3 days left of our Flourish magazine exhibition

Our Flourish exhibition has opened at The Bon at University of Gloucestershire's Arts Health & Wellbeing Centre! Yesterday there was a wonderful celebration of the art by people living with cancer. The exhibition runs until 14 November, come and see some of the beautiful submissions to Artlift's Flourish Magazine in person - from sculpture to embroidery to paintings - marking 20 years of Artlift and celebrating creative health. See latest issue and past issues at: https://artlift.org/artlift-programmes/flourish/flourish-magazine/

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