10 Key Hormones

Our body will deteriorate with time as aging and stresses get the better of us. Fortunately we are able to boost and maintain our body with proper food, exercises and good lifestyle. Hormones play a major role in our body. Know your hormone levels with your next medical / blood checkup.

There are 10 key hormones that need to be at optimal levels for you to be healthy and strong. The perfect 10 diet (10 Key Hormones – The secret to feeling great and loosing weight) by Dr Michael Aziz, MD is one of the better books on this subject. He describes the ten hormones below:

SER	HORMONE	SOURCE	LEVELS	REMARKS
1	Insulin	Pancreas	5 IU
2	Glucagon	Pancreas	60 ml
3	Thyroid hormone	Thyroid gland	181 ng/dL
4	Human growth hormone (HGH)	Pituitary gland	< 10 ng/mL
5	Cortisol	Adrenal gland	Morning 1180 ng/mL,	evening 45 ng/mL
6	Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)	Adrenal gland	400-500 mcg/d/L
7	Estrogen	Ovaries	<130pg/mL,
8	Progesterone	Ovaries	< 1.4ng/mL
9	Testosterone	Testes	241 – 827 ng/ML
10	Leptin	Fat cells

As we are more concerned with the level of testosterone, you may want to know what increases and decreases testosterone.

Foods and factors that increases/ boost testosterone include eggs, liver, butter, fish, poultry, sex and weight loss.

Foods and other factors that decrease testosterone production include sugar, fat free food, margarine, excess alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs, lack of sex and obesity.

Take care and do boost your hormones to their optimal levels.

Allen Lai

Salvage Therapies

Most of us survivors will face the predicament of what salvage treatments are the best when our PSA starts to rise again after a couple of years in remission.

View the following reports from the Prostrate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI Insights) below:

http://prostate-cancer.org/PDFs/Is14-3_p10-14.pdf

http://prostate-cancer.org/PDFs/Is14-3_p15-17.pdf

http://prostate-cancer.org/PDFs/Is14-3_p18-21.pdf

http://prostate-cancer.org/PDFs/Is15-1_p14-18.pdf

Link to the PCRI main website.

http://prostate-cancer.org

Take care

Allen Lai

The importance of water

Thanks for the sharing by Dr Isaac Eliaz and Irene Yap from the NCSM. Hydration is critical for optimum functioning of our organs. Know when to drink and how much to drink at different occasions.

Self explanatory graphic above.
Cheers

Allen Lai

Fresh and up to date position paper on prostrate cancer

Thanks to Leyu who had been keeping an eye on current articles released by theAmerican Cancer Society. Below is the link to the most comprehensive and up to date position paper released by the society in 2014.

This article will bring us current to the treatments, effects and prognosis in prostrate cancer. It will certainly assist us to have a better discussion with our oncologists. It will be good for the next couple of years before new treatment protocols come online.

 Read and save the paper below:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21234/full

Take care

Allen Lai

Decision thought out and simplified

Below are two more flow charts by Dr McHugh to assist you in making treatment choices.

Take care

Allen Lai

New Biomarker tests for Prostate Cancer

Recently there are several new tests available for Prostrate cancer They are:

A. Tests That Improve the Accuracy of a Negative Biopsy

• Prostate Cancer Mitomic Test (PCMT)
• Confirm MDx Test

B. Tests That Improve the Accuracy of Pathologic Grading of a Positive Biopsy or Radical Prostatectomy Specimen

• OncotypeDX Test (Genomic Prostate Score)
• Prolaris Test (Score)
• Decipher Test (GenomicProstate Cancer Classifier)
• QuadVysion and ProstaVysion Tests
• OurView Prognostic Panel

C. Tests that Improve PCa Treatment Selection and Efficacy

• Caris Molecular Intelligence Profile and Profile Plus Tests



Visit the full report here:
http://prostate-cancer.org/wp-content/uploads/insights/august2013/Insights_August2013_%20New_Biomarker_Test.pdf


A summary of the new tests as reported in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/26/business/new-ways-to-assess-prostate-cancer.html?ref=business&_r=2&



Take care

Allen Lai