second leading cancer killer (lung cancer being first).
The researchers
added Zyflamend to prostate cancer cells in lab cultures. They also tested the
effects of curcumin, a compound from the spice turmeric. Curcumin is believed to
have an anti-inflammatory effect that could reduce the growth of prostate
cancer.
They found Zyflamend
reduced the growth of prostate cancer cells and induced cell death, and that
curcumin alone did not produce these effects.
Dr. Howard Korman, a
urologist and prostate cancer specialist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal
Oak, Mich., says the results of this new study are exciting.
"Some of our
most effective medicines come from plants," says Korman, "and these
results are interesting and hopeful."
However, he
cautions, "it's a big step to go from the lab to people."
Katz says the
researchers are hopeful the therapy will be as effective in people as it is in
the lab, and they plan on conducting clinical trials in the future.
If it proves as
effective as they hope, Katz says the herbal formula could be used as
preventative therapy because it has no significant side effects. He says it
could also, perhaps, be used as a treatment for men with small tumors who do not
want to undergo surgery or radiation if the trials go well.
Always consult your
physician for more information.
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