The prostate is an organ located inside the lower abdomen at the base of the penis just below the bladder and in front of the rectum, is just like the size of the pea.
It can grow to the size of a golf ball in adults that surround the urethra, the tube through which urine and semen exit the body.
All prostrate virtually enlarge with age since their old cells do not die of as fast as new cells grow.
As the prostrate grows, it narrow the urethral opening so that urine has trouble getting through, resulting to a non malignant condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which is linked to hormonal changes linked to aging.
About fifty percent of men’s population over fifty years old eventually gets symptoms such as more frequent urination yet difficulty in getting urine to flow, a diminished force of urinary stream, sensation of fullness in the bladder after urination and the need to urinate several times at night and dribbling out the end of urination.
Other prostate conditions involving difficulties with urination include prostatitis which is an acute inflammation of the prostate caused by a bacterial infection and prostate cancer in which the proliferating cells enlarging the prostate are cancerous rather than benign. Prostate cancer is now the most prevalent male malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men.
The development of drug treatments that avoids surgery is a welcome development, however, useful as they might be most have side effects. Not all benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients respond without side effects to drug treatment so alternative treatment through herbal medicine has gained adherents. The most documented herbal treatment for BPH is the oil of the berry of saw palmetto.
French researchers has discovered that by concentrating of the oils of the saw palmetto berry they could maximize the herb’s effectiveness. Saw palmetto has been widely used in Europe to treat the bladder and prostate conditions since the 1930’s but no major side effects noted except of a rare stomach upset which had been associated with its use.
The scientific evidence for saw palmetto in prostate enlargement is quite impressive. Besides, it has shown that it significantly urinary flow rate and most other measures of prostate diseases. The standard dosage of saw palmetto is 160 mg. daily if an extract standardized to contain 85 to 95% fatty acids and sterols. Taking more than this dose will not give better results.
Saw palmetto has become so popular among BPH sufferers that it is now the sixth best selling herbs in the US. There are other herbal treatments recommended for BPH, ginseng and noni have been shown to increase testosterone levels and decrease the size of the prostate. Herewith, are some current conventional treatment in dealing with prostate cancer:
a) Radical Prostatecomy – which involves the removal of prostate glands and certain amount of surrounding tissue. It is usually performed in men under the age of sixty five when the disease is local to prostate glands.
b) Radiation
c) Brachytherapy – involves the implantation of radioactive seeds directly into the prostate.
d) Cryotherapy – freezes prostate tissue by inserting protein containing liquid nitrogen through the perineum and the prostate glands.
e) Hormone therapy – is used to inhibit the production of the male hormone testosterone.
f) Chemotherapy
