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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / December 2004Calcium quandary
There is an interesting article in the latest Consumer Reports. It says that calcium in the diet has various possible health benefits, among them reduced risk of colon cancer and lowering of blood pressure. But other studies suggest that too much calcium in the diet may increase the risk of prosate cancer and may also make metastasis of prostate cancer more likely. The amount considered high for prostate cancer is below what dieticians, according to the article, recommend for men over 65. So I can't figure how this applies to me. I've had 4 years of undetectable PSAs after my RP, so there is an excellent chance no prostate cancer is hiding in my body. But, it is also possible that there is some there which is being controlled by my body's defenses. On the other hand, my mother and uncle both had colon cancer, so I am at increased risk for that disease, and that risk may be greater than my risk of prostate cancer recurrence. In addition, with increasing age, my blood pressure has been creeping up. A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be safe if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. Do you have colonoscopies done to keep yourself checked, Leonard? I know there are many things *recommended* by dieticians and medical people in relation to different conditions.... just as mentioned in the article you referred to. But it seems we are so unique that no set of rules could apply to us all. Perhaps your body absorbs calcium at a greater level than mine, for example. And just look at the guys who eat tomatoes all time and still get prostate cancer... so does lycopene not really work? Quandery, indeed. Hope you find a solution you'll be comfortable with. MikeH > There is an interesting article in the latest Consumer Reports. It says > that calcium in the diet has various possible health benefits, among them [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be safe > if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. > Do you have colonoscopies done to keep yourself checked, Leonard? Of course. I have them every five years as my gastroenterologist recommends in my case. I also have a fecal smear checked for occult blood once a year. > I know there are many things *recommended* by dieticians and medical people > in relation to different conditions.... just as mentioned in the article you > referred to. But it seems we are so unique that no set of rules could apply > to us all. Perhaps your body absorbs calcium at a greater level than mine, > for example. And just look at the guys who eat tomatoes all time and still > get prostate cancer... so does lycopene not really work? All of this is a matter of probabilities. The best any of these measures can do is reduce the probability of getting prostate cancer. After all, the two major risk factors are things we can't easily avoid: being a man and getting old. Perhaps my good habits meant I got prostate cancer at 67 instead of 57. Perhaps my relatively high calcium intake increased my risk. But it would be foolish to think that any of these things by itself was the crucial factor making a difference. > Quandery, indeed. Hope you find a solution you'll be comfortable with. > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >>A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be safe >>if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. I think there are a lot of things that contraindicate one another in health care. A dermatologist was on a radio program a couple years ago and he said frequent hand washing was bad for the skin. The internivewer asked about hygiene and the doctor said it was just another trade off. There seems to be a lot of confusing information out there. BTW, are eggs good or bad these days? I lost track. >There is an interesting article in the latest Consumer Reports. It says >that calcium in the diet has various possible health benefits, among [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be >safe if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. > I think there are a lot of things that contraindicate one another in > health care. A dermatologist was on a radio program a couple years [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > BTW, are eggs good or bad these days? I lost track. The fat in egg yolks is high in cholesterol. A large amount of fat in your diet, particularly natural saturated or artificial fats, can lead to artheriosclerosis, heart disease, and strokes. A high fat diet may also increase the likelihood of colon cancer, and perhaps prostate cancer, although I think the latter is now unclear. Certain fats, such as olive oil and fats in some fish, are, in moderation, supposed to be good. Eggs, in themselves are no problem, as long as you don't overdo it. There is absolutely no problem with egg whites, which contain no fat at all. >>There is an interesting article in the latest Consumer Reports. It says >>that calcium in the diet has various possible health benefits, among [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >>A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be >>safe if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. > There is an interesting article in the latest Consumer Reports. It says > that calcium in the diet has various possible health benefits, among [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > A real quandary! Walsh does suggest that calcium in the diet may be > safe if one also includes lots of fruit. Maybe that's the solution. Hi Leonard, I am having trouble finding a link to the study, but I read a study around three years ago on this. It basically found that high calcium "could" lead to more rapid metastic spread but that it was likely that insufficient vitamin D, Zink, Selenium and C and/or B was more of the issue as the calcium was not being properly absorbed without them. I will keep looking for a link on this and post it later. DF hi, i have read the above posts. as a person with prostae cancer, i have now been taking lupron injections for almnost 18 months. 1 of the side effects of lupron is a possible loss of bone density. my oncologists has now prescribed 1500 units daily of calcium with vitamin d as i have suffered a noticeable bone loss from lupron and also need to take fosamax weekly. if your on lupron make sure you get a bone density scan early on so you can receive the proper treatment for loss of bone density. On Pearl Harbor Day, "caseystengel" wrote (from the grave, I guess): > hi, i have read the above posts. as a person with prostae cancer, i have > now been taking lupron injections for almnost 18 months. 1 of the side [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > weekly. if your on lupron make sure you get a bone density scan early on > so you can receive the proper treatment for loss of bone density. Yes, indeed. My rad onc didn't think of it, but I requested and got a baseline bone mass density (BMD) scan (a DEXA scan) on November 22. I've been on Zoladex and, lately, Lupron as adjuvant ADT since September. BMD will be monitored while I'm on ADT. Looks as if casey's onc is finally doing the right thing (though it might be considered a bit late), having apparently done nothing to prevent the loss in the first place. This reemphasizes what I've been preaching: study, learn, take charge of your own treatment. Regards, Steve J __ "Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.'' --Sir Winston L. S. Churchill |
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