When push comes to shove
Mainstream medicine is notoriously pushy when it comes to patent medicines. But this time it seems "push" has come to "shove." Now the "experts" want healthy older men to take a drug they don't need in the hopes that it will ward off hypothetical cases of prostate cancer. This recommendation is troublesome on many levels, not the least of which is the one expressed in a recent New York Times article I read. According to that article, this new advice "presents patients with a real dilemma, since they will need to evaluate the pros and cons of lengthy drug treatment to prevent a cancer they may never develop." The drug treatment in question involves finasteride (better known by its brand name, Proscar). And while it has been used for years to treat enlarged prostate, it isn't without risk. One of the side effects associated with the medication is dampened sexual desire. But that could be the least of the concerns involved in long-term finasteride therapy… You see, this new recommendation came about as a result of the information gathered during the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial conducted in 2003. That study found that finasteride did reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. The problem is, the cancers that did develop in men taking the drug were much more likely to be aggressive -- in other words, deadly. It's been widely acknowledged for years that the majority of prostate cancers are slow-growing and rarely lethal. But this new guideline could change that. Overall incidence of the disease may fall, but the mortality rate could potentially skyrocket. It hardly seems worth the tradeoff - - particularly when you consider that not every man who undertakes finasteride therapy will actually be protected from the disease. In fact, according to the Times article I read, "In order to prevent one case of prostate cancer, researchers found, 71 men would have to be treated with the drug for seven years." The bottom line is, if you're already healthy, you don't need a drug to protect you from prostate cancer -- or any other disease. There are much better ways to protect yourself, and boost your health even further in the process. To learn more about Dr. Wright's recommendations for preventing prostate cancer, Nutrition & Healing readers can refer back to the report "New Secrets for Potency, Vitality, and Prostate Health" that you received when you began your subscription. If you don't still have your copy, you can download and view the report for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on to the Archives with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent Nutrition & Healing issue. Once you've reached the Archives page, scroll down to the "Free Library" section, at the bottom of the page and click on the appropriate title. Source:
"Older men urged to consider a drug to prevent prostate cancer," The New York Times (www.nytimes.com), 2/26/09 | 
