My First Blog Post, Movember and Prostate Cancer

Well, I figured I could get back into blogging a little bit! What a better time to start than ‘Movember’ in raising awareness for prostate cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society statistics reveal that 58 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every day. It is the most common cancer diagnosis in

men, with 1 in 7 being diagnosed in their lifetime and 1 in 29 will die from it. Although it’s come under a little scrutiny in the past, I highly recommend that men get an annual PSA (prostate specific antigen) test done on an annual basis. The key is to get it done regularly. A single value does not give much information, but how the value shifts over time can be an indication that something is happening with the health of the prostate. Further investigation can then be done, and of course, the sooner an issue is discovered, the more successful treatments tend to be.

For prevention, a diet which includes foods rich in zinc (pumpkin seeds, nuts, spinach, asparagus, chick peas and lentils) and rich in lycopene (cooked tomato and tomato sauces) can help, as can anti-inflammatory foods such as avocado, fish, pineapple and turmeric.

Although I do work with all types of health conditions, cancer tops the list (all types, not just prostate). An event like Movember, however, provides good opportunity to discuss the topic. Plus, it allows me to sport a crazy moustache! When I’ve done the Movember moustache, I’ve modeled it after someone who famously wore one (I think the last was a handlebar moustache after Hulk Hogan). This time the style is modeled after a famous musician. Can you guess? Ironically, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1990 and, unfortunately, passed away three years later from the disease at the young age of 53. I’ll edit into this post who it is at the end of the month!

Yours in health,

Dr. Appelmann, BSc, ND

Naturopathic Doctor

Oakville, Ontario