What can I do to stop my cancer returning?
Q I HAVE recently finished treatment for prostate cancer. Is there anything I can do to prevent it returning? My GP doesn’t seem to think lifestyle changes will make any difference but I’m not so sure.
A WE now know that being overweight, and especially being obese, increases the risk of aggressive or advanced prostate cancer. Therefore your top priority should be to lose any excess pounds.
There is also some evidence that certain foods may help slow the growth of prostate cancer or help stop it coming back.
These include soy, pulses, pomegranate juice, tomatoes and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, Brussels spouts and broccoli.
However more research is needed before it can be said for certain that any single food can help slow the growth of prostate cancer.
On the other hand there is evidence that eating a high-fat diet full of dairy products, red and processed meat, and meat cooked at extremely high temperatures (especially if it is charred) may be harmful for men with prostate cancer.
So overall my advice is to eat a low-fat, well-balanced diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and protein from fish or white meats such as chicken.
Q IN WARMER weather I get head sweats. I am 75 and suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), for which I have medication.
The head sweats began about four years ago and during various appointments with several doctors I have asked if anything can be done but no one has come up with any answers. Can you help?
A AS sweat evaporates it helps to cool the body and regulate the core temperature so it is normal to sweat more in hot weather. But sweat dripping off your face and head isn’t normal and is a sign of what is known medically as hyperhidrosis.
This condition can affect the head, or the armpits, hands and feet, but it is unusual for it to start after the age of 25. When it
develops later in life it is often due to medical conditions such as diabetes, an overactive thyroid, some heart problems, anxiety and also being overweight.
It can also be a side effect of medications including antidepressants, drugs used to reduce stomach acid production and also zinc supplements.
Lots of other drugs can cause sweating in a few people so it is possible the medications you are taking for your COPD are to blame.
However if you are only using inhaled medications and are using your inhalers correctly then this is unlikely because the medication should only be going into your lungs and not anywhere else.
But it is easy to get into bad habits with inhalers, especially if you have been using them for many years, so I suggest you see your practice nurse, who can check your technique and also make sure you are not using them excessively.
Q AT the age of 13 I got shingles, which lay dormant until I was 34 when to treat it I was prescribed an antiviral which made me feel poorly.
I am now 46 and at least five times a year I get nerve pain in the left-hand side of my body. It starts in my eye and around my nose then I get severe pain around my left-hand side.
As a result of the discomfort I get grumpy and upset. Can you help?
A SHINGLES is caused by the reactivation of herpes zoster virus, the same one that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox some virus particles lie dormant in the nerve roots next to the spinal cord. These may then become active again and travel along the nerve to cause the shingles rash.
Why this happens is not clear and it usually occurs years after the initial bout of chickenpox. As well as causing the characteristic blistering shingles rash, the affected nerve is also inflamed and this can cause pain, which may be severe. Shingles can be treated with anti-viral drugs such as aciclovir but this is only effective when the virus is active and you have visible skin changes. If you are just getting pain, known as post-herpetic neuralgia, then drugs that dampen the “pain message” as it travels from nerve to brain are likely to be more effective. Carbamazepine is most often prescribed but amitriptyline and gabapentin are used too. These all need to be taken daily and can take a couple of weeks to take effect so you must be patient. They are only available on prescription so go to see your GP.
READERS RESPOND Recently a lady wrote to ask you what could be done for cramp.
I suffered with it until a friend gave me some magnesium oil.
At first I was taken aback because I thought it was just a moisturiser. However I have found that applying it to my legs really helps keep cramp at bay. K Gibbs
If you have a health question for Dr Rosemary please write to her in confidence at The Northern & Shell Building, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN or email health@express.co.uk.
Dr Rosemary’s reply will appear in this column. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence and that due to the volume of letters she cannot reply to everyone. Find out more about Dr Rosemary at drrosemaryleonard.co.uk