The hidden danger of the mainstream’s favorite prostate cancer treatment
It’s a trade no man should be asked to make.
I’m talking about taking a small, harmless tumor and swapping it for a more aggressive cancer that could kill you.
But, believe it or not, that’s the bargain that the mainstream is offering thousands of guys with prostate cancer ever year.
Radiation has become the treatment of choice for most men with prostate cancer — even guys with tumors that are better left alone. And that’s even after research has proven it can destroy your sex life and leave you unable to control your bowels.
But now scientists out of Canada are sounding the loudest alarm on radiation yet.
And they’ve proven once and for all that getting radiation treatments could make you a sitting duck for some of the deadliest cancers around.
They’ll try to reassure you by claiming it’s “rare” or that the science has been “inconclusive.”
But they can’t make those excuses any more.
Research done at the University of Toronto looked at nearly two dozen studies involving men who developed secondary cancers after receiving radiation for prostate cancer.
And they found what I’ve been warning you about all along — yes, treating prostate cancer with radiation therapy will up your odds of another cancer.
In fact, it makes you more likely than ever to come down with bladder, colon and rectal cancers.
Like radiation used for other cancer treatments, it “scatters” in places other than the target tumor and can cause genetic mutations all over the body. The researchers describe that as the “bystander effect.”
But it sounds more like the “innocent” bystander effect — you know, where a drive-by shooting takes down innocent people who are minding their own business.
And the worst part is that previous studies have shown that lots of these secondary cancers are even more aggressive than what you were dealing with in the first place.
Of course, any time bad news on radiation surfaces, the cancer industry (and it is an industry) starts circling the wagons. They’ll tell you you’re better off taking some risks than not treating your prostate cancer at all.
But for lots of guys, that just isn’t true. In fact, for the majority of prostate cancer cases the best treatment may be no treatment at all.
And that advice comes straight from Dr. Herbert Lepor, who is the chair of the department of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Actually, Dr. Lepor took it even a step further, saying, “The majority of prostate cancers…are not significant,” and “they would be best not diagnosed.”
And Dr. Lepor isn’t just a lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to this idea.
Just a few months ago I told you about a study of over 900 men who had low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer. And the ones in the study who were “treated” with what’s called “active surveillance.”
That’s where you and your doctor hold off on treatment and monitor your prostate cancer to see if it progresses.
There wasn’t one single guy in the active surveillance group who died during the two and a half years of the study — and the majority didn’t see their tumors worsen at all.
And as I told you previously, active surveillance doesn’t mean you’re doing nothing. You’re still taking an active approach to managing your cancer — and you’re avoiding treatment you may not need.
That makes a lot of sense. And with all we’re learning about mainstream treatments like radiation, maybe more doctors will start realizing their goal should be to “first do no harm.”
Sources:
“Does radiation boost secondary prostate cancer risk?” Nick Tate, March 11, 2016, NewsMax, newsmax.com
