Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
Ummm... one small problem, though. I have prostate cancer, and by all accounts, then, I oughtn't.
It's all about early detection, so what you really need is to have a trained professional stick his finger up yer caboose.
Oh, and a regular PSA test after 40, to be safe.
The news in OP aren't completely new. It may help to have a healthy hand, but a dear and healthy partner is probably even much more important in
preventing prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, mechanisms of cancer are still mostly unknown. There are certain things that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer (as in OP), but
there are other factors as well. One thing that comes to my mind is that there are detectable cancer cells in the prostates of most males all the
time, but the immune system most often takes care of them. Every once in a while the human immune system fails to do its work, and there is a cancer
that starts to develop, especially when the body ages and different life-sustaining functions start to slow down. Early detection is the key factor
for good life from this point on.
That's why a PSA test is no waste of money for anyone over 35.
The thing I stated above is one of the most important aspects of cancer. Mostly it's not about the attack of bad cells, it's all about the defense
that failed to do its job. Despite all the progress in medicine during the last 100 years, we still can't completely understand the mechanism of the
immune system. Medicine is not a completely exact science, but it's getting better all the time.
Some other very common factors for cancer are smoking and stressed, unhappy life.
About smoking: I've personally noted that every wound and nick I got in my hobbies used to heal much slower when I smoked, so my immune system was
clearly slowed down. When I learned this personally, I had a very good motivation to quit. Fortunately the human body can quite quickly recover its
built-in immune system functions when the intake of certain poisons is stopped.
About stress and unhappiness: It's all about mind, mind over the body! A positive way of thinking about everyday life is very important, even if
it's not strictly a medical issue that is taught in med schools. There are always different stresses in everyone's life, but they should not be
given the domination -- but defeated with more positive things in life instead. There is a Finnish phrase "Give the Devil your little finger, and
it'll finally take your arm" (I don't know how this translates correctly into English, but probably you get the point). Surprisingly small things
can make your day more enjoyable, and even one can change your life forever.
There was once a phrase told to me by a doctor more than a decade older and more experienced than myself: "If you eat a juicy, greasy stake with a
glass of wine or two -- That'll theoretically shorten your life with several days if not weeks. However, the pleasure of doing it will probably
lengthen your life with months if not years, if you enjoy it to your heart's content. Just keep the things in their just proportions, and do not
overdo it."
I'll never forget his words.
