What Is Prostate Cancer?

The prostate gland is a male reproductive gland located in the lower abdomen that produces seminal fluid. It is about the size of a golfball in younger men, but once a man is over 40 years of age, the gland typically starts to grow.

Prostate cancer occurs when an abnormal growth of cells (known as a tumor) forms in the prostate. Cancer can then spread to other areas of the body.

Prostate cancer is typically categorized by the speed with which it spreads. In aggressive prostate cancer, the tumor develops and grows quickly, and cancer then spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes and bones. Conversely, with nonaggressive prostate cancer, the tumor either grows very slowly or doesn’t grow at all.

Who’s Most at Risk?

Certain factors increase your risk of getting prostate cancer. Risk factors include:

Age (men 65 and older are at highest risk)

Family history of the disease (especially first-degree relatives)

Certain ethnicities (African-American men are at greatest risk)

Weight (obese men are at increased risk)

Geographic location (men living in disadvantaged or rural areas are at greater risk)

What Are the Symptoms?

While there are often no symptoms with nonaggressive prostate cancer, symptoms can occur with the aggressive form of this cancer. One common symptom is urinary urgency, difficulty starting the stream of urine, bleeding with urination, urinary frequency. This is usually the first sign of prostate cancer.

Sexualy dysfunction can be another problem. Men can experience erectile dysfunction. Also, in cases in which intercourse is impossible, prostate cancer can cause blood in the semen. Additionally, when cancer spreads to other parts of the body, the person can experience pain in the pelvic region, lower back, hips, upper thighs, or chest. In severe cases in which cancer has metastasized in the spinal cord, feeling in the legs can be lost.

What Are the Screening Recommendations?

Men who are experiencing any of the described symptoms should be screened for prostate cancer. Also, it’s recommended that men with risk factors, such as age and ethnicity, should get a prostate screening even if they don’t have symptoms. While the risk of prostate cancer is highest for men over 65 years of age, it’s recommended that annual screenings start at the age of 50 for normal men and 40 for men in high-risk groups.

Screening can be done with a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test that measures PSA levels in the bloodstream. PSA is a protein produced by the prostate, and it becomes elevated when a man develops prostate cancer. However, an elevated PSA level can also be caused by other conditions, so follow-up testing is often needed. Additional testing can include a Prostate Health Index test, a digital rectal exam, a prostate biopsy, and possibly medical imaging procedures such as a CT scan, an MRI, an ultrasound, or a bone scan.

We also recommend having testosterone levels drawn on an annual basis. Testosterone levels can decline after the age of 40. There is a new testosterone therapy used for treatment of prostate cancer that is only done by special physicians.

Prostate cancer is a risk that all men need to be aware of. Because it’s the second most common cancer for men, it’s important to know your risk factors, seek help if any symptoms occur, and start having annual screenings as you age. Thankfully, when prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated early, the outlook is generally positive.

Natural Remedies and Herbs for a Healthy Prostate 

If you suffer from prostate enlargement then it’s important to be aware of the nutritional supplements that support the prostate. These herbs support the body and assist in decreasing  symptoms and slow the disease progression. Here are some of the top prostate herbal remedies:

• Cat’s Claw – Has been used to support prostate cancer naturally, cat’s claw can help to improve the immune system through a natural compound called pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids (POAs). POA’s enhance immune activity to fight cancer cells.
• Oregano – Oregano contains an active ingredient that can help our immune system fight cancer. Take oregano herbs for prostate health.
• Pumpkin Seed – Pumpkin seed can help reduce the swelling of the prostate it has a high zinc content, which is important for prostate health. Pumpkin seed oil specifically may help to combat prostate tumors.
• Baking Soda – Baking soda is an alkalizing ingredient, which may help to reduce prostate tumors.
• Milk Thistle – Milk thistle main ingredient called silymarin, which supports liver function and assists the body with detoxification. 
• Ginger – Ginger is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that can help to reduce the swelling of the prostate. It is also good at assisting with nausea and stomach discomfort. 

