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Experiences with supplements

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 7/30/2009 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I'm curious if anyone has been taking the different vitamins and supplements that you read about for prostate cancer and if they have any news to report on their hopefully success.

Since being diagnosed I've been taking Pomengranite extract (Started with pure juice then switched to capsules), Acai in a pill format, A multi type pill called Male Gard and Vitamin D (just started that today). I've also read about tomato's. I can tolerate them in pasta's and sauces but not to just eat straight up in a sandwich or something along that line.

After one month on the supplements my PSA went from 4.6 to 5.1. I reason in my mind that maybe the jump would have been higher with out taking them.

 

Posted 7/30/2009 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
I would say that this is mostly in the can't hurt department, but what does the male guard contain? Some recent scientific findings suggested that selenium NOT be added to supplements.
Posted 7/30/2009 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Malegard is a supplement for men containing 6 all-natural, holistic ingredients.
Vitamin E (d-alpha, beta,delta,gamma tocopheryls 200IU
Zinc 12.5mg
Selenium 200mcg
Phytosterols -40-55% beta sitosterol 225mg
OPCs from grape seed extract 150mg
Lycopene 9mg
Posted 7/30/2009 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
I would say that with surgery 2 weeks away, you may be wasting your money in trying to reduce PSA with a Gleason 7 in 5 cores.

If you were a 5 or 6, maybe a little different. My PSA dropped almost a point after biopsy and before surgery, with no supplements. Who can say ?
Posted 7/30/2009 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
Regardless, it still isn't going to change the per cent of cancer in the prostate at this point, so I don't feel it would be worth the effort.
Posted 7/30/2009 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
Not so much worried about getting it to drop now as I was. But what about the posibility of helping to keep psa down after surgery?
Think there might be some benefit?
Posted 7/31/2009 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
The likelihood that any of these supplements will make a bit of difference is vanishingly small. Your chances are probably better buying a lottery ticket. So the real question is what do they cost you? I am not talking about price, but what economists call opportunity cost. If you would be spending the rent money for them then absolutely don’t do it. If it means you have to wait until next month to buy the new leopard skin seat covers for your Lamborghini, then go ahead.

I guess that my test is would the supplements make me happier than a case of good beer. As us old hippies used to say; “Beer will get you through times of no vitamins better than vitamins will get you through times of no beer.”
Posted 7/31/2009 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
The PSA is a byproduct of cancer cell growth. I think some of these remedies may actually be able to mask or even reduce the amount of PSA production, but the cancer cells are still growing.

Kind of like putting an ice-cube around a thermometer on a 100 degree day. Even tho the temp reading drops on the thermometer, it is still 100 degrees out.

Best of luck on your upcoming surgery !
Posted 7/31/2009 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
2000iu of vitamin D3 is very important stuff especially in the cooler states. I live in the desert and get lot's of sun, but I still take D3. According to what I have read over time, all the others are subject to debate, and any suppliment that is taken in large amounts can be harmful. Such examples of that include Vitamin E and selenium. But supplimentation is not the perfect answer by any means. Dietary considerations should include a balanced heart healthy diet. All this is much debated on the web, but not so much in your doctors offices...

Tony
Posted 7/31/2009 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
You mean my doctor who goes out back to smoke ? Honestly, you have to wonder if these guys really believe a lot of what they say !
Posted 7/31/2009 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
I just asked my oncologist if I should keep taking the supplements he recommended after my treatment ends next week. He is a big believer in diet and supplements. He said supplements will slow the PC growth, but once you are cured they do no good and you're just wasting money. The only thing he recommended was vitamine D. I asked him about continuing Proscar and he said only if it helped my hair growth, take 1/2 tablet it works just as well for hair growth. (It actually did grow hair). At least I got one good thing out of this crazy disease.
JT
Posted 7/31/2009 9:15 PM (GMT 0)
I think anything you do to possibly help is worth it. I had a psa of 31 and a gleason of 9 before I started my regiment. I knew I only had a little over a month before my surgery but I fugured anything that might help would be worth the effort. I started on flaxseed oil and cottage cheese as per the Budwig diet. I took pomagrand capsules along with a lot of vitamins and supplements. After my surgery I found out my cancer that they took out was a gleason 7. Makes me wonder if my regiment was working or if the doctor had gotten the worst of the cancer during my TURP procedure.
Hope all goes well.
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