Prostatic cancer is the most common cancer in men over the age of fifty.Adenocarcinoma is the most common form. Prostate cancers seldom produce symptoms until the cancer is in the advanced stage so early diagnosis is essential as in the early stages the disease is curable.
Location and Function
The Prostate is an organ forming part of the male reproductive system. In younger men the prostate is about the size of a walnut. It is doughnut shaped as it surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the tube that conveys urine from the bladder to the penis. The nerves that control erections surround the prostate.
Signs and Symptoms
1. Waking frequently at night to urinate
2. Difficulty in starting to urinate
4. Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
5. Discomfort when urinating
6. Painful ejaculation
7. Blood in the urine or semen
8. Decrease in libido (sex urge)
9. Reduced ability to get an erection
Most men tend to accept the onset of one or more of these symptoms as being a natural consequence of ageing. Early expert diagnosis and treatment is important and may avert potentially serious health consequences.
Prostate cancer is usually one of the slower growing cancers. In the past, it was most frequently encountered in men over 70, and many of those men died of other causes before their prostate cancer could kill them. This led to the old saying; most men die with, not of, prostate cancer. Three developments have changed things considerably:
1. Men are living longer, giving the cancer more time to spread beyond the prostate, with potentially fatal consequences.
2. More men in their early sixties, fifties and even forties are being detected with prostate cancer. Earlier on-set, combined with the greater male life expectancy, means those cancers have more time to spread and become life-threatening unless diagnosed and treated.
3. Prostate cancer in younger men often tends to be more aggressive and hence more life-threatening within a shorter time.
Risk Factors and Testing
Risk factors for prostate cancer include diets high in fat and low in vegetables. Risk factors include age; 75% of cases are in men over 65 years.
Prostate cancer is most often discovered by physical examination or by screening blood tests, such as the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test.
The PSA test measures the blood level of prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme produced by the prostate.
The risk of prostate cancer increases with increasing PSA levels. The majority of men who reach age 85, in fact, have cancerous prostate cells, but the disease is developing so gradually that it never threatens their quality of life.
Genetic factors play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age, and the risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.
Preventative measures
Researchers at Harvard University found that men who ate cooked tomatoes or foods made with them (tomato sauce or ketchup, for instance) more than twice a week were less likely to develop prostate cancer.
Daily use of anti-inflammatory medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen may decrease prostate cancer risk. Frequent ejaculations also seem to have a definite protective effect against Prostrate cancer.
Many prostate cancers are not destined to be lethal, and most men will ultimately die from causes other than of the disease. Because many prostate tumors are slow growing, survival rates are excellent when the disease is detected in its early stages.
Treatment
The most appropriate treatment is primarily determined by the stage and aggressiveness (how quickly it is growing and spreading) of the disease when it is discovered. Detecting prostate cancer early is the key to beating the disease.
Many factors affect the decision whether or not to treat the disease: the patient's age, whether the cancer has spread, the presence of other medical conditions, and the patient's overall health.
Treatment for prostate cancer may involve watchful waiting, surgery, radiation therapy including brachytherapy and external beam radiation, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), chemotherapy, cryosurgery, hormonal therapy, or some combination.
Prostate Cancer Questions and Answers
While many illnesses and diseases are well understood, prostate cancer is one of the remaining cancerous conditions that is shrouded in misunderstanding. For many men, prostate cancer affects the very core of how they define their own manhood. The prostate is a key component in the sexual performance and ability of men. Prostate cancer than strikes at the very heart of how many men view themselves.
1. What really is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is any abnormal and malignant growth of cells in the tissues of the prostate gland and possibly all over and beyond the prostate.
2. What is advanced prostate cancer?
This is one of the stages of prostate cancer where the cancerous cells have spread outside the prostate into other parts of the victim's body, causing damage along the way. There are four basic stages of prostate cancer.
3. What are the stages of prostate cancer?
Stage I of prostate cancer is when the cancer is only in the prostate area and hasn't spread outside the prostate.
Stage II of prostate cancer is when the cancer is still within the prostate, but is advancing.
Stage III of prostate cancer is when the cancer has now spread beyond the outer layer of the prostate into nearby tissues.
Stage IV is the stage that all men dread. In this stage of the cancer, it has spread to other parts of the body also known as metastatic prostate cancer
4. What is metastatic prostate cancer?
It is another name for advanced prostate cancer where the cancerous cells have grown outside the prostate and is growing into other parts of the body. Metastatic prostate cancer is extremely serious.
5. What causes prostate cancer?
There is no singular factor that causes prostate cancer. Heredity is suspected to play a large role in prostate cancer as is the race of the patient. Black men are much more likely to have prostate cancer than other groups.
6. What can I do about Prostate Cancer?
If you have a prostate and are over 50 years of age, you should really consider getting a yearly prostate exam and having a simple PSA blood test done. This information will provide a baseline for future reference.
