Androgel ques.

[Guest guest]

My husband was prescribed androgel for low T secondary hypogonadism..,,he is 55

yrs old but he is afraid to take it because of hearing about risk of prostate

cancer...Is this true? because im hearing differnt things and dont know what to

tell him. If anyone can give me any info id appreciate it.

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Well they never did prove taking Testosterone causes cancer or even make it

worse.  There is a lot of new info out there saying high levels of Estradiol is

one of the main things that causes cancer in the prostate.

Here is a cut and paste from this link.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/nov2008_Dangers-of-Excess-Estrogen-in-the-Ag\

ing-Male_01.htm

So in men Estrodiol is made from Testosterone it is a giving so men older men

are better off checking there Estradiol levels even if they are not on

Testosterone meds.

If he needs Testosterone and dose not use it he is taking time off the back of

his life.

http://men.webmd.com/news/20070605/low-testosterone-may-up-male-mortality?ecd=wn\

l_men_072407

He will be starting on a low 5 gram dose so he should get tested again to be

sure the gel is working and the dose is high enough.

I am Secondary meaning my Pituitary dose not tell my body to make hormones. Did

his Dr. do an MRI on his Pituitary to rule out a tumor it's rare to be cancer

but needs to be ruled out.

Men that are Secondary what I have is called Hypopituitary and I am on all most

all the hormones it controls. He need to test them all and if he is low normal

he needs to treat them. I went 23 yrs on TRT not knowing I am Secondary and I

never felt 100% until I started treating all my low hormones.

A year ago last Nov. I had to have Heart Bypass Surgery Dr.'s feel it was due to

my low hormones and my being low on Growth Hormone they feel did this to my

heart.

I now Treat my low Testosterone, Cortisol, Thyroid, Ferritin, Aldosterone, Renin

and Growth Hormones.

Here is a link to a forum about Hypopituitary problems the forum is closed but

still full of dam good info you need to read this.

The more you learn about this the better he is in his treatment.

http://forums.realthyroidhelp.com/viewforum.php?f=12 & sid=e7c36faf1cf59bb4a2949d3\

66efabd1b

====================================================

Estrogen and Prostate Cancer

The role that estrogen plays in malignant prostate disease is contradictory and

complex. Some studies indicate that estrogen and its toxic metabolites are a

cause of prostate cancer.15,16 Yet once prostate cancer develops, certain

estrogen compounds demonstrate anticancer effects.

This paradox can be explained by the mechanisms that estradiol (and its toxic

metabolites) uses to damage prostate cell DNA,17 causing gene mutations that

result in the loss of cell growth regulatory control, i.e. cancer.

Interestingly, once a prostate tumor manifests, estrogen may exert anti-tumor

effects, though cancer cells eventually become resistant to estrogen drugs and

then even use endogenous estrogen to fuel their growth.

The fact that estrogen may temporarily exert anti-tumor effects in certain types

of prostate cancer cells does not diminish the argument that estrogen may have

contributed to the initiation of the same cancer. For example, in a study

published two years ago, researchers discovered that when “estradiol is added

to testosterone treatment of rats, prostate cancer incidence is markedly

increased and even a short course of estrogen treatment results in a high

incidence of prostate cancer.†These scientists hypothesize that metabolites

of estrogens can be converted to reactive intermediates that can adduct to DNA

and cause generation of reactive oxygen species; thus, estradiol is a weak

DNA-damaging carcinogen that causes DNA damage to prostate cell genes.18 This

kind of damage to DNA regulatory genes is what initiates prostate cancer.

Many published studies, however, show no association between high blood

estradiol levels and diagnosed prostate cancers.19 One reason there are not more

diagnosed prostate cancers in men with high estrogen may be that the high

estradiol level that initiated DNA damage then serves to keep prostate cancer

temporarily under control once it develops.

An interesting mechanism by which certain prostate cancer cells become resistant

to estradiol therapy is the development of components in cancer cells that

selectively remove estradiol from the tumor cells. If our normal cells were only

as adaptive as cancer cells, we could possibly become biologically immortal.

Another reason why estradiol blood levels may not correlate with prostate cancer

incidence is the ability of prostate cells to produce their own estradiol (by

making their own aromatase enzyme). Although evidence is conflicting, there is a

clear indication that local synthesis of estrogen in the prostate gland itself

may be significant in prostate tumor development.16 All of this helps validate

the importance of nutrients Life Extension male members take to block the

carcinogenic effects of estrogen within the prostate gland.

An analogy to how excess estrogen can first damage DNA regulatory genes to cause

cancer and then act as a prostate cancer suppressor can be seen with

chemotherapy drugs. The mechanism by which most chemo drugs kill cancer cells is

to inflict massive damage to cellular DNA. While chemo drugs kill cancer cells,

they simultaneously damage healthy DNA and can increase the risk of future

cancers. It appears that excess estrogen damages prostate cell DNA to initiate

cancer, but then acts as a temporary prostate cancer suppressor. In presenting

this analogy, I am not implying that estrogen in men is as dangerous as toxic

chemo drugs. I am showing that something that suppresses cancer cell propagation

(like estrogen) can also cause cancer.

Co-Moderator

Phil

> From: mysticgrl77 <mystic_pizza7@...>

> Subject: Androgel ques.

>

> Date: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 12:30 PM

> My husband was prescribed androgel

> for low T secondary hypogonadism..,,he is 55 yrs old but he

> is afraid to take it because of hearing about risk of

> prostate cancer...Is this true? because im hearing differnt

> things and dont know what to tell him. If anyone can give me

> any info id appreciate it.

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>