ESMO 2025: Prostate highlights

Dr María Natalia Gandur Quiroga gives her pick of the key prostate cancer abstracts from the European Society of Medical Oncology 2025 -this is all about improvements to standard drug treatments - however it although only 6 mins long it requires good concentration for those of us not so well versed in drug names! See it at: https://ecancer.org/en/video/12536-esmo-2025-prostate-highlights

At last an explanation for prostate cancer that makes more sense!

Mark Lintern, architect of the Cell Suppression Theory of Cancer shares his recent insights into the nature of prostate cancer in this great radio show.

Yes to Life write: "Prostate cancer has tended to be an anomaly amongst cancer types, failing to support even the most accurate theories, and has managed to elude rational explanation – as of course has cancer as a whole.

"Mark Lintern has recently turned his attention to this anomaly to see if he is able to explain its workings within his novel Cell Suppression Theory of cancer. His conclusion is that yes, he can explain the process of cancer within the same model as other cancers, but also that the reason its behaviour appears different is due to the signature cell metabolism that sets it apart from other tissues".

I will be sending this link to my oncologist to see what her thoughts might be regarding this.

You can listen to this show “Prostate Proposition” via the link below:

https://yestolife.org.uk/radio-shows/

Or at: https://ukhealthradio.com/blog/episode/prostate-proposition-mark-lintern-architect-of-the-cell-suppression-theory-of-cancer-shares-his-recent-insights-into-the-nature-of-prostate-cancer/

See more of Mark on this blog including links to the podcasts explaining his work: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2024/08/mark-lintern-and-his-inspiring-look.html

And here are three articles by Mark on Substack:

https://marklinterncst.substack.com/p/prostate-cancer-a-new-explanation

Here's part two: https://marklinterncst.substack.com/p/prostate-cancer-a-new-explanation-ffe

Metformin and prostate cancer

The charity Yes to Life brought my attention to this aspect of the major UK study; the STAMPEDE trial. It recently explored whether adding metformin, a commonly used diabetes medication, to hormone therapy could improve outcomes for men starting treatment for advanced prostate cancer.

The results were not a simple yes or no.

As Yes to Life note "the study did not show a clear improvement in overall survival for most people. But it did show something quieter, and still important. Metformin helped reduce some of the physical strain that hormone therapy can place on the body, including weight gain and changes to blood sugar and cholesterol."

This is a wonderful reminder that care is not only about the tumour. It is about the whole person. The body that is carrying the treatment.

Yes to Life write: "It is also a reminder of why evidence matters. Integrative support should never be about quick fixes or promises. It should be about thoughtful, well-informed care that works alongside medical treatment, not instead of it."

If you would like to read the full article, you can find it here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(25)00231-1/fulltext

It is also worth mentioning that Metformin maybe takes a key role in the treatment of other cancers using off-label drugs and others to 'starve' the cancer. See more about that at: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2018/09/can-we-starve-our-cancer.html

Say no to Palantir in the NHS

NHS England is rolling out software to run our health records from Palantir – a US spy-tech firm that has supported mass deportation in the US and enabled genocide in Gaza. One of Palantir’s founders is also openly against the NHS. Peter Thiel claimed it “makes people sick” and said that the British people love the NHS because we’re suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

We can’t let a company like this take control of our healthcare system. I've already sent an email to Gloucestershire Health Services - please join me in sending your health services an email.

The Good LawProject have set up a simple tool so you can find out if your local NHS trust has started using the software, and then send an email demanding they say no to Palantir. With the government putting NHS trusts under pressure to adopt the software, we need to act right now. 

If you want to keep Palantir out of our NHS, send an email to your local trust and Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health.

Click on ,link now:

https://notopalantir.goodlawproject.org/email-to-target/stop-palantir-in-the-nhs/

Can men hold off on treating recurring prostate cancer?

This was an interesting headline in Harvard Health publishing article here - and timely as a friend was asking about this very issue. Experts are questioning immediate treatment for cancers that show up only on the most sensitive imaging scans ie the PSMA scan. This still means if PSA doubling rates are fast then further treatment needs to be considered - but if not then check out this article for more info and talk to your medical team.

Petition to support key screenings for prostate cancer

This week the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) published its draft recommendation to offer prostate cancer screening only to men who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic variant. This is not good enough. As I've reported before on this blog this means key people are missed. Those at highest risk are not included in the recommendation, including Black men* and those with a family history of prostate, breast or ovarian cancer.

This is not the final decision. A 12-week public consultation now begins. Please add your name to teh Prostate Cancer Research petition calling on the Government to extend screening to Black men and men with a family history, not just BRCA carriers: https://act.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk/a/say-yes-to-screening ct.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk/a/say-yes-to-screening

* See previous posts re Black men by clicking on the BAME tag below.

Breathe

Sophie Trew at conference

This blog is just a quick plug for the work of Sophie Trew. At the recent Yes to Life conference (see last two blogs and more coming) we had a session from Sophie before starting the afternoon sessions. I can only say if you've not tried breathe work then do give it a go - the power of the breath is extraordinary.

See Sophie's instagram for tasters: https://www.instagram.com/sophietrewbreath/

Sophie does a session with Yes to Life once a month: https://yestolife.org.uk/breath-relax-and-reset/

See Sophie's website with some great surviving cancer info: https://www.sophietrew.com/

See my previous blog on breathe: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2023/01/breath-and-cancer.html

See my film of Sophie's Trew Fields Festival 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXShaDMMko

And 2018 Festival: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-cancer-festival.html