The Natural Connection

Illness is the Great Equalizer. It respects neither money nor fame, and except for a very fortunate few, some form of sickness eventually comes to us all. Less than 5% of us can expect to make the transition from this life to the next as peacefully as we would hope, dying from “old age”.  

Still, for most, the journey is as important as the destination. We would like to spend our allotted hours on this earth in relative comfort and good health. Any voyager knows that travel does not come cheap, and life journeys are no exception. A significant amount of money is expended in our society for research into the cure for chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease—forks in the road that we would rather not take if we can help it. 

Some diseases by the virtue of their emotional impact have the ability to mobilize great numbers of people to search for a cure. Breast cancer is a good example. It is widely reported that a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed every three minutes somewhere in America, making it the number one cancer in our women, and the second most deadly, after lung cancer. 

Thousands of women and men each year sport tiny pink ribbons and Race for the Cure for breast cancer by foot, bicycle, and racecar. Others Sing for The Cure, Cook for The Cure, or buy special postage stamps to support Breast Cancer research. KitchenAide has even produced a pink mixer that may be purchased to support the fight, for those who would rather bake than bike. Hundreds of millions of donated dollars later, unfortunately, a cure for breast cancer still eludes us, although new treatment options have dramatically improved life expectancy for patients. 

But prostate cancer is another story. For some reason, despite the fact that an American male will be diagnosed with prostate cancer also once every three minutes, we have not seen the collective outpouring of emotional effort to find a cure for this disease. No gangs of computer programmers with baby blue neckties riding bikes over bridges, no toolbox companies selling promotional hammers to “Nail Prostate Cancer”, no health clubs sponsoring guys to “Bench Press for a Cure” for prostate cancer. And unlike breast cancer, prostate cancer does not even merit a postage stamp to support research—in 1999 Congress refused to fund one. 

Prostate cancer is a disease in search of a charismatic spokesperson to galvanize public concern and support. Although the rates of prostate cancer and breast cancer are nearly equal in our population, the National Cancer Institute spends nearly four times as much money on research for breast cancer than for prostate cancer. It is estimated that money raised by private charities for breast cancer outnumbers money for prostate cancer by at least 20 to 1. 

Contrary to what you might expect from watching pharmaceutical ads on TV, considering Viagra a “cure” for prostate cancer is about as ridiculous as promotion of a better Maidenform bra as a “cure” for breast cancer would be. When there finally is an important breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer, women can expect to hear about it via the health outreach and advocacy programs of the federal Office on Women’s Health. 

In the past few years, there have actually been some outstanding discoveries on simple dietary methods to prevent and control prostate cancer. But if you are a male waiting for information about new medical discoveries that could save your life from the federal Office of Men’s Health, don’t hold your breath—there isn’t one. The Men’s Health Act (HR-1734), first introduced by prostate cancer survivor, Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) in 2000, would establish such an Office in the NIH. Reintroduced for the fourth time this April 10, 2003, HR-1734 still lies in languishing in the Committee on Energy and Commerce.  

Men, what the Office of Men’s Health might tell you, if it were to exist, is that prostate cancer, to a large extent, may be preventable by adding foods rich in an antioxidant called lycopene to your diet. Lycopene is present in high quantities in red-fleshed fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, watermelon, apricots, pink grapefruit, and guavas. 

A high dietary intake of tomato products has been shown in multiple studies to lower the rate of prostate cancer by 35%-50%. Heating tomatoes, such as in sauce or paste, concentrates the lycopene and enhances the protective effect. Recent studies also show that red watermelon has  40 % more lycopene than tomatoes, and does not require heat treatment to provide similar blood lycopene levels. Seedless varieties have the highest amount. About ¾ cup of tomato sauce, or 1 ½ cups of diced watermelon is all that is required to achieve the beneficial blood levels of lycopene. 

Of interest to clinicians, and of major importance to patients already diagnosed with prostate cancer, is the discovery that lycopene can apparently control the growth of cancer of the prostate in a very short time. Two separate research trials have demonstrated that daily lycopene supplementation (15 mg) three weeks prior to prostate cancer surgery was associated with a slowing of the rate of growth of the cancer. Patients pre-treated with lycopene were found at surgery to have less extensive tumor involvement and more localized disease than matched controls who did not take lycopene before surgery, and thus more likely to be cured.  

The National Cancer Institute continues to study the lycopene-prostate cancer relationship, and has funded two more clinical trials on lycopene. But since the stakes are so high, and the chance that Congress will act with courage and funding this session so uncertain, I will begin encouraging my male patients to take matters into their own hands and Eat for the Cure—tomatoes and watermelon. We just might get something going that Congress could support. 

For more information on diet and the prevention of prostate cancer, write to The Natural Connection, c/o Pauline Bellecci MD, PO Box 777, Waycross, GA 31502 or contact us on our web site www.Swampdocs.com

©2000-2003 Pauline M. Bellecci, MD