Great update on 12 natural compounds that can help

Chris Woollams has updated his '12 natural compounds that fight prostate cancer': Ursolic acid, Curcumin, Reservatrol, Tomatoes, Green tea, Melatonin, Quercetin, Ginger, Black Cumin Seed Oil, Capsaicin, Berberine and Fish Oils. Go to: https://www.canceractive.com/article/12-natural-compounds-that-fight-prostate-cancer

'Making skillful decisions at a glance'

'Making skillful decisions at a glance' is the title of a post by Cancer Choices. It is a useful start to anyone diagnosed with cancer - helping to slow down, understand their options, and make choices that reflect both medical evidence and what matters most to them. The 'guide' also offers a simple framework—time, diagnosis, options, decide, act, and review—with questions to ask your doctor and yourself along the way. Although it is from the US much of it is also relevant to us here in the UK. 

See the post at: https://cancerchoices.org/resources/cancer-handbooks/how-to-integrate-your-choices/making-skillful-cancer-treatment-decisions

Chris Wark interviews fat expert Udo Erasmus

I've looked at fats and prostate cancer several times in this blog, this video is a useful addition to the discussion: https://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/udo-erasmus-on-the-truth-about-seed-oils-omega-3s-and-healthy-fats/

Here's a copy of the show notes below - check the link out for the video.

Show Notes
-How pesticide poisoning changed Udo’s life [2:51]
-The essential nutrients your body needs [6:55]
-Udo’s surprising take on cholesterol, fiber, and stress [9:58]
-Udo’s journey into fat research [12:38]
-How industrial processing damages oils [13:53]
-Are seed oils really bad for you? [26:25]
-The healthiest fats to eat [29:36]
-Why omega-3 to omega-6 ratio matters [32:55]
-Are EPA and DHA essential? [35:03]
-Udo’s concerns about fish oil supplements [38:01]
-Fish, algae oil, and krill oil for omega-3s [42:51]
-Omega-3s, omega-6s, and brain health [46:13]
-The carb addiction cycle [53:53]
-The worst way to consume oils [57:41]
-Udo’s mostly raw, plant-based diet [1:03:20]
-Udo’s favorite nuts and seeds [1:06:22]
-Udo’s take on olive oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, and keto diets [1:10:06]
-Lithium and brain health [1:16:02]

New interpretation of cancer

I've written here before about Mark Lintern's Cell Suppression Theory of Cancer - in his latest blog he sets out the case for a clearer explanation for cancer. It is well worth a read at: https://marklinterncst.substack.com/p/the-cancer-vigilante-manifesto

You can also hear Mark share his recent insights into the nature of prostate cancer in this great radio show: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2026/01/at-last-explanation-for-prostate-cancer.html And in that link there are further links to more from Mark.

PSA levels in 2 studies found not to reflect prostate cancer growth

Thanks to a blog at 'Dan's Journey through Prostate Cancer' I saw this interesting piece of research into PSA levels. The Cornell Chronicle shows that PSA levels do not reflect prostate cancer growth - see the article here. They write: 

"The recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, analyzed data from more than 2,500 men enrolled in two multinational phase 3 clinical trials testing enzalutamide to slow or stop tumor growth in patients with advanced prostate cancer. This drug targets the androgen receptor, a protein that prostate cancer cells use to receive growth signals from male hormones such as testosterone. The trials (ARCHES and PROSPER) assessed cancer spread or growth on imaging scans, alongside changes in PSA levels during treatment. The researchers examined cases of radiographic progression – when cancer growth or spread is detected by imaging such as X-rays, CT scans or bone scans."

The results showed up to roughly 25% of patients had radiographic prostate cancer progression without any rise in PSA levels, and they had worse outcomes. The study also found that patients often didn't have new symptoms and felt well, despite the cancer advancing. Both groups were similar and this suggests it may be a broad issue across advanced prostate cancer.

The results surprised researchers and they suggest that "patients receiving potent androgen receptor inhibitors such as enzalutamide may benefit from periodic imaging in addition to routine PSA monitoring, particularly during the first two years of treatment". 

Keto not right for prostate cancer?

Since my diagnosis I've viewed with interest Jane McLellands' approach to starving cancer - I've read her book and done her course - but also struggled to get my head around how to actually do it. Indeed so much so that I've followed other approaches with support of a Functional Medicine practitioner.

However over the years evidence is growing for her approach - I particularly welcomed her recent Substack article which looked at prostate cancer among other cancers. In particular why a ketogenic diet might not be right for prostate cancer. This is not new info to this blog as I've had doubts re keto for prostate cancer - see one of my previous blogs here: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2021/09/keto-low-carb-or-what-for-prostate.html Nevertheless it is worth a read.

See Jane's Substack here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-194447244

See more here re Jane's approach: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2018/09/can-we-starve-our-cancer.html and here a great documentary: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2020/10/starving-cancer-new-documentary.html

Petition to get debate in Parliament on prostate cancer screening.

So I heard on the news this week that the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) finalised its recommendations on prostate cancer screening, limiting this to men with a known BRCA2 gene variant who have relevant family history. Sadly this recommendation excludes the vast majority of men, including those at highest risk, such as Black men and those with a family history, and falls far short of what is needed to save lives through earlier diagnosis. 

As noted previously in this blog the issue of PSA tests is not straight forward and has led to over treatment in many cases. However it is clear to me that those at highest risk should be part of a screening programme. Do consider signing the petition at teh end of this post.

Here's part of an email with details of the new petition from Prostate Cancer research:

"We are deeply disappointed....But while this is not the outcome we fought for, it is not the end of this campaign. Because of you, we have built something powerful. Over the past two years, more than 300,000 of you signed our petitions. Tens of thousands of you wrote to your MPs. As a result, more than 250 MPs from across political parties have signalled their support for change. 

You helped unite 18 leading organisations across the clinical, charity and research community behind a shared call for reform, and brought major national newspapers, including the Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Times, firmly behind this issue. This support has continued over the last few days, with the UK NSC recommendation generating significant national media attention, with coverage across The Times, The Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the BBC, GB News and many others, many expressing strong concern about the implications of the recommendation. 

Your support also made it possible for us to commission an independent review of the UK NSC’s modelling by the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC). That review identified serious flaws in the model underpinning this decision, including assumptions that do not reflect how screening would work in practice and a failure to account for modern MRI-led diagnostic pathways. 

Together, we have shifted this debate further than ever before. And that progress matters. 

While we did not secure the outcome we fought for, we have achieved an important breakthrough. For the first time, the UK NSC has committed to keeping their model ‘alive’ – meaning it can be updated as new evidence emerges and the decision can be revisited without waiting another five years. 

This is a significant shift. It means the door is not closed for a generation, and that is because of you. Over the next two years, we will look towards opportunities to generate new evidence that could challenge this decision and secure a broader, risk-based screening programme. 

At the same time, we will continue to fight for men in other ways, pushing for delivery of the National Cancer Plan, accelerating access to better diagnostics through the innovations we fund, reaching more men through our education and community programmes, and expanding Prostate Progress, our national data platform, to transform understanding of this disease. 

One thing you can do today is help to ensure this decision on screening is given an opportunity to be scrutinised by MPs. We need more people to the Official Parliamentary petition to get it to 100,000 and trigger a debate in Parliament.