It is no surprise your weight is tied to your overall health, and it is also tied to your prostate health.
In fact, a study of 250,000 Swedish men found that gaining weight early in your life increases the risk of death from prostate cancer by 27%. The same study found that men who gained just over a pound a year between the ages of 17 and 60 had a 10% increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer and a 29% higher chance of fatal prostate cancer.
“We do not know if it is the weight gain itself or the long duration of being heavier that is the main driver of the association that we see. Nevertheless, one must gain weight to become heavier, so preventing a steep increase in weight in young men is imperative for the prevention of prostate cancer,” Dr. Marisa da Silva, from the department of transitional medicine at Lund University said in an article in the Guardian.
According to Michael Johnson, MD, a urologist with Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Studies have linked obesity with particularly aggressive forms of prostate cancer, and separate research has also connected weight gain with an increased risk of recurrence in men who have already been treated.”
Johnson goes on to say that obesity can also interfere with screening tools – like PSA tests and digital rectal exams – which can make it more difficult to catch the disease earlier.
Weight Effects Prostate Cancer Risk
While researchers are still trying to understand the relationship between prostate cancer and weight, here is one link: Extra body weight causes physical changes in the body including higher levels of inflammation, insulin, insulin-like growth factor and sex hormones. Overtime, these factors increase a person’s risk of prostate cancer.
Lowering Your Risk of Weight-Related Cancer
Eating right and exercising can help you maintain a healthy weight. You can also talk to your doctor about a weight loss or weight maintenance plans. Newer medications used to treat type 2 diabetes like Ozempic and Wegovy could be right for some patients too.
Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic, Wegovy and Cancer Benefits and Risks
Since Ozempic, Wegovy and other weight loss drugs hit the market for type 2 diabetes and are now being used for obesity, doctors are cautiously optimistic that these medications could help reduce some cancers.
However, it is still early to know how these medications could help reduce cancer risks and what other benefits and risks they may have.
Again, if you are interested in knowing if you could benefit from these medications, talk to your physician or a weight loss expert. And do your research. Learn all about the benefits and the risks that come with these drugs.
Weight loss drugs can have a variety of side effects, including gastrointestinal issues, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, bloating, and acid reflux. Other common side effects are headache, dizziness, insomnia, high blood pressure, rapid or irregular heart rate, and tremors. Serious side effects include stomach problems, kidney problems or failure, gallbladder problems, pancreatitis, or hypoglycemia.
Other side effects specific to certain drugs are as follows:
Orlistat (Xenical): Changes in bowel habits, such as oily or fatty stool and being unable to control bowel movements
Liraglutide (Saxenda): Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people who have diabetes, stomach pain and upset, and faster heart beat
Ozempic also known as Semaglutide: Retinopathy, a complication that involves damage to blood vessels in the eyes, and can result in vision loss or blindness. Also, Pancreatitis (swelling of the pancreas) may occur while you are using this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have sudden and severe stomach pain, chills, constipation, nausea, vomiting, fever, or lightheadedness.
Side effects are usually mild and temporary and may decrease as your body adjusts to the medication. However, it is important to ask your health care provider about all treatment choices and the possible benefits and risks of each drug.
You can also try these tips to minimize side effects:
Limit high fat and greasy foods that take longer to digest.
Limit concentrated sweet foods and sugary beverages.
Limit spicy foods and choose bland foods that are easily tolerated.
Avoid large amounts of food, particularly right after the injections.
Prostate Cancer Treatment in Miami
If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, there is an easier, non-invasive treatment that has become the number one treatment choice of men, and it’s called CyberKnife, and the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami are here to help you get through the process as quickly, safely and effectively as possible, causing the least disruption to your life.
CyberKnife offers painless radiation treatments, which can be an alternative to surgery for prostate cancer if you are a candidate for it. And because of CyberKnife’s precision, we can treat difficult cases, which may otherwise not be treatable or are deemed inoperable.
Here are the big CyberKnife advantages:
- It is non-invasive.
- There are no risks of infection.
- The CyberKnife radiation beams, which target and destroy the tumor, are exceedingly precise, destroying the tumor without destroying healthy surrounding tissue.
- There are less risks of side effects including impotence and incontinence.
- CyberKnife uses targeted radiation beams to move with the patient to make sure the prostate is the only thing they hit, which greatly reduced the risk of side effects.
- If the cancer returns, it can be treated again.
Plus, CyberKnife alone can treat prostate cancer, especially if it is low grade and localized to the prostate. For early prostate cancers, the success rate with CyberKnife is 98%.
So, if you are facing a prostate cancer diagnosis, call us right away at 305-279-2900 to find out how and if we can help you get rid of your cancer and get your life back on track as fast and simply as possible.
You can also go to our prostate cancer website now for more information, including patient testimonials and clinical research on the patient outcomes. www.prostatecancertreatmentmiami.com.