Cancer | Guide to Prostate Health

Disease called prostrate cancer

Before we understand prostrate cancer, it is important to know what prostrate gland is. Prostrate gland is a structural and functional unit in the body of a male which is there at the base of the urinary bladder of their body. The primary role of this gland in the male body is to control micturition by pressing a region of urethra surrounded by the gland.

Prostrate gland produces substances, such as sugar and mineral, which are present in the semen of the male body. However, male body can perform various functions of the body without this gland as well. Usually the size of this gland remains less than thirty grams and the excessive enlargement of the gland can create problems related to urine discharge.

Prostrate cancer is characterized by the progressive and uncontrolled growth of some cells of prostate gland. An abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose, generally known as tumor, is found in the gland under this condition. The matter of the concern is that at times, it grows so slowly in the gland that it is extremely difficult to identify the same in the early stages of prostate gland, without the medical help.

In the early stages, usually the tumor remains circumscribed to the gland and the size of the gland appears to be same without much changes. Due to this, people are not able to identify it themselves in the initial stages. In the advanced stages, the tumor may disperse widely to nearby tissues and even to various parts of the body like lungs, bones and liver.

Thus, in later stages, the symptoms become obvious. On the other hand, in some types of this cancer, the tumor grows so fast in the initial stages only that it can cause untimely death of a person. So, save the lives of people by spreading awareness among people related to prostrate cancer!

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: Prostate cancer

About Prostate Specific Antigen Testing

Men getting older have probably heard their doctors mention getting a PSA test. But what is it, and why should you be having one?

PSA stands for prostate-specific antigens. PSAs are a type of protein produced by the prostate gland, and these prostate-specific antigens are then present in your blood. In order to do a PSA test, your doctor will require a small blood sample. It isn’t simply the presence of prostate-specific antigens in your blood that your doctor is looking for. PSA is normally present in the blood. Rather, it is the level of prostate-specific antigens that your doctor will be analyzing. Low levels are normal but higher levels can be indicative of any one of a number of health issues related to the prostate gland.

One of those health issues is prostate cancer. Higher levels of PSAs can be a marker for this killer. Prostate cancer is the second highest cause of cancer related deaths among American men, and PSA tests are one way to detect this cancer early. Detected in its early stages, prostate cancer may be treatable.

High levels of prostate-specific antigens in the blood do not, however, necessarily mean that prostate cancer is the cause. There are other possible causes for high levels of PSAs as well. Benign growths or tumors can also result in high levels of PSAs. And an enlarged or inflamed prostate can also be the culprit behind a high level of PSAs showing up in your test results.

The PSA test alone cannot diagnose prostate cancer. However, having PSA tests done routinely can be a good way for you doctor to ensure he or she does not need to do further testing. If a high level of prostate-specific antigens is detected, your doctor will take further steps to accurately diagnose you.

Filed Under: Cancer, Health Care, Prostate Cancer Tagged With: Cancer, Prostate, Prostate cancer screening

Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

Prostate cancer can’t be reliably prevented, but treatment options for those who have unfortunately developed the cancer are always improving.

There are several different types of prostate cancer therapy. The type of treatment right for you will depend on several factors, which will be assessed by your doctor.

One of these factors is age. Some prostate cancer treatments are more difficult for the body to recover from than others, and the overall health and vitality of the individual with cancer must be taken into consideration.

Another factor is how developed the cancer is. If there are only a few cancerous cells present, there are different treatment options available than if there is an actual tumor. If that tumor has grown beyond the edges of the prostate, treatment options are different in that case as well.

One treatment for prostate cancer is radical prostatectomy. This a surgery which removes the prostate in its entirety. It may also include removal of the nearby lymph nodes. This surgery is not recommended in most cases where a tumor has grown beyond the edges of the prostate itself.

There are other types of surgery which can be used to treat prostate cancer. Laparoscopic surgery is one option which is considered less drastic and invasive than prostatectomy. Your doctor will best be able to determine if surgery is the answer, and if so, which type of surgery has the best chance of success.

Of course, surgery isn’t the only method available for treatment. There are also forms of radiation treatment and hormone treatments that your doctor may feel are more appropriate given your overall condition and the progression of your cancer. In some cases, your doctor may not advise an immediate treatment plan but may instead prefer a policy of watchful waiting. Watchful waiting means carefully monitoring your condition while determining the best course of action.

Filed Under: Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Treatment Tagged With: Cancer, Prostate, Prostate cancer, Surgery

Prostate Cancer: Types of Radiation Therapy

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If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer you have a million questions. One of the first things that will probably cross your mind is “What next?” There are so many treatment options for prostate cancer, your doctor will need to carefully evaluate what treatment is best for you. In many cases, your doctor may suggest radiation therapy.

