Isn’t it that even if you are in a keto diet your blood will still maintain a certain level of glucose? and then if cancers cells (and most cells) in the body get their food from the blood doesn’t that mean they will always have a supply of glucose to feed on regardless of your diet? Real question btw.
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RapMet, I don’t know for sure and will avoid making an assumption. Ask one of the doctors on this site for a precise answer.
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Lol, I’m not a doctor, but I do know that a blood glucose level of zero, is not the blood coursing through a living organism. Also, cancer cells don’t need glucose to thrive. In the absence of glucose, a cancer cell will happily use uridine, as happens when pancreatic cancer cells don’t have access to glucose. Furthermore, if there is no exogenous glucose available, cancer cells will latch onto glucose generation through gluconeogenesis (substrate: lactate, amino acids).
Unfortunately, cancer cells are very hard to kill, without also killing healthy cells, i.e. killing you, as you can’t live with all your cells dead. That’s why chemo is so rough on patients. The metabolic approach to cancer is a dead end, or more accurately, in some cancers, under certain conditions, you can successfully use a metabolic approach, such as glucose deprivation, but that’s certainly not all cancers. And the job doesn’t end, because if there is some persistent reason why the cancer arose in the first place (like perhaps a tissue environment permanently perturbed by a powerful carcinogen - example, UV burns, or radiation particle exposure rendering the whole tissue - like the skin - a soup of deranged DNA). So you killed that one cancer, and immediately the damaged tissue throws up another, so now what, you’ll try the glucose deprivation all over again in perpetuity? Note, how the most successful way, to date, of complete cancer cure is through getting the immune system to recognize cells as cancerous and killing them. That’s the immune system sending out a bunch of soldiers and killing the cancer cells one by one, and then standing guard to kill the next one as soon as it’s created, and you don’t have to do a thing, same as if vaccinated, or through natural immunity you are always suppressing germ attacks any time one appears. Immune system cells, killing one by one, and then standing guard, not some global process of mass starvation of all cancer cells at once by removing glucose or some other temporary metabolic approach that has cancer roaring back as soon as it stops. Sorry.
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I read through most of the messages and replies. I’m not clear on whether it has been established whether you have distant metastasis or not. I had prostate cancer 7 years ago that had spread into the seminal vesicles and had perineurial invasion (but no known distant mets). I had a robotic prostatectomy, 3 months of radiation and 2 years of hormone treatment (Lupron and Casodex).
I have very mild urinary incontinence (I wear 1 thin pad daily). I do have erectile dysfunction. My life is otherwise good and my PSA is zero. I found the hormones tolerable and enjoyed the fact that I had no body odor for a couple of years,
I used the “TruMe” epigenetic test bought from ProHealth Longevity for under $100. In July of 2022 I was 68 and my biological age was 69. In September of 2024 at age 70 my biological age was 62 yrs 2 months. I had been on rapamycin for a few weeks and was still titrating up. I have been taking Novos Core, NR/NMN, and lots of other supplements during the intervening time.
I’m not sure that I trust any epigenetic or telomere based age test, but I do feel and look younger than my chronological age. I’m just sharing my experience, not implying what anyone else should do.
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Thanks @CronosTempi , great info. I must add that I always had my doubts. I also find it insulting (to some degree) when you have professional doctors (mainly in social media) making outlandish claims such as cancer cells can’t survive without glucose. Well, wouldn’t it be the easiest thing then to kill cancer by simply not eating any carbs? LOL
It would be acceptable to identify certain factors/foods that might help or aggravate the situation, but I think that their medical license should be revoked for doctors that make such ridiculous claims which are very misleading and also steer people in the wrong direction.
I also find some invitro studies useless (for most part) and misleading. As an example, there was this invitro study that capsaicin, or this substance and that substance that killed cancer cells. Well, I can think of 1000 things and methods that I could kill cancer cells invitro. How about burning them at 5000 degrees, but how will that be applied to a live human being LOL.
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It depends on how much sun I get - summer 0-3000 mg
winter 3000-5000
I measure blood levels of D twice a year to ensure I’m above 50 and below 100
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I did for a couple of years. Right now I am not quite keto but below 50 gms of carbs a day
If it doesn’t have an effect in the ITP it is worthless for cancer.
