More than any other cancer and representing about one-third of all cancers diagnosed among men, prostate cancer is estimated to occur in more than 220,000 men in 2005.

From the minute a patient is diagnosed with this cancer, they are faced with a number of difficult treatment decisions; for some men, the disease will continue to progress, resistant to all treatment forms.

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)--Diagnosing Prostate Cancer

In the 1990s and early 2000s, researchers saw a marked initial increase in new diagnoses of prostate cancer, followed by a plateau in the incidence of the disease, most likely associated with the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). However, the value of PSA screening in reducing prostate cancer mortality is still questionable.

Additionally, widespread use of the PSA test in the United States since the late 1980s means many more men are living with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. The researchers note that it is possible that earlier diagnosis might not in itself mean longer survival. The question of whether PSA screening does in fact reduce mortality from prostate cancer must be answered by large-scale clinical trials, which are currently underway. PSA-related findings thus far include:

• Relative five-year survival rates for prostate cancer patients were 99 percent

• 10-year survival rates were 95 percent

• Excess mortality compared with the general population was as low as 1 percent and 5 percent within five and 10 years following diagnosis

Along with PSA screening, newer treatments, earlier therapy and increased awareness and knowledge of prostate cancer have all played a part in the overall improvement in survival among prostate cancer patients.

Cut the Risk of Prostate Cancer with Sunshine?

One specific treatment for prostate cancer brought to the “research forefront” is sunshine. According to a study, men with higher levels of vitamin D (typically obtained through sunshine exposure) in their blood were half as likely to develop aggressive forms of prostate cancer than those with lower amounts. Experiments also suggested vitamin D inhibits cell growth.

Yet despite sunshine’s apparent health benefits, doctors are not entirely comfortable with prescribing the “sunshine vitamin,” though many see little harm in getting the 15 minutes of exposure time a day the body needs to make enough of this vital nutrient. (It is recommended people get a daily vitamin D amount of 400 international units.) Doctors warn, however, that there must be a “happy medium” to receiving vitamin D: Too little won’t do any good, while an overload can cause critical health problems such as skin cancer.

Journal of Clinical Oncology January 20, 2005; Vol. 23, 407-409

USA Today February 17, 200

Guest Comment by Dr. Larry Clapp:

Much has been learned, since 1990, when it seemed like I was reinventing the wheel, healing my own prostate cancer (Gleason 7, PSA 10.5). The latest finding was the close correlation of Vitamin D deficiency to prostate cancer, with some suggesting that vitamin D testing may replace the discredited PSA as a blood test for prostate cancer.

Prevention and removal of prostate cancer, incorporating new vitamin D research:

1. Cleanse past accumulation of toxins in the tissue, gut and colon with the Ultimate Fast. Dr. Mercola will be posting specific details about this fast in future issues of the newsletter.

2. Cleanse the mouth of hidden infections from root canals, amalgam fillings, decay and gum infections. Then, chelate mercury from the body, nutritionally.

3. Stop putting toxins into the body and into the prostate. The prostate was designed by nature to filter toxins from the semen, by adopting the Total Health Program, based on your nutritional type. All types must eliminate:

   • High glycemic carbohydrates, such as sugar, pasta, potatoes, bread and most grains
   • All pasteurized dairy
   • Conventional grain and chemical fed animals
   • Most fish, due to high levels of mercury and PCB contamination

   Also incorporate natural lycopene foods such as:

   • Tomatoes
   • Raspberries
   • Watermelon
   • Cabbage family foods, such as broccoli and broccoli sprouts to help control excess estrogens, the real enemy of the prostate

4. Take cod liver oil and/or fish oil with Vitamin E, to rebuild omega 3 fat levels, which are deficient in most of us and a major cause of inflammation and disease.

5. Get full body sun exposure whenever possible, following "The Healing Sun", by Richard Hobday, to increase vitamin D levels, which need to be tested regularly.

6. Avoid biopsies, which permanently damage the prostate and can spread or cause cancer. Have a far more reliable, non invasive, Power Color Doppler Sonogram of your prostate, by Dr. Robert Bard, MD, in New York City, www.cancerscan.com or other qualified Radiologists. PCD is the first line of diagnosis in other countries, but is not sanctioned by American Urologists, so is difficult to find. PCD is very high resolution, measuring any tumor and the blood flow to it, showing its aggressivity or lack of it. Follow-up PCDs then measure the reduction/disappearance of any tumor. (Or new or increased tumor activity, in a few cases, subsequently healed).

   Prostate Health in 90 Days ... Without Drugs or Surgery -- The 2005 Addition eBook Format Now available in eBook Format Exclusively on Mercola.com Dr. Clapp's bestselling Prostate Health in 90 Days: Helps eliminate your dependency on antibiotics, radiation or surgery. Explains, in depth, how to prevent and cure prostate cancer with alternative self-healing approaches. Introduces the Biological Terrain Assessment (BTA), which provides an extended view of the body's condition, and reveals and accurately monitors the healing of levels of dysfunction that traditiona l tests don't encompass. Read More now!

   Over the past ten years of coaching hundreds of prostate cancer patients, we have consistently experienced prostate cancer removal, once the body is cleansed and the immune system strengthened by optimized nutrition and some minor supplementation. Supplements do not heal and are not magic bullets, but can be strategically instrumental to strengthening your immune system. What I have actually observed is that too many supplements actually stress your liver, which can aggravate prostate cancer.

Not only have we seen prostate cancer heal quickly, in 1-2 months, when the causes are eliminated by cleansing and rebuilding, but in a few cases relapses, sometimes very aggressive, are also turned around in a matter of weeks. This is accomplished by finding the new cause and addressing it (usually a new or missed problem in the mouth, after which the cancer again disappears, as seen on follow-up PCD sonograms). These relapses are often new tumors in a different location and are often aggressive, as measured by blood flow, but heal just as quickly.

Important to all healing is inner peace, joy in one's life and avoiding or handling stress better, so we teach to heal the physical and get back to a normal, healthy, joyful life, dwelling on health, not disease. This is just as important as all the physical work we do. To this end, hormones are rebalanced after healing the prostate, using 24 hour saliva testing of all hormones and the use of bio-identical, transdermal creams where necessary, to enhance well being of brain, bones and a healthy sex life, which require high levels of testosterone and low levels of estrogens.

Dr. Larry Clapp is the author of bestselling Prostate Health in 90 Days Without Drugs or Surgery. When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1990, Dr. Clapp made a firm decision to deflect falling victim to surgery, radiation or chemotherapy and instead focused on researching the self-healing alternatives to treating prostate cancer. During his seven years of intensive research, Dr. Clapp developed expertise in cleansing, nutritional healing, pH balancing, herbology, homeopathy, bodywork and energetic and spiritual healing. Combining the best of these healing arts, he developed a successful treatment program for prostate cancer, which he used to cure himself.

He earned his J.D. degree at the University of Michigan Law School in 1963 and later obtained his Ph.D. at Galien University in London in 1996.

Today, Dr. Clapp is cancer-free and uses his research to aid others in treating and curing their prostate cancer without succumbing to harmful drugs or surgery.