This will be the 20th Cancer Climb and Trek for Prostate Awareness expedition.
This one to the rugged Pyrenees Mountains of France and Spain.
There are 6 men on this years team. Our average age is 73.5 years old. All of us
but one has prostate cancer.
You can visit www.prostateawarenessfoundation.org to meet and support the team members.
The expedition starts on Saturday, September 24th from Barcelona.
Wish us luck
When I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995 I took a look at my diet and became very nutrition conscious. I always thought I ate pretty healthy, but it turned out many of the foods I was eating were not very prostate friendly. So I read and studied what I could find on the subject and adopted a Pescatarian diet with no dairy intake and the use of seafood a few days a week. I also read up on and looked into the use of supplements. The only one I was taking regularly at that time was Vitamin C. So I started taking a number of supplements as I was fearful that I was not getting proper nutrition even with the major change in my food intake. I spent a lot of money on all different kinds of supplements. But how could I be sure that I was taking the right ones?.
So I developed a system for evaluating whether the supplements I was adding were worthwhile specifically to control my prostate cancer progression. First I would take my PSA and get the new number before embarking on a new supplement. I would always buy a three month supply in order to give a fair amount of time to get a reaction. Unlike prescription drugs that the body reacts to almost immediately in most cases, supplements generally take time for the body to show any reaction. This is especially true of anti-cancer supplements. I would then take another PSA test in 3 months and see if in fact this new supplement had a positive effect in slowing down my PSA level. If it did I would continue it's use. If not that supplement would be discontinued and I would continue my search. I still use that strategy and it has worked for me and saved my a lot of money. I have also realized over time that what works successfully for one man does not necessarily work for the next. I've also notice that the positive effects of supplements in many cases tend to wear off over time. So evaluate my supplement intake at least once every year. I wonder what your experience has been with supplements personally?
These days, as a fixed income senior I don't take any near as many different supplements as I used to, money is a major consideration. The majority of supplements I take are for my general health (Vitamin B,C and D, Omega 3 fish oil, magnesium, baby aspirin) and not specifically for prostate cancer.
I often get asked the question "If you had to give up all your supplements except one what would it be"? My answer: medical mushrooms. Most American's are not familiar with mushrooms except for in cooking. But Asian cultures have been using mushrooms for health for thousands of years. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of mushrooms not only to the human body but also for the welfare of everything on planet Earth check out "Fabulous Fungi" a great documentary film.
Life Extension magazine in their March 2022 has a very informative article about mushrooms titled "What's in Mushrooms That Supports Healthy Aging". It turns out there is an amino acid protein called L-ergothioneine that is found in all mushrooms, but sorry to say not produced by the human body. It may be a key anti-aging substance. Some interesting facts from a twenty year study of 15,000 Americans:
L-ergothioneine appears to protect DNA and reduce the shortening of telomeres
Europeans eat about five times more mushrooms than American's.
Italians eat the most mushrooms. They live on average of 5 years longer than Americans. 84 vs 79.
L-ergothioneine is associated with lower incidences of: cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's Disease, Frailty.
L-ergothioneine is associated with longer life expectancy.
L-ergothioneine has a sulfur containing group that puts it in a class related to glutathione, one of the most powerful antioxidants produced in the body.
Mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of total mortality
Personally, my research and experience has been that mushrooms work better in combination than by themselves. There is a synergistic effect that makes them more powerful together than when taken alone. There are two companies that I like that produce medicinal mushrooms in easy to take capsule form. Medicinal mushrooms can be expensive. These are both affordable. The first is called "Ten Mushroom Formula" from a company called Econugenics in Santa Rosa ,California. The second: 14 Mushroom Blend from Duckbush Mushrooms in Sequim, WA.
I also cook regularly with Shitake and Portabello Mushroom. Bon Appetite.
Greetings! The intention of this regular blog is to share with you what I have learned myself and from talking to so many men about prostate issues over the years. The end of March will mark the 27th year that I have been successfully dealing with prostate cancer. That's over a quarter of a century and one third of my life. Believe it or not it has been mostly a positive experience. I have had a good life since my diagnosis. Being diagnosed on my 50th birthday in 1995 and finding myself with no health insurance, I committed myself to taking a proactive position when it came to hopefully slowing the progression of my prostate cancer. We did not know much about how best to do that 25 years ago. So I guess you could say I am a bit of a pioneer. I will be 77 years old in late March. I have to tell you that the things that I do to keep my prostate cancer under control have paid dividends in all areas of my general health. All my vitals are great, with no cholesterol issues and no cardio vascular problems and with good numbers across the board.
At the time of my diagnosis at Stanford University I had recently returned from living and working overseas in Kuwait after the Gulf War. I had always been healthy and had let my health insurance lapse. So when I came back to the United States to find I had prostate cancer, what a scary and big wake up call! What could I do on my own without health insurance. I should say I am not a health professional although I learned a lot about conventional medicine working for an orthopedic division of Johnson and Johnson in the early days of successful hip and knee replacement surgery back in the Seventies. But as a social scientist, I looked around the world to determine what countries had high and low incidences of prostate cancer. (More on that in a future blog).
I changed my diet dramatically. First I eliminated all meat, poultry, dairy and fish and became a macrobiotic eater. This strategy did not really work for me. I was still working 60 hours a week in a stressful job,living by myself, and training for the New York City Marathon. I was not getting enough protein and my schedule had me exhausted. So I added back seafood into my diet for the protein, backed off marathon training and committed myself to a 40 hour work week. It worked. Here I am 27 years later living a satisfying active life and I'm still here to enjoy it.
Of course I did a lot of other things to slow down the progression of my prostate cancer. These include a regular exercise program, trying a number of supplements and stress management techniques. And of course I get prostate check ups regularly to make sure my strategy was working. In those days they called not rushing into conventional treatments Watchful Waiting. I never liked that terminology. To me it sounded like waiting for the axe to fall. So I adopted the term "Aggressive Watchful Waiting", because I am so proactive with my health. Still, much of my family, friends and associates told me I was being foolish, that I was not going to be around for long. Others commended me for my courage and bravery. This Aggressive Watchful Waiting strategy is now called Active Surveillance, and as you probably know, has caught on to the point that much unnecessary treatment is being conducted these days.
Not only have I learned so much over the past twenty seven years, but conventional medicine has as well. The diagnostic tools have improved so much and are cutting edge. Deaths from prostate cancer have been reduced and there are new promising strategies and procedures coming out all the time. But the recurrence rates are still intolerable and late stage prostate cancer is terribly tough to go thru for men and their families.
The intention of this and future blogs is to share what I have learned on my own about prostate cancer and from the "Band of Brother" we have met over the years through the Prostate Awareness Foundation.
I would love to hear from you and get your feedback plus hear about your successes and concerns. The best way to reach me is: kamalik@prostateawarenessfoundation.org
Have a great day and take care of your prostate.