Like you, metatstatic, but not distant. From what I understand, mets to the pelvic lymph nodes or even to pelvis (bone) are considered “curable,”. MY PSMA-pet scan shows that the cancer has spread to the “pelvic sling,” (~4-8mm deep, just adjacent to the prostate) but not to the seminal vesicles. I do have perineural invasion so my R neuro-vascular bundle is “toast” (using the proper medical terminology.
It seems odd that you’d have had a prostatectomy + IMRT. Was that from the get-go or was that due to a biochemical failure after the prostatectomy (meaning a rise in PSA).
If it stays that way, my prognosis is good. I’ll do Orgovyx + Abiraterone + IMRT (rad) then, hopefully the two ART meds will shrink my prostate somewhat and I’ll go to Boston and have Brachytherapy (high-dose tiny implants to the prostate).
Likely the only way I’ll ever have an erection is with injectables or a penile implant.
I consider myself lucky because there are no distant (beyond the pelvis) mets.
Interestingly in a month or two, when Social Security tells me exactly who I worked for in 1970 (spraying 2-4-5-x aka Agent Orange) I will apply for MA Workers’ Comp. I can’t remember the firm I worked for, but it was above board, I held a MA pesticide applicator license, and there is no question that I was covered by Workers’ Comp.
Interesting because it’ll be denied (actually it already has) but I’m an Occupational Health RN who works contracted to US DOL and Workers’ Comp NH/VT/MA/RI is my specialty.
Any military that was exposed to Agent Orange who develops prostate cancer is presumed to have a workplace illness. We’re talking about tens of thousands in the military…all presumed to have a workplace illness.
It’ll likely end up in Court, but I’m down for that…
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Research out of China, but what the hell:
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Scientists Have Discovered a Simple Supplement That Causes Prostate Cancer Cells To Self-Destruct
Menadione, a vitamin K precursor, shows promise in slowing prostate cancer in mice by disrupting cancer cell survival processes, with potential applications for human treatment and myotubular myopathy therapy.
CSHL Professor Lloyd Trotman’s lab has found that the pro-oxidant supplement menadione slows prostate cancer progression in mice. The supplement is a precursor to vitamin K, commonly found in leafy greens. The story begins more than two decades ago.
##Journal Reference:
“Dietary pro-oxidant therapy by a vitamin K precursor targets PI 3-kinase VPS34 function” by Manojit M. Swamynathan, et al, 25 October 2024, Science .
DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9167
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Research from the 1980s and 1990s has demonstrated that vitamin K3 is harmful to humans.
These studies have linked vitamin K3 to liver damage and the destruction of oxygen-carrying red blood cells
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I doubt it is more harmful the chemo though. lol there aren’t too many options out there for cancer treatment that don’t involve some serious side effects.
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I think citrate is something that could be particularly helpful here and is otherwise not harmful (although you can have a laxative effect).
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Good old Vitamin C to the rescue:
Cancer patient survival doubled by adding this common vitamin to chemo: study | Fox News
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What information do we have on prostate enlargement/prostate cancer and TRT? I’ve got a guy who is interested in starting TRT but is hesitant to start because his doctor scared him about prostate cancer, but his PSA is 1.5 at age 70. I’ve seen studies showing it doesn’t increase cancer risk above the “saturation” point.
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This is a deep dive that includes evidence that TRT can reduce the incidence of PC and that, with many forms of PC, the outcome is better if the patient is also on TRT. The best source I am aware of is Attia’s Podcast #310 with ed Schaeffer, M.D., Ph.D… This is a brief summary.
Summary: Testosterone, TRT, and Prostate Cancer — Schaeffer/Attia Discussion
The TRAVERSE Trial The trial enrolled ~5,200 hypogonadal men and found no statistically significant increase in prostate cancer incidence with TRT (12 vs. 11 cases in treatment vs. placebo). The testosterone bump was modest (~140 ng/dL), follow-up was only 33 months, and dropout exceeded 60% — so power to detect a prostate cancer signal was genuinely limited. PSA tracking remained useful: the men who did develop cancer had higher baseline and rising PSAs, consistent with standard screening logic.