For men that are experiencing issues without cancer shockwave therapy can be beneficial in improving the blood flow to the pelvis. 

If you have questions about men’s health, testosterone therapy, or shockwave contact Serenity Health Care Center at 262-522-8640. contact our hormone experts at Serenity Health Care Center in Waukesha, WI now to schedule an appointment.

At Serenity Health Care Center in Waukesha, WI, we offer several medical treatments to address a number of medical conditions, including chronic illness, erectile dysfunction, adrenal and chronic fatigue, Lyme disease, obesity-related illness and more. Today, we’re talking about one of our most popular services: bioidentical hormone therapy.

9 Symptoms That Can Be Corrected With Bioidentical Hormone Therapy

1. Weight Gain

One of the most universal signs of imbalanced hormones is weight gain. Weight gain occurs as you age because, while your diet hasn’t changed in years, your body simply doesn’t need as much fuel to operate and maintain its weight. However, the appropriate solution to weight gain isn’t to start eating less. It’s to bring your hormone levels back in balance to restore your metabolism.

If you are experiencing unexplained weight gain, we strongly encourage you to come in for an initial consultation and have your serum hormone levels tested. If you let your weight gain go unchecked, you will increase your risk of numerous medical conditions associated with excess fat, including: 

• Type II diabetes
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Pancreatic cancer
• Renal failure
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 

2. Low Bone Density

Another incredibly common sign that your body isn’t producing enough sex hormones is low bone density. Testosterone tells osteoblasts to make more trabecular bone and supports osteocytes in the prevention of trabecular bone loss. When either your osteoblasts or osteocytes are too few in number, brittle bones and other bone disorders can occur. When both are too few in number, it is only a matter of time before your bones become weakened significantly.

It is of the utmost importance that you test your bone density and serum hormone levels if you have a family history of osteoporosis or osteopenia. Having a member of your immediate family suffer from one of these bone disorders puts you in a much higher risk category of developing the condition yourself. Unfortunately, muscle weakness, loss of muscle mass, and balance issues caused by low hormones increase your risk of falling and fracturing a bone.

3. Major Depressive Disorder

When you think of the signs of aging, you may not think about your mental health. However, sex hormones play a critical role in keeping your mood stable. In fact, testosterone is so important for your mental health that a low level of serum testosterone can result in major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder affects everyone differently. Some people become so apathetic about life that they don’t have the motivation to cook and eat, either losing weight through extended periods of fasting or gaining weight due to eating prepared high-caloric density foods. Furthermore, depression can cause such side effects as fatigue, making exercise nearly impossible. If you have recently noticed signs of depression, come in to get your hormone levels checked.

4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Another mood disorder that may crop up due to imbalance hormone levels is a generalized anxiety disorder. This mood disorder nearly always causes abdominal fat gain because stress increases the level of cortisol, aptly also known as the stress hormone.

Cortisol is responsible for several functions, including instructing your body to store visceral fat (the most dangerous kind of fat there is), increasing your body’s production of ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and decreasing your body’s production of leptin (the satiety hormone). All of this is a recipe for a drastically increased risk of heart disease and similar medical conditions.

5. Excessive Nighttime Urination

There are many things you should be doing for your health. One of the most important things for overall health is adequate sleep. Unfortunately, women going through menopause and men going through andropause often struggle to get an adequate night of rest regularly.

There are many symptoms of imbalanced hormones that can make adequate rest challenging. Among these are excessive nighttime urination, insomnia, hot flashes, and night sweats. All of these can be treated with an appropriate hormone replacement program. This way, you do not have to sacrifice adequate hydration for the opportunity to sleep through the night.

6. Cognitive Decline 

Cognitive decline is one of the scariest signs of imbalanced sex hormones because it can also be a sign of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other serious medical conditions. However, if you don’t have a family history of such disorders, your first call should be to a hormone expert.

