Prostate cancer screening may be more useful for African-American men than white men. Black men are more likely to suffer and die from prostate cancer than white men, however a recent study showed that the disease could be cured at the same rate as that of whites if it is caught and treated early on.
In the United States, prostate cancer occurs in African-American men at a rate of 234.2 per 100,000 people, as compared with 144.6 per 100,000 for white men. Black men die from the disease at a rate of 53.1 per 100,000, whites at a rate of 22.4.
The study compared prostate cancer patients, 12 black and 161 white, who had radioactive seeds implanted in the gland for treatment, a procedure known as brachytherapy. The difference in rates of recurrence of the cancer between races was insignificant, according to researchers -- none of the black men had a recurrence and 5.6 percent of the white men did.
As prostate cancer can be slow growing, some question the usefulness of screening for the disease. However, researchers say that in African Americans, the cancer is generally not slow growing. Therefore, they say that early diagnosis and treatment would be of benefit for these men.
Radiological Society of North America December 2, 2002
Deeply pigmented people essentially have a major screen on their skin that effectively blocks a high percentage of UV-B radiation, which generates vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D is a necessary nutrient to staying healthy, and vitamin D deficiency may be a contributing factor in the increased occurrence of prostate cancer among black men.
Many people are not aware that vitamin D is not really designed to be taken orally. We were designed to produce our own vitamin D by nourishing our skin with sunshine, which for some of us happens mostly during the summer months. Failure to receive enough vitamin D can result in serious illnesses with cancer and autoimmune diseases, such as MS, being high on the list.
Fortunately, we do have an easy solution -- take vitamin D as a supplement. Vitamin D from food is superior to that found in most supplements. However, I do not advocate obtaining vitamin D from milk. While milk is a food, and the vitamin D in milk will be somewhat helpful, it is far from ideal as it is added as a synthetic vitamin D2.
While there are many reasons why I don’t recommend milk, most of them are related to the fact that milk is heated and pasteurized. However, if you have access to raw milk, it is tolerated quite well by most people.
One of the few natural foods that has vitamin D is cod liver oil. Interestingly, chlorella, a micro algae frequently used for mercury detoxification, also has vitamin D. I recently learned that every gram of chlorella (1,000 mg) has about 400 units of vitamin D.
So a practical solution for you is to kill two birds with one stone and consume high-quality cod liver oil; I now offer Carlson's brand cod liver oil on Mercola.com, which is the purest and highest quality cod liver oil I am aware of. You may also be able to find it in your local health food store. Not only will you get beneficial omega-3 fats with a high quality cod liver oil, but you will also get vitamins A and D.
Ideally, you should monitor your vitamin D levels as excess levels can lead to osteoporosis and heart disease.
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