Androgen Receptor Saturation Theory This is arguably the mechanistic centerpiece of the discussion. The prostate (like hair follicles) likely reaches AR saturation at serum testosterone levels around 200–250 ng/dL — well below the population median. The amplification mechanism is local 5α-reductase converting T→DHT (~10× potency). Practically, this means the vast majority of men are already operating on the saturated portion of the dose-response curve, so incremental TRT to eugonadal levels adds little additional androgenic drive to prostatic tissue. Muscle, by contrast, saturates at much higher levels, which explains why anabolic effects from TRT are real while prostatic stimulation is minimal.
AR Activity and Cancer Aggressiveness — A Counterintuitive Relationship Schaeffer’s own work identified a 9-gene AR activity (AR-A) signature, showing that more aggressive tumors paradoxically display lower AR activity. High-grade cancers have decoupled from canonical androgen signaling and instead amplify alternative pathways (PTEN loss, Myc, etc.). The clinical implication is significant: a high-T environment actually tends to favor differentiated, less aggressive tumor biology, while low-T environments may select for AR-independent, harder-to-treat phenotypes. The garden analogy — AR-high tumors as large weeds with shallow roots vs. AR-low tumors as deeply invasive — is apt.
The Decipher Score in Clinical Practice The CLIA-approved Decipher assay (VeraCyte) uses ~20-22 gene mRNA expression from biopsy or resection tissue to score aggressiveness. The broader “GRID” includes the AR-A signature and can classify tumors as basal vs. luminal. For low-grade (Gleason 3+3) cancers, the AR-A score rarely changes management (~7% are molecular outliers). For higher-grade disease, it becomes more consequential — particularly in choosing between surgery (which preserves the option of continuing TRT) versus radiation (which typically requires ADT, with significant morbidity and incomplete T recovery in 40–50% of men even after 2 years).
Clinical Counseling on TRT Schaeffer’s position is notably more permissive than the conventional urological stance:
- For symptomatic hypogonadal men without cancer, he sees essentially no contraindication to TRT
- For men on TRT who are incidentally found to have Gleason 3+3 on biopsy, he does not discontinue TRT — citing no evidence that exogenous T accelerates low-grade disease
- For higher-grade cancers requiring treatment, the surgery vs. radiation choice is significantly shaped by TRT considerations: surgery allows TRT continuation post-treatment; radiation typically does not, due to ADT requirements and residual PSA signal from benign tissue confounding recurrence detection
PSA as a Precision Tool A key contrast drawn with breast cancer: PSA allows detection of recurrence at the level of ~100–200 cells, enabling targeted salvage therapy rather than prophylactic adjuvant androgen suppression across the board. This is the prostate cancer field’s major advantage over ER+ breast cancer management, where 5 years of adjuvant anti-estrogen therapy is standard despite significant morbidity. Ongoing NRG trials (GU009/010/011) are actively testing AR-A-guided intensification/de-intensification of ADT in radiation-treated higher-grade cancers — results expected within ~2 years.
Bottom Line The evidence increasingly supports that TRT to eugonadal levels does not meaningfully drive prostate cancer initiation or progression in low-grade disease, and the mechanistic rationale (AR saturation, AR-A tumor biology) is solid. The most clinically actionable takeaway is that treatment modality selection for intermediate/high-grade disease should explicitly factor in testosterone preservation — with surgery offering a meaningful advantage for patients in whom maintaining eugonadal status is a priority.
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Well, here is my n=1. Was diagnosed with PC in 2014. Never been treated though took metformin, then rapamycin and now SGLT2 drug - no progression and I have been taking TRT for 5 years. This whole T is causing PS is bullshit science
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GP has scared tf out of this guy. The annoying thing is GPs are completely uninformed on hormonal health, HRT and their connection to prostate health. It’s just not their expertise and they hold on to outdated dogma.
This guy has fairly good blood markers other than testosterone, and has symptoms I know will be addressed by TRT (fatigue, a little anxiety, not a lot of gym progress, low motivation/drive and waning libido)
The irony is he has been very interested in TRT for a long time and his GP has just been giving him a blood test periodically and saying “come back in 6 months” but the moment he said to the doctor that he was going to go to a private clinic to be treated the doctor put the scare tactics on him. Such a scumbag move.
He showed me a single study cautioning men from using TRT in general as a preventative for prostate health.
I sent him a large amount of evidence to go through and said get back to me in a week after he calmed down and thought logically about the situation.
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Associations of testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and related hormones with risks of cancer death, incident cancer, and incident prostate cancer in men: individual participant data meta-analyses
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(26)00041-3/fulltext
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