My About-Face on the PSA Test

Why every man should have this prostate test done today!

This report may come as a real shock to you. I'm officially doing an about face on the PSA test.

For years, I've told you that I don't believe in the usefulness of the PSA test. And that I had never gotten one myself - until now. That's all changed. And you need to know why. I've recently discovered that the PSA test could save your life. But not in the way you may think.

In 2004, American Cancer Society statistics show that 32,000 men died from prostate cancer in the U.S. Doctors diagnosed over 232,000 new cases in the same year. In fact, prostate cancer is the most common malignancy to affect men. It's the second leading cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer. And the incidence is escalating.

Doctors have used the PSA test for years as a means of early detection for prostate cancer. And that's why I was so adamantly against it. PSA stands for prostate specific antigen. This antigen is a protein that's found in prostate tissue. When the prostate becomes inflamed, it produces more of this antigen.

As I've discussed in the past, inflammation causes damage to the integrity of an organ or gland. For example, inflammation in the liver (hepatitis) causes the liver to release proteins, enzymes such as AST and ALT, from damaged liver cells into the blood. Likewise, inflammation in the prostate will cause the PSA protein to break loose. As a result, levels in the blood will rise.

For years, doctors told us that PSA is a good test to screen for prostate cancer. Every level of the sickness industry pushed this nonsense - until recently. Newer research shows that PSA has a closer connection to an enlarged prostate than cancer. Even the discoverer of the PSA test came forth and agreed that the PSA was a better marker for prostate enlargement than cancer.

PSA's problems started when some researchers found that a higher level might be related to cancer. That led to a plethora of prostate biopsies. In fact, a cottage industry of puncturing prostate glands sprung up almost overnight. And as soon as the biopsy found cancer, the surgeons came in and carved out the prostate gland, radiated it, or poisoned it, often causing incontinence, etc.

What scientists discovered, though, was that many of these cancers would never kill the host. The treatment was usually far worse than the disease. Therein lay the problem. The conventional approach to prostate cancer did little to improve mortality (death) or even morbidity (pain and suffering). So, that led me to avoid the PSA test altogether. I took the position that it's far better to prevent cancer than to look for it. By the time cancer appears, it can be too late. So, in my reports to you, I continually brought you information on research that proved you can prevent prostate disease and especially cancer. Please see my website for the myriad of reports on diet and supplements that I wrote about.

But all of my thinking changed during one lecture at the November 2008 ACAM meeting. The speaker was integrative urologist Ron Wheeler, MD. To my shock,

Dr. Wheeler was staunchly for the PSA test.

Dr. Wheeler teaches that the PSA test is a marker of inflammation, not necessarily cancer. But inflammation is, in itself, a major problem. It is inflammation that leads to organ damage. In the prostate, inflammation will lead to enlargement, urinary obstruction, and a host of male sexual difficulties (including erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, orgasmic difficulties, etc.). And, as you have read in these pages, inflammation is the root of cancer. Inflammation is synonymous with cellular damage. Constant ongoing damage can lead to degeneration and cancer. In your arteries, it leads to atherosclerosis.

Dr. Wheeler agrees that the PSA is not directly related to cancer. The problem is that even at a PSA of 4.0, many men still don't have cancer. But a lot of men with a PSA of only 1.5 already have cancer. Up to 30% of all prostate cancers occur with a PSA of 4.0 or less. That's why the PSA test is not a good screen for cancer. And worse, a high PSA can lead to a revolving door for biopsies. And biopsies have major problems.

First of all, a negative biopsy doesn't mean much. Doctors usually do biopsies blindly. A small cancer would be very easy to miss. And, hitting a cancer doesn't mean much. Virtually all men, if they live long enough, will actually have prostatitis or cancer in their gland. But the majority of men never die of it, or even know that they had it. Their body defenses keep it in check. And a biopsy can provide a track for an otherwise contained cancer to leak out of the prostate and spread.

As I just mentioned, several well-done medical studies have shown that almost ALL men will develop prostatitis at some point in their adult lifetime. One 1979 study found 98.1% of 162 surgically removed prostates had evidence of inflammation (prostatitis). Other urologists report that virtually 100% of the biopsy and surgical prostate specimens they examine show evidence of prostatitis.

We also know that all men eventually get prostate cancer if they live long enough. In the United States, one-in-four men who undergo prostate biopsy will have prostate cancer. But all of them will have prostatitis. These findings have led researches to suggest that prostate cancer is always associated with prostatitis.