Remember that the earlier you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, the more you have to fight this deadly disease and win.
Location and Function
The Prostate is an organ forming part of the male reproductive system. In younger men the prostate is about the size of a walnut. It is doughnut shaped as it surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the tube that conveys urine from the bladder to the penis. The nerves that control erections surround the prostate.
Signs and Symptoms
1. Waking frequently at night to urinate
2. Difficulty in starting to urinate
4. Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
5. Discomfort when urinating
6. Painful ejaculation
7. Blood in the urine or semen
8. Decrease in libido (sex urge)
9. Reduced ability to get an erection
Most men tend to accept the onset of one or more of these symptoms as being a natural consequence of ageing. Early expert diagnosis and treatment is important and may avert potentially serious health consequences.
Prostate cancer is usually one of the slower growing cancers. In the past, it was most frequently encountered in men over 70, and many of those men died of other causes before their prostate cancer could kill them. This led to the old saying; most men die with, not of, prostate cancer. Three developments have changed things considerably:
1. Men are living longer, giving the cancer more time to spread beyond the prostate, with potentially fatal consequences.
2. More men in their early sixties, fifties and even forties are being detected with prostate cancer. Earlier on-set, combined with the greater male life expectancy, means those cancers have more time to spread and become life-threatening unless diagnosed and treated.
3. Prostate cancer in younger men often tends to be more aggressive and hence more life-threatening within a shorter time.
Risk Factors and Testing
Risk factors for prostate cancer include diets high in fat and low in vegetables. Risk factors include age; 75% of cases are in men over 65 years.
Prostate cancer is most often discovered by physical examination or by screening blood tests, such as the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test.
The PSA test measures the blood level of prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme produced by the prostate.
The risk of prostate cancer increases with increasing PSA levels. The majority of men who reach age 85, in fact, have cancerous prostate cells, but the disease is developing so gradually that it never threatens their quality of life.
Genetic factors play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age, and the risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.
Preventative measures
Researchers at Harvard University found that men who ate cooked tomatoes or foods made with them (tomato sauce or ketchup, for instance) more than twice a week were less likely to develop prostate cancer.
Daily use of anti-inflammatory medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen may decrease prostate cancer risk. Frequent ejaculations also seem to have a definite protective effect against Prostrate cancer.
Many prostate cancers are not destined to be lethal, and most men will ultimately die from causes other than of the disease. Because many prostate tumors are slow growing, survival rates are excellent when the disease is detected in its early stages.
Treatment
The most appropriate treatment is primarily determined by the stage and aggressiveness (how quickly it is growing and spreading) of the disease when it is discovered. Detecting prostate cancer early is the key to beating the disease.
Many factors affect the decision whether or not to treat the disease: the patient's age, whether the cancer has spread, the presence of other medical conditions, and the patient's overall health.
Treatment for prostate cancer may involve watchful waiting, surgery, radiation therapy including brachytherapy and external beam radiation, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), chemotherapy, cryosurgery, hormonal therapy, or some combination.
Prostate Cancer Questions and Answers
While many illnesses and diseases are well understood, prostate cancer is one of the remaining cancerous conditions that is shrouded in misunderstanding. For many men, prostate cancer affects the very core of how they define their own manhood. The prostate is a key component in the sexual performance and ability of men. Prostate cancer than strikes at the very heart of how many men view themselves.
1. What really is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is any abnormal and malignant growth of cells in the tissues of the prostate gland and possibly all over and beyond the prostate.
2. What is advanced prostate cancer?
This is one of the stages of prostate cancer where the cancerous cells have spread outside the prostate into other parts of the victim's body, causing damage along the way. There are four basic stages of prostate cancer.
3. What are the stages of prostate cancer?
Stage I of prostate cancer is when the cancer is only in the prostate area and hasn't spread outside the prostate.
Stage II of prostate cancer is when the cancer is still within the prostate, but is advancing.
Stage III of prostate cancer is when the cancer has now spread beyond the outer layer of the prostate into nearby tissues.
Stage IV is the stage that all men dread. In this stage of the cancer, it has spread to other parts of the body also known as metastatic prostate cancer
4. What is metastatic prostate cancer?
It is another name for advanced prostate cancer where the cancerous cells have grown outside the prostate and is growing into other parts of the body. Metastatic prostate cancer is extremely serious.
5. What causes prostate cancer?
There is no singular factor that causes prostate cancer. Heredity is suspected to play a large role in prostate cancer as is the race of the patient. Black men are much more likely to have prostate cancer than other groups.
6. What can I do about Prostate Cancer?
If you have a prostate and are over 50 years of age, you should really consider getting a yearly prostate exam and having a simple PSA blood test done. This information will provide a baseline for future reference.
Remember that the earlier you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, the more you have to fight this deadly disease and win.
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