There are several types of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, and radiation therapy methods for treating prostate cancer are evolving and improving constantly. There are two main classifications for this type of therapy.

One type is called external beam therapy. This type of radiation therapy involves outpatient treatment of prostate cancer by giving a dose of radiation via a machine several times a week for several minutes at a time. Side effects are relatively mild, and no anesthesia is required for external beam therapy.

The other type of radiation therapy involves the implantation of “seeds” which emit radiation. It takes a single visit in order to implant these “seeds,” which are actually small radioactive pellets. They are inserted via injection. The side effects of this treatment may be more severe.

Both types of radiation treatment have similar rates of recovery and success. However, surgery may be more effective in some patients as there may be a greater risk of relapse when using radiation therapy alone. For those patients for whom surgery is not an option, however, radiation therapy of either type can be the answer. Your doctor will best be able to advise you on all of the treatment options that he or she feels are applicable to your individual case.

Some of the side effects of radiation treatment are unpleasant or uncomfortable–burning during urination, or impotence, for example. However, radiation treatments are always improving, and in any case, these side effects are far preferable to unchecked prostate cancer.

Filed Under: Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Treatment Tagged With: Prostate, Prostate cancer, Radiation therapy

Prostatectomy Facts

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If your doctor has mentioned the possibility of recommending you for prostatectomy surgery, now is the time to educate yourself on why and what to expect.

Prostatectomy is an invasive surgery which includes the complete removal of the entire prostate gland, and is usually considered to include the additional removal of the lymph nodes located near the prostate. This is not a surgery lightly recommended by doctors, so if your doctor has sent you for a surgery consult with this in mind, he or she has probably considered other treatment options first.

Any abnormality of the prostate which interferes with its normal function and cannot be treated by other means may be cause for your doctor to consider recommending prostatectomy. In other cases, it may be the presence of cancerous cells in the prostate that leads your doctor to make this recommendation.

There are many types of prostatectomy, each utilizing different methods. Your doctor and your surgeon will evaluate your overall health and fitness as well as the reason for your prostatectomy in order to determine which method has the best chance of success.

For example, surgeons may opt to open an incision in the abdomen and conduct the surgery behind the pubic bone. Or, the surgeon may opt to enter through the perineal area, or through the bladder. In other cases, laser surgery may be deemed more appropriate.

Many men, even if they are afraid of prostate cancer, are hesitant to commit to a prostatectomy because of the risks of complications after surgery. These complications can include erectile dysfunction. Despite these risks however, prostatectomy is usually only recommended when necessary. Also, there are a number of effective treatments for the after surgery complications such as erectile dysfunction. Medications like Viagra are routinely prescribed after recovery from prostatectomy and can significantly improve erectile difficulties.

Filed Under: Cancer, Health Care, Prostate Cancer Tagged With: Cancer, Prostate, Prostatectomy

New Methods of Detecting Prostate Cancer

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Being diagnosed with prostate cancer is frightening. However, there are a variety of treatment options now available for those who have received this unfortunate news, and the number of options available is increasing all the time. Key to the best possible survival rate, of course, is the need to detect prostate cancer early.

Most doctors recommend routine PSA tests and DREs. PSA tests are a type of blood test which determine the level of prostate specific antigens present in the patient’s bloodstream. While low levels of these antigens are normal, higher levels can indicate prostate cancer or some other prostate related health issue. Doctors use this test to determine whether a closer look needs to be taken. DREs are digital rectal exams. A digital rectal exam is a physical exam during which a gloved doctor inserts his or her finger into the patient’s rectum to check for abnormalities.

Neither of these tests are foolproof, however, and symptoms may not present themselves in time for the most effective treatments to be initiated. So doctors and researchers are constantly seeking better ways to detect prostate cancer and prostate cancer risk.

One way researchers are considering is a way to detect microRNA patterns. These patterns differ between healthy cells and cancerous cells, and may be a more reliable way to detect the potential for cancerous cells.

Another test that is showing promise is a test which detects PCA3, a type off RNA which is specifically produced at high levels by the same cells that produce tumors. This RNA can be detected via urinalysis and research is currently underway to make this test more reliable for the medical profession.

In addition to PSA tests, there are other blood tests related to proteins in the blood that researchers are considering. Prostate cancer can affect the body in many ways, and the medical profession is studying these ways to perfect early detection methods.

Filed Under: Cancer, Prostate Cancer Tagged With: Cancer, Prostate cancer, Prostate-specific antigen, Rectal examination

The War on cancer

In 1971, US President Richard Nixon created the National Cancer Act which is often described as the beginning of the war on cancer. The bill proposed to “…Collect, analyze, and disseminate all data useful in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, including the establishment of an international cancer research data bank to collect, catalog, store, and disseminate insofar as feasible the results of cancer research…” (cited from the “The National Cancer Act of 1971″).