Cognitive decline due to imbalanced sex hormones affects everyone differently. However, the most common sign of cognitive decline is forgetting where you put important objects. For example, you may forget where you put your car keys. Similarly, you may put your wallet in the freezer and leave your frozen burrito in your desk drawer. Other common signs that you are experiencing cognitive decline include: 

• Forgetting important dates
• Forgetting words you use commonly
• Losing your train of thought
• Struggling to hold a conversation 
• Difficulty forming new memories

7. Mood Swings

If you suffer from a major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, your feelings will probably remain constant throughout the day. For example, you may feel fleetingly excited for an event, but for the most part, you feel apathetic, sad, hopeless, or helpless. Similarly, if you suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, you may feel anything from on edge to anxious throughout the day with very few moments of reprieve.

The primary exception to this general rule is that generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, can cause mood swings. What we mean by this is one potential result of living with GAD is mental and emotional exhaustion. It feels virtually impossible to fight through life when you are constantly on edge. This mental and emotional exhaustion can lead to you snapping occasionally, becoming irritable or angry over something small. Bioidentical hormone replacement can help with that.  

8. Loss of Muscle Mass

Yet another symptom of imbalanced hormones that can be treated by bioidentical hormone therapy is the loss of muscle mass. There are several reasons why it is crucial to maintain your muscle mass or build more muscle. The most compelling argument for maintaining your muscle mass is mass loss leads to strength loss. Strength loss can lead to falls and bone fractures.

Another extremely compelling argument for maintaining your muscle mass is that muscle is roughly three times more metabolically active than white fat. In other words, a pound of muscle will burn approximately three times more calories than a pound of fat when your body is at rest. This makes it easier to maintain weight without changing your diet too much as your overall metabolism slows with age.

9. Hair Loss

The final symptom of imbalanced sex hormones that we’d like to address today is hair loss. One of the most common causes of hair loss is imbalanced hormones. If you notice more hair than usual in your hairbrush or hair tie, you may suffer from imbalanced hormones and benefit from bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

Learn More About the Benefits of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Today

If you are experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms of imbalanced hormone levels, you can benefit greatly from bioidentical hormone therapy. However, the symptoms discussed today are only a portion of the symptoms that can be relieved with this therapy. To learn more about the benefits of treatment, contact our hormone experts at Serenity Health Care Center in Waukesha, WI now to schedule an appointment.

With the world undergoing drastic changes and our individual lives feeling tossed around, many people feel stressed. This stress can build up and zap energy. It can also lead to adrenal fatigue. If you have been feeling exhausted even after sleeping well, are having headaches or dizziness for no reason, or are feeling depressed or anxious without cause, Serenity Health Care Center in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin can help heal your adrenal glands.

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal gland fatigue is the name of several signs and symptoms that happen when your adrenal glands stop functioning at the normal level. Your adrenal glands produce important hormones that affect almost every organ in your body. If your glands are functioning at a lower level than necessary, your whole body will feel the weight and impact. This syndrome has had many other names through the years, such as non-Addison’s hypoadrenia, neurasthenia, and adrenal apathy.

The most common and debilitating symptom is in the name: fatigue. Fatigue is a tiredness that doesn’t ease with rest or sleep. It can be so debilitating that you may only be able to get out of bed for a couple of hours at a time. You may feel like you need to live on coffee or other energy drinks just to make it through a day. You may also have other symptoms such as feeling dizzy, generally unwell, depressed or experiencing headaches. 

Typically, it follows intense stress, but chronic infections can also cause it. It is not something to take lightly. It can affect every part of your body, from your heart to your metabolism to even your sex drive. Left untreated, it can become debilitating for some people. However, it is treatable. If you feel you are experiencing adrenal gland fatigue, you can make some simple lifestyle changes to begin healing it.

The Theory of Adrenal Fatigue

When you are under stress, your body’s immune system kicks into action. Your body produces hormones like cortisol and adrenaline when your brain signals a “flight or fight” mode. These hormones increase your heart rate and blood pressure. That helps you when you are in a high-stress moment, such as saving a child from a burning building or escaping a hungry bear. However, this mode can hurt us when we are intensely stressed for long periods of time.

