Tips on Prostate Cancer Prevention: Tracking Symptoms

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed, but it isn’t a death sentence. Like many types of cancer, early detection is key to survival.

The prostate is a gland in the reproductive system that creates seminal fluid. At least 1 in 8 men develops an enlarged or inflamed prostate. In my practice, this indicates too much heat or too much stagnation. What do we do about it?

Fortunately, there are so many possible remedies. At the heart of them is the willingness to see yourself as worthy of care. And I must admit, from the male-bodied clients I’ve worked with, this seems to be one of the hardest things to embrace. 

Let’s get action-oriented and talk about ways to track whether your prostate is experiencing an imbalance. The first is as plain as … the chin on your face!

Multiple studies published by the National Institute of Health link the autonomic nervous system to both the initiation of prostate cancer and its distribution in the body. The prostate autonomic nerve ending is at the center of the chin on the face. According to Ayurvedic science, you can receive clues about imbalance in other parts of the body in how it manifests as skin disruptions on the face.

So, an easy thing to do is to watch your chin. Is the skin smooth, clear, and evenly-toned with the rest of your face? If you note differences on your chin, this is what they mean:

• Excess cold is indicated by broken purple blood vessels, paler than other areas on face, numbness
• Dry shows darker discoloration, cracks, wrinkles or grooves in the skin and is often itchy
• Excess heat manifests as rashes, acne, red blood vessels, irritation, inflammation, and the skin may even be hot to the touch
• Overly wet stagnation is indicated by atonic, soft, watery, thickening of skin, flaky skin, or more moles

What you notice in elemental imbalance can then be confirmed in symptoms affecting the genito-urinary system.

Excess Cold

• Urine -- chills while urinating, lacking smooth flow, dribble
• Pain -- a feeling of gripping or tightness
• Erectile imbalance -- low libido, poor erectile strength, low bood pressure

Excess Dry 

• Urine -- frequent, sporadic flow
• Pain -- radiating or shooting
• Erectile imbalance -- pre-ejaculation, bent erection, tightness in groin

Excess Heat

• Urine -- odorous, burning, presence of blood
• Pain -- sharp or burning
• Erectile imbalance -- pain in the groin, pressurized, quick to release

Excess Wet

• Urine -- cloudy, thick, or excessive flow
• Pain -- dull/deep ache
• Erectile imbalance -- inability to get erect, low libido, disconnection to the pelvic floor

Remember, you could experience a combination of symptoms; in fact, that’s the most common.  We are quite dynamic in our individualism!

Urine flow is the number one way I can tell whether the prostate is inflamed. Now, frequent urination is typically a dehydration issue. You're not assimilating the water, so the water dumps straight into the bladder. See my ebook on effective hydration to work on this issue.

But urine flow that is intermittent or doesn't have a natural flow to it -- dribbles in the night, or stops and starts during urination, for example -- means there's pressure present. When the prostate swells through edema or inflammation, there's only so much space, so it puts pressure on the urethra and changes the urine flow.  Inflammation can also cause more odor in the urine (though this is also an indicator of dehydration). This is part of early stage prostate care.

Sciatic nerve pain in the hips or herniations in the groin can also be a result of inflammation in the pelvic floor, which can be tied to prostate health.

As you track the symptoms you see and feel, watch for changes over time. The more information you understand about your body, the easier it is to feel empowered to make decisions about your own care.

If you suspect that something truly is out of balance, you can also seek confirmation through practitioners -- an Ayurvedic Tongue Assessment or consultation, or labs through your primary care physician, or both!