This bill was a giant leap in the direction of cancer research. Researchers the world over found an united effort in the fight against cancer. The cancer research organization, the National Cancer Institute or the NCI, was established as a major research institute that collaborated with scientists the world over to draw battle lines against cancer.

In the last 40 years since the passage of this bill, there have been some progress in diagnosing, treating and preventing some forms of cancer, notably breast cancer and childhood leukemia. However, many people think that there has really been little progress despite the concerted effort. Almost 13 million people are diagnosed with some form of cancer every year, and millions die from it, making it one of the most potent killers in the history of medicine. Although billions of dollars are spent on cancer research by the US alone, the progress have been minimal.

In light of these depressing facts about the progress of cancer research, President Obama and Vice President Biden put forward a major plan to combat cancer, as part of their 2008 Presidential campaign. The plan included spending an additional 10 billion dollars on cancer research through the agency of the National Institute of Health or the NIH. The type of research to be done includes study of rare and untreatable forms of cancer, and a review of genetic causes of cancer and finding better ways to understand the genetic anomalies resulting in cancer.

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, National Cancer Institute, Research

Upon Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer: What to Ask Your Doctor

You’ve received a diagnosis. It is exactly what you feared–cancer of the prostate. Despite all the research you’ve done, it is difficult to organize your thoughts under this amount of psychological and emotional stress. Difficult to form the right questions, those that will help you determine what you need to know. And of course, your doctor is doing his best to inform you, but the rush of information may seem overwhelming.

The first thing you need your doctor to explain, of course, is how serious it is. Ask your doctor how far the cancer has spread–specifically whether or not it has spread beyond the prostate itself, and if it has, what that indicates. This can significantly impact what treatment options are available to you, and asking your doctor to explain this to you in the simplest possible terms can help you organize your thoughts and further questions.

Next, you can ask your doctor about what treatment he or she recommends. You probably already know the two more common treatment methods are radiation and prostatectomy. If your doctor recommends radiation, ask him or her to expand on this recommendation by explaining whether he or she thinks external or internal (seeded) radiation methods are more appropriate in your circumstances.

If a prostatectomy is recommended, ask your doctor what type he or she will be discussing with the surgeon. There are a number of differing methods used in prostatectomy surgeries, and while it is your surgeon who will make the final call your doctor can help you understand what methods you can expect the surgeon to consider, and what the recovery entails. Some methods are more invasive and have a longer recovery time than others, but may be more likely to meet with success.

Don’t be afraid to write down questions as you think of them. Your doctor will appreciate your preparation.

Filed Under: Cancer, Health Care, Treatment Tagged With: Cancer, Health, Prostate, Prostatectomy

Are you at risk?

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Consider this. In 2010 alone, about 217,730 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed. 32,050 is the number of men who will die of prostate cancer. About one in every six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Does the statistics scare you? Let’s look at the other side of the coin. Only one in 36 men actually die of prostate cancer. More than two million men in America diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive. Final verdict: only 11% of cancer-related deaths are due to prostate cancer. So, anyone diagnosed with prostate cancer has a 100% chance of surviving five years from when diagnosed, with 91% survival rate that cross a 10-year period and almost 76% surviving chances of more than 15 years. Now that a positive picture of prostate cancer has been drawn, let’s find out who are the men more at risk of this disease? Being male is not the only reason, however, for getting prostate cancer. Other factors include age, family history, race, and diet.

Age is undoubtedly the greatest risk factor in prostate cancer. The chances of men under 50 diagnosed with prostate cancer are slim, but rapidly increase once they touch the half-century mark. In fact, 80% of men over 80 years of age are invariably diagnosed with prostate cancer. Genetic factors too greatly increases the chances of prostate cancer. A brother, father or grandfather, diagnosed with prostate cancer, can increase your chances exponentially.

Surprisingly, ethnicity factors increase the risk of prostate cancer. An African-American has 50% percent increased chances of prostate cancer than his white counterpart. So, an African-American is more likely to get prostate cancer after the age of 40, while chances of a Caucasian white male getting it increases only after the age of 50.

And lastly, diet. A high intake of diet with fat will surely lead to prostate cancer. But, a diet rich in lycopene that’s found in fruits and vegetables, rice, soybean, and food with less fat prevents prostate cancer to a great extent. Also, other factors like sedentary lifestyle, obesity, high testosterone, and history of some benign prostatic disease can also increase your chances of prostate cancer.

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, Prostate cancer

Prostate Cancer: After Treatment

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You’ve been through the emotional and psychological roller coaster of diagnosis with prostate cancer, and the physical challