Prostate & Male Support

Incontinence and Urination Disorder Following Prostate Cancer Surgery

Prostate cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in American man. Per the American Cancer Society, there are more than 180,000 newly diagnosed cases annually.  The good news is prostate cancer has a very good prognosis if diagnosed and treated early with surgery. However, surgery usually leads to many side effects such as difficult urination or frequent urination, incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Again there is more good news; Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been treating problems of urination and sexual dysfunction for over 2000 years.  In deed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs can effectively reduce these symptoms and improve your life quality.

TCM, Urination disorder and Sexual Function
In TCM, the kidneys are responsible for both sexual function and water metabolism.  TCM physicians treat diseases by correcting Yin-Yang imbalances (mainly Kidney) in the body, which is the root cause of incontinence and Urination disorder. The functions of the kidney can be described as function of Kidney-yin and Kidney-yang.  The ability for the bladder to sufficiently hold urine is controlled by Kidney Yang.  When there is deficiency of  kidney-Yang ,  the bladder cannot hold urine and leads to urge incontinence.  While kidney-yin deficiency will lead to hot-flash, night sweats, red face, thirst, frequent nighttime urination,etc.

In TCM view, Qi and blood naturally circulate in the body channels in normal condition. Trauma(including surgery) can cause stagnation- slow down or stop of Qi and blood.  This is common following surgery of prostate surgery. In this condition, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can be helpful.  Acupuncture is also very useful for support if you are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or hormonal therapy.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Treatment
The acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment are focused on correcting the Yin-Yang imbalance in the body.  The treatment is usually twice a week in the beginning, and once a week for maintenance. The treatment series is usually ~12 sessions.  The treatment helps to create a smoother urine flow and an improvement in sexual function.

 

Our Faculty have over 20 years experiences in TCM. Especially Dr. Zhang has more than 10 years experiences in modern research related to prostate and urine tube obstruction conditions at Indiana University (see the following selected publications). Here we can manage our treatment fit your conditions.

Dr. Zhang’s work related to prostate and Urination:

  1. Jung C, Kim RS, Zhang HJ, Lee SJ, Jeng MH. (2004). HOXB13 induces growth suppression of prostate cancer cells as a repressor of hormone-activated androgen receptor signaling. Cancer Res. 64(24):9185-92.
  2. Campbell MT, Dagher P, Hile KL, Zhang H, Meldrum DR, Rink RC, Meldrum KK. (2008).Tumor necrosis factor-alpha induces intrinsic apoptotic signaling during renal obstruction through truncated bid activation. J Urol. 180(6):2694-700.
  3. Bani-Hani AH, Leslie JA, Asanuma H, Dinarello CA, Campbell MT, Meldrum DR, Zhang HJ, Hile K, Meldrum KK. (2009). IL-18 neutralization ameliorates obstruction-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and renal fibrosis. Kidney Int.  76(5):500-11.
  4. Asanuma H, Vanderbrink BA, Campbell MT, Hile KL, Zhang H, Meldrum DR, Meldrum KK. (2011). Arterially delivered mesenchymal stem cells prevent obstruction-induced renal fibrosis. J Surg Res. 168(1):e51-9.
  5. VanderBrink BA, Asanuma H, Hile K, Zhang H, Rink RC, Meldrum KK. (2011). IL-18 stimulates a positive feedback loop during renal obstruction via il-18 receptor. J Urol. 186(4):1502-8.
  6. Franke EI, Vanderbrink BA, Hile KL, Zhang H, Cain A, Matsui F, Meldrum KK. Renal IL-18 production is macrophage independent during obstructive injury. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47417.
  7. Rhee AC, Cain AL, Hile KL, Zhang H, Matsui F, Meldrum KK. IL-18 activation is dependent on Toll-like receptor 4 during renal obstruction. J Surg Res. 2013 Jul;183(1):278-84.