Testimonial: I remember it was around 2:30 in the afternoon when they told me I had prostate cancer.  And they gave me a few options—either surgery, radiation, or, well, you could do nothing.

But if somebody were to say: We have an appointment in the operating theatre at 4:30, would you take it? I would have jumped right on the cart and been wheeled into the operating theatre right then and there.

But what I have learned is that I have more control over my body.  I have more control over how I deal with this issue.
Dean Ornish: You know if you’re a guy and you live long enough, chances are you’re going to have prostate cancer.  It turns out that 80% of men who are 80 years or older have prostate cancer, whether it’s diagnosed or not.

But most men are likely to die with prostate cancer than from it.  Studies show that in up to 90% of men with prostate cancer, it’s not going to threaten their life–maybe only about 10% who have the most aggressive form of the disease.  But the problem is that once a man is diagnosed, in most cases, he gets treated with surgery or radiation or some variation and those treatments leave many if not most men either impotent, incontinent or both, without clear evidence that it’s helped them live longer.  It turns out that the same spectrum program that may reverse heart disease or diabetes may also help beneficially affect the progression of prostate or breast cancer or even help to prevent it.

Several studies shown that diets that are higher in fruits, vegetables, soy, fiber, lycopene (which you find in tomatoes), and the omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer.  Diets high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables contain lots of naturally occurring antioxidants that combined with physical activity have been shown to reduce what is called oxidative stress.

So in some ways you’d be well advised to go as far as you can to the healthiest end of the spectrum in each of the elements, because it’s the same ounce of prevention and pound of cure.  Moderate changes may be enough to help prevent these diseases, but if you have it, you’d be well advised to make bigger changes because we found that’s what it takes.

Testimonial: For the last two years my full clinical biopsies which were basically you go in and take 12-14 cores out of your prostate and the last two years I’ve been clean.  That doesn’t mean I still don’t have cancer; they just weren’t able to find it.  But it also means it’s so small and so isolated that I don’t have a fear of it.