Prostate Cancer Hits Wives Hard, Too 

Spouses play key role and suffer alongside husbands, survey shows 

Wives of men with prostate cancer are intimately involved in their husbands' care and they suffer as they help their spouse battle the disease, a new national survey shows.

In the survey, conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide, 83 percent of the wives said they play a key role in boosting their husbands' morale; 67 percent accompany their husbands to treatment; 59 percent make sure their husbands follow their treatment regimen; and 53 percent play a role in treatment decisions.

Spouses Role Comes With a Cost

Forty-two percent of the wives reported stress, sleeplessness, and weight swings. And 51 percent said they suffered feelings of helplessness, loss of intimacy, anxiety, and depression.

Yet the survey revealed 41 percent of the women said they had been drawn closer to their husbands because of the disease.

The Two Against One Connection Program Can Help

The telephone survey of 302 spouses of men with prostate cancer was done from mid-December to mid-January.

In a follow-up, a new Internet-based mentoring program has been launched to help wives and other loved ones of prostate cancer patients. The Two Against One Connections program, introduced on Valentine's Day by prostate cancer survivor and New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre and his wife, Ali, matches prostate cancer patients and their families with others familiar with the disease. People share their concerns and experiences via e-mail.

The program is a partnership between the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, Amgen Inc., and Praecis Pharmaceuticals.

Discussing the disease with others who have dealt with it can be a source of comfort and support for wives and other family members, says Skip Lockwood, coalition spokesman.

"You can look and see that it's not just you. There are many, many women out there who are suffering and grappling with the same issues," Lockwood says.

Spouses Can Discuss Feelings and Remain Anonymous

People involved with the Connections program remain anonymous. That "allows women to talk to other women and reveal as much or as little as they like without feeling they're opening themselves up to the world," Lockwood says. "That really makes it easier for people to be very honest and forthright."

Wives also provide essential emotional support, which helps the patient's attitude and outlook.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Herbal Treatment Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer 

It suppressed cell growth in lab experiments 

An herbal formula sold under the brand name Zyflamend may offer new treatment and prevention options for prostate cancer patients, say Columbia University researchers.

The formula, a combination of 10 different herbs (including turmeric, ginger, holy basil, hu zhang, Chinese goldthread, barberry, oregano, rosemary, green tea and Scutellaria baicalensis), suppressed the growth of prostate cancer cells and caused many cells to self-destruct in lab experiments, report the researchers. They presented their findings at a recent meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md.

"This is a natural product that contains herbs and spices and in our lab studies seems to have an effect on the cancer we looked at," says one of the study's authors, Dr. Aaron Katz, director of the Center for Holistic Urology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. "The compound needs future research on the clinical side, but it holds the potential for prevention and reducing PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels."

Cancer of the prostate is a common and serious health concern. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be approximately 220,900 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in the year 2003, and about 28,900 men will die of this disease. It is the most common form of cancer of men over age 50—and the second leading cancer killer (lung cancer being first).

The researchers added Zyflamend to prostate cancer cells in lab cultures. They also tested the effects of curcumin, a compound from the spice turmeric. Curcumin is believed to have an anti-inflammatory effect that could reduce the growth of prostate cancer.

They found Zyflamend reduced the growth of prostate cancer cells and induced cell death, and that curcumin alone did not produce these effects.

Dr. Howard Korman, a urologist and prostate cancer specialist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., says the results of this new study are exciting.

"Some of our most effective medicines come from plants," says Korman, "and these results are interesting and hopeful."

However, he cautions, "it's a big step to go from the lab to people."

Katz says the researchers are hopeful the therapy will be as effective in people as it is in the lab, and they plan on conducting clinical trials in the future.

If it proves as effective as they hope, Katz says the herbal formula could be used as preventative therapy because it has no significant side effects. He says it could also, perhaps, be used as a treatment for men with small tumors who do not want to undergo surgery or radiation if the trials go well.

Always consult your physician for more information.