Your adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys and produce cortisone and adrenaline. When your body is over-producing them, it can wear your glands out and cause fatigue. Your adrenal glands can’t produce the necessary hormones properly and your body will feel exhausted. Adrenal fatigue can also be related to decreased thyroid function. It’s important to get properly tested. Anyone can experience it, even a completely healthy person who has suddenly gone through an intensely stressful period.

What Causes It?

This condition is caused typically by intense periods of prolonged stress. As the stress demands the production of the hormones, your adrenal glands slow and wear. They begin to be unable to meet the demands. This can also commonly occur after chronic infections, a type of immune stress, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, or the flu. 

Stress can manifest in a few different ways. You can experience emotional stress, such as after losing a job or a loved one. You can also have physical stress, such as when dealing with a chronic illness or after a surgery. Intense stress can come from a single moment or from a set of repeated chronic stresses which build over time. If your glands are unable to keep up with production or maintain homeostasis, that’s when they are becoming fatigued from the stress. 

Testing

Whenever you feel you may have a syndrome or disorder, the best thing to do is consult a doctor. When testing for adrenal gland fatigue, seeking out a holistic medical practitioner may be your best bet. Conventional practitioners often overlook this syndrome, causing patients to suffer for years before being properly diagnosed. Testing can help your practitioner find the right diagnosis for you and help them create a treatment plan. 

Adrenal testing can be done using saliva or blood. The main hormone tested in adrenal testing is cortisone. It can be tested at home using a simple saliva test. If your body is producing too much or too little cortisone, it can be a sign of adrenal fatigue. You should also test other hormones such as DHEA, testosterone, aldosterone, and progesterone. These can be tested during an office visit or at a lab through a blood test or using a saliva test. If these other hormones are also out of homeostasis, it may be time to seek treatment.

Treatments

There are many different ways to treat adrenal gland fatigue. Many of them are things you can begin doing right in your home. The most important place to begin in helping your body heal itself is relieving stress. If you do not relieve your stress, your adrenal glands will only become more fatigued and your syndrome worsen. Yoga, warm baths, meditation, and other alternative therapies can help you destress. Sleeping well is also vital for your health.

Nutrition is another big one. If your body isn’t getting the right nutrition, it won’t have the proper building blocks to heal itself. A good place to start is cutting out junk food and caffeine. A low-sugar diet will also help with your energy levels. Boosting your vitamins and minerals by eating colorful fruits and veggies will help your body get back to healthy. You can also seek vitamin supplement recommendations or hormone supplements from your holistic physician.

Related Health Issues

Chronic illness can place intense stress and demands on your adrenal glands. Chronic illnesses are chronically stressful to your body. This means if you have a chronic health issue, such as arthritis, cancer, fibromyalgia, etc., you may also have adrenal fatigue. The fatigue of the adrenal glands can follow chronic infections as well. Even certain medical treatments can decrease adrenal gland function. 

Thyroid and other hormone deficiencies are also related to adrenal deficiency. These can include syndromes like Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism. Your thyroid and adrenal glands both produce hormones that control most of your bodily functions. When either of these systems is out of homeostasis, it can affect the other system. This means thyroid issues can create adrenal wear and vice versa. 

If you think you may be experiencing adrenal gland fatigue, you don’t have to worry. While it can be a debilitating syndrome if left untreated, you can also make simple changes to your life today to begin the healing process. Emotional and physical stress can cause it, but eating well, sleeping well, exercising, and getting some stress relief are all important to treating fatigue.

Get the Help You Need

Some conventional doctors may overlook your adrenal symptoms, but adrenal testing from a holistic practitioner can help you determine what you have and get you the treatment that’s right for you. Visit us at Serenity Health Care Center in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metropolitan area, where we believe in creating optimal health and wellness to help your body heal itself.