Two years ago, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shortly after he began radiation and hormone treatment for his cancer, I got an interesting call from him. He was suddenly experiencing symptoms normally associated with menopause -- in particular -- he was having hot flashes. He knew I had been suffering through hot flashes as a result of chemo-induced menopause. It's an interesting, if not unusual, father-daughter bonding when they both can share the trials and tribulations of menopause. Our telephone calls became conversations of possible solutions and relief during the sleeping and waking hours of a personal summer not in sync with the seasonal temperature outside. In the middle of winter, I joked my hot flashes were saving me money on my home heating bill. Yesterday, Vicki posted tropical vacations and hot flashes, in which she shared a few natural herbal remedies for women suffering from hot flashes associated with menopause. For many women breast cancer survivors, chemo-induced menopause is a real problem. Today, I will share some of the natural remedies for men suffering from hot flashes associated with prostate cancer treatment and male menopause. Yes, it's a real condition. Jed Diamond, author of Male Menopause, offers these herbals as possible relief from male menopausal hot flashes:
- Wild Yam for hormone building assistance.
- Black cohosh for a relaxant and normalizer.
- Damiana as a prostate tonic, antidepressant and nutrient for sluggish sexual organs.
- St. John's Wort and Oat for nerve tonics to help deal with any depression and other stress due to the changes.
- Saw Palmetto for a reproductive system nutrient.
1. I'm catching up on some older blogs and thought I would throw my two cents in on the hot flash front. Having been on hormonal blockade for a total of 46 months now (34 month break in between), I've certainly experienced my share of them.
My best tactic is to use fans, especially fans aimed at the neck. I have a bedroom stand-up fan, an office desk fan, the car AC fan, and several small, battery powered hand-held fans. They help a lot of us, and I've found that at around the mid-point in my therapy I can usually sense a flash coming and shut it down with a fan, avoiding the hot feeling and sweat. I also take one of the well-known soy supplements and have a lot of soy in my diet, something that I can tolerate easily as a prostate cancer survivor but that seems not always wise for breast cancer patients.
Jim (web site: http://www.mycancerplace.com/profile.php?id=147 )
Posted at 5:17PM on Aug 9th 2006 by Jim