How do you know if you have prostatitis? Historically, doctors said men under 50 with any type of voiding symptoms or pelvic pain had prostatitis until proven otherwise. If you were older than 50, the diagnosis would be an enlarged prostate.

This notion began to change in 1999. That's when a study found that most men with voiding symptoms, regardless of age, actually had prostatitis when properly tested. Of 235 consecutive men who exhibited even mild voiding symptoms, greater than 80% had chronic prostatitis, regardless of their age. The researchers based their diagnosis on a specific test called "expressed prostatic secretion" (EPS). EPS is where the doctor massages the prostate and then collects the small amount of fluid that emerges from the tip of the penis. If there are more than 10 white blood cells (inflammatory cells) per high power microscopic field, that confirms the diagnosis.

Wouldn't it be nice to more easily detect the problem in men with no symptoms? Well, there is. It's the PSA.

Dr. Wheeler says, "The PSA provides a virtual 100% sensitivity to predict the diagnosis when the PSA number is greater than 1.0 ng/ml." In fact, it may be even more accurate than a biopsy. That's because prostatitis is so common that many pathologists reading the slides will gloss over the inflammation they see. They are more concerned about whether cancer is present.

And this is where the PSA really proves its worth. The higher your PSA score, the more inflammation you have in your prostate. The higher the PSA, the more white blood cells in the EPS. White blood cell presence is synonymous with inflammation. Inflammation directly raises the risk for cancer. So, a rising PSA does indicate a rising ultimate risk for prostate cancer. But it does not indicate cancer is present.

For years, conventional medicine told us that a PSA of lower than 4 is "normal." And certainly a PSA less than 2.5 is nothing to worry about, the pundits say. Dr. Wheeler states otherwise. He insists the cut off is 1.0. He says it should be even lower, perhaps about 0.5.

Because PSA is an indicator of inflammation, Dr. Wheeler strongly believes that all men should get tested. Yes, even yours truly.

Only two weeks after the lecture, I had my first PSA drawn. I'm pleased to tell you that it came back an amazingly low 0.4. Dr. Wheeler told me that my level was the lowest initial score he has ever seen. Dr. Wheeler's initial level came back at 0.5. But he managed to lower his score with a product he developed that's far better for prostate problems than only saw palmetto. Over many years, his PSA has gradually fallen, and is currently an unbelievable 0.1. That's the level you might see after a total prostatectomy. But Dr. Wheeler is fully intact.

Since 99% of men have an inflammation in their prostate, you need a remedy. Obviously, my diet and exercise habits have kept my prostate in great shape. And that's the best way to go. But I know few people who will follow my rigorous lifestyle. So this is a case where supplements may be beneficial.

Dr. Wheeler has developed a patented product he has named "Peenuts®." Great name! It's an acronym that stands for "Power to Empty Every time while Never Urinating Too Soon."

In Dr. Wheeler's 1997 study, all of the men in the study who took Peenuts improved their voiding symptoms. And 69% of the men improved in either 6 or 7 out of 7 urinary symptom categories measured.

In a follow-up study, more than 300 men had similar results. The average improvement in the urinary symptom score was 11 out of 35 points. The PSA, "the barometer of prostate health," improved in all patients, by an average of 49%. And the EPS, our most sensitive test for prostatitis, found a 66% reduction in white blood cells (consistent with a reduction in inflammation).

I want to emphasize the importance of these findings. Some of these men had to have prostate cancer. The conventional urologist will tell you that those men are absolutely destined to see their PSA rise unless their prostate is carved out. Dr. Wheeler's formula lowered the PSA in all of the men. That strongly suggests that, caught early, prostate cancer arising from inflammation can be easily reversed. You don't have to over treat it with invasive and toxic therapies.

I was pleased to discover that Peenuts has very similar ingredients to Advanced Prostate Formula from Advanced Bionutritionals. That's the prostate formulation I came up with years ago.

Herbs like saw palmetto, pygeum africanum, and stinging nettle have been proven in countless studies to lower PSA and improve prostate health. Both products contain all three.

That said, Dr. Wheeler has conducted studies on his specific formulation. So while, I heartily recommend either product to you, I have asked the folks at Advanced Bionutritionals to carry Peenuts along with our Advanced Prostate Formula.

I'm currently taking the formula twice daily in a challenge to Dr. Wheeler. He said over years, my PSA should fall to 0.1 as did his. I admit that's something to brag about. If your PSA is greater than 1.0, you might start off with one capsule three times daily. The cost, at $34.95 per bottle, is reasonable considering what it can prevent. You can order it by calling 800-728-2288. And please let me know how these products work for you.