Cancer myths crumbling

It’s been a rough few months for anyone who makes a living off cancer fears.

You’ve probably seen the headlines by now… breast and prostate cancer screenings can do more harm than good. That used to be a radical line of thought–but it’s quickly becoming the mainstream.

And now, the latest research out of Europe finds that one in every eight men who undergo a prostate cancer screening test positive… but don’t actually have the disease.

Not a hint of it!

That’s not just a high false positive rate–that’s a test that needs to be scrapped.

The problem is not just the one in eight who test positive and may undergo life-altering treatment for a cancer they don’t have… it’s also the ones who test positive for a cancer they DO have–but don’t need to worry about.

Prostate cancer is a slow-developing disease that usually strikes late in life. Many of the people who have it will die of another condition–even old age–long before the cancer has a chance to do its work.

A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 85 percent of all prostate cancers will never spread. Another recent study found 1 million American men have been treated unnecessarily for prostate cancer.

The lesson here is this: Question anybody who seems to be in a hurry to get you under the knife. If there was ever a case for second and third opinions, this is it. And whatever you do, don’t trust most of the tests they’re constantly pushing.

PSAs aren’t the only ones you have to watch out for–one new test is supposed to help determine who is most likely to get the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. It’s a nice theory–it could help determine who really might need surgery, right?

Wrong.

The patients identified by this genetic test are only 26 percent more likely to have those aggressive tumors. That means nearly three out of four who have this gene actually may have nothing to worry about.

Helpful? Not really. Not for you, anyway–I expect it’ll help a lab somewhere make a few extra bucks.

The best way to lower your risk for prostate cancer is to keep yourself healthy– especially by eating right.

One new study published in Ethnicity & Disease finds that men who eat the most omega-6 fatty acids are more prone to prostate cancer, while men who eat the most omega-3 fatty acids may be less likely to get it.

Ideally, we should be getting them in roughly equal amounts. There’s a little wiggle room – you can safely get between two and four times as much omega-6 as omega-3. But most people today get between 15 and 20 times as much omega-6 as omega-3.

You can restore your balance by switching to grass-fed meats, fresh fish and adding a good omega-3 supplement. Then, cut back dramatically on foods rich in omega-6, such as grain-fed meats (that’s the bulk of supermarket meat) and seed oils.

Whether you’re worried about prostate health or not, that’s good advice for anyone.