Waiting is less often listed as one of the required acts of an older gentleman. Still some older men do find that they must go through a long period of waiting. Those are men who have a less-aggressive form of prostate cancer. The age of such men often minimizes the benefits that might be gained from some form of surgery. Those older prostate patients frequently enter a period of watchful waiting.
Such waiting is generally directed at holding off unnecessary treatments, while watching for signs that the cancer might have become more aggressive. The use of watchful waiting does not imply a refusal to try any type of treatment. Certain less invasive treatments might be examined by a man who is watching and waiting.
Such a man might look into the possible use of HIFU. Those four letters stand for a new, localized treatment for prostate cancer. It is called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. HIFU is a very non-invasive treatment. It can be done on an outpatient basis, and it requires only a simple 2 hour procedure.
Because HIFU is not an aggressive treatment, it can be incorporated into a period of watchful waiting. The use of HIFU does not subject the male patient to unpleasant side effects. It does not force the male patient to risk developing ED or incontinence.
For the man with prostate cancer, waiting is not meant to mean assumption of a do-nothing posture. A man who has entered the period of watchful waiting might ask his doctor about the advisability of getting targeted cryo-ablation of the prostate (TCAP).
The physician who performs a TCAP inserts 6 to 8 metal rods in the patient’s prostate gland. They are hollow rods, rods that have been filled with argon gas. The argon gas freezes any tissue that is close to the inserted rods. By using a “warming rod” the doctor protects the cells of the urethra, while killing the cancer cells in the prostate.
Now if a man happens to be very impatient, he might want to avoid any period of watchful waiting. Such a man should study carefully the foods that are known to prevent prostate cancer. If he has not tried those foods, his waiting is a possible invitation to the appearance of a malignancy.
What foods can help to prevent prostate cancer? Pomegranates are a fruit that contains a chemical that’s supposed to prevent prostate cancer. Pistachio nuts are also supposed to work to prevent prostate cancer. Lycopene, a chemical in tomatoes, has recently lost its right to stand with the other foods that can fight-off prostate cancer.
Vitamin D has the ability to prevent prostate cancer. So a man should not be waiting for more time or better weather before getting some exercise. He should get to the gym, or step on a home treadmill. Should he fail to do so, he could be inviting the appearance of a malignancy in his prostate gland.