Could your doctor's treatment advice be biased in favor of one treatment or another without any real scientific data to back it up?

Definitely.

While your doctor almost certainly has your best interests at heart, that doesn't mean that he or she is without a bias in favor of one treatment over another.

Learn more about this important issue in an in-depth article available here.

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Prostate cancer's spread is often described inaccurately by those who have it themselves, their families, and even their doctors. Here's a quick breakdown of how to accurately describe the extent of prostate cancer that has spread.

Locally advanced prostate cancer is cancer that has grown through the wall or capsule of the prostate and invaded into the nearby normal tissues.

Metastatic prostate cancer is cancer that has spread from the prostate into areas of the body distant from the prostate. For example, prostate cancer that has spread to the bones is called "metastatic prostate cancer".

That's pretty much it. If the cancer has spread beyond the region immediately adjacent to the prostate, then it is no longer just "locally advanced" - it is now more appropriately called "metastatic".

A new study has shown that men with healthy levels of cholesterol have less chance of developing high grade (aggressive) prostate cancer than men with high cholesterol levels.

In this study, involving more than 5000 men, researchers from Johns Hopkins University determined that men with total cholesterol levels below 200 (considered a relatively healthy level) had a nearly 60% lower rate of developing aggressive prostate cancers than men with total cholesterol levels above 200.

This study did not take into account whether the men being studied had taken cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins or simply had healthy levels of cholesterol without the use of medication. Studies in the past have shown that there may be an association between statin use and lower rates of prostate cancer, but this association has not been definitively shown to be true.

The medical journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention published this most recent study.

Dennis Hopper, famed for his roles in movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Easy Rider, and Blue Velvet was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing treatment at the University of Southern California.

The 73-year-old Hopper hasn't released much other information such as what treatment option he has decided upon.