A brand-new study found that men with painless hernias can safely go without surgery unless things really start to hurt. ?"Not every hernia needs to be fixed," said Dr. Olga Jonasson of the University of Illinois at Chicago, co-author of the study in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.? The study included 720 men.? Half were assigned to wait for their hernia surgery until it caused them pain or they just decided they wanted to go ahead with surgery for some other health reason.? The other half had them immediately repaired even though they had little or no pain.? Only two of the men who decided to wait developed ?serious problems???

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Of all those who had surgery in the following four years over 20 percent had surgical complications.? Three of them were serious life-threatening problems.? This provides more proof that when it comes to medical treatment, less is often better.? In the case of hernia surgery, the decision to wait for repair of minor problems seems to make good sense.?

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There are reports of spontaneous closure of some hernias after fever and infections like strep throat.? Sclerotherapy (www.acopms.com) can be helpful in lieu of surgery in properly chosen circumstances. This particular type of sclerotherapy involves a physician injecting small amounts of irritating chemical into the tissues around a hernia to cause it to scar down. ?Occasionally, another health problem arises that requires surgery and anesthesia that provides an opportunity for hernia repair at the same time.? Any way you slice it, surgery is definitely a serious matter and should only be performed when absolutely necessary.? I?m very interested in helping patients to avoid surgery and medication through natural means whenever it?s possible.

Today, January 17, 2006, The Washington Times reported an exciting story about the effects of curry and specific vegetables on prostate and other cancers.? Over a half million cases of prostate cancer occur each year and despite ?the war on cancer? most advanced cases are very poorly responsive to any kind of curative treatment.? In fact, in the past 20 years the incidence and death rate from prostate cancer hasn?t budged.? I?m especially concerned about this topic because I have a strong family history of prostate disease!? The good news is that something can be done by anyone with an interest in taking charge of their own health.

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Cauliflower, kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, watercress and turnips all contain a plant-based chemical that is a significant cancer-preventive. ?That chemical is phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC). ?By adding curry powder to the recipe we can dramatically enhance these effects.? New research shows that vegetables and the spice are effective in treating established prostate cancers, the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men.

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It all boils down to a pair of crucial chemicals that "hold real potential for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer," the Rutgers study stated. The curry contains curcumin, a yellow pigment from the spice itself. "The bottom line is that PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in lab mice, and the combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in treating established prostate cancers," said Ah-Ng Tony Kong, the study's lead author and a professor of pharmaceutics at Rutgers.

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