Big pharma relentlessly pushes bad drugs for the quasi-medical condition of erectile dysfunction (ED). But these drugs clearly increase the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer. Plus, a new German study shows these drugs increase the risk of recurrent prostate cancer.
As I’ve said before, most prostate cancers that occur in older men never invade or metastasize. And they rarely kill these older men. In fact, we shouldn’t really call them “cancer” at all. But make no mistake. The recurrent prostate cancer associated with ED drugs can invade and metastasize. Plus, it can and does kill.
For this new study, researchers reviewed 4,752 cases of men who had undergone radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer between 2000 and 2010. Doctors treated 23.4 percent of the men following surgery with ED drugs, including Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis.
Over the following five years, 89 percent of the men treated with these ED drugs developed a recurrence of prostate cancer. By comparison, only 85 percent of the men not treated with the drugs had a recurrence.
In their report, the researchers said these drugs “adversely impact” recurrence risk. But this finding actually “astonished” them. They said they believed the ED drugs would somehow protect against recurrent prostate cancer. They also said they intend to keep giving these drugs to prostate cancer victims anyway.
Another victory for medical theory over facts!
In another recent study, researchers linked Viagra with an 84 percent increased risk of developing malignant melanoma skin cancer.
For this study, researchers used data on 25,000 men who were part of the Health Professional’s Follow-up Study (HPFS), probably the best and largest cohort study available to detect long-term health effects.
Like prostate cancer, skin cancer rarely turns deadly. In fact, more than 90 percent of skin cancers are minimally risky growths that almost never invade or metastasize. Doctors can easily remove these superficial growths in the office. And here again, we probably shouldn’t even call these skin growths “cancer.”
But melanoma is the form of skin cancer that does invade and metastasize. And it does kill victims. And the new study shows men who take Viagra run an 84 percent higher risk of developing it.
So here, we have two solid scientific studies that link ED drugs to the most deadly forms of prostate cancer and skin cancer.
Yet big pharma defends these bad drugs, like a Philadelphia lawyer, by trying to create “controversies” over scientific findings. So it’s likely we will hear about some silly flaw or problem with these studies in the coming months.
Fortunately, you have many options to improve your stamina without resorting to a harmful, even deadly drug.
In lab and clinical trials, researchers found a combination of dandelion and South African rooibos can improve physical performance and stamina. The combination of 400 mg dandelion and 400 mg South African rooibos appears to work well for this purpose. Plus, it supports cellular hydration, lowers blood sugar, and reduces fat cell accumulation.
Sources:
- “Use of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors May Adversely Impact Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy,” Journal of Urology, February 2015;193(2): 479–483
- “Sildenafil Use and Increased Risk of Incident Melanoma in US Men A Prospective Cohort Study,” JAMA Intern Med 2014 Jun;174(6):964-70
- “Docs ‘Astonished’: ED Drugs Tied to Prostate Cancer Return,” Medscape (www.medscape.com) 1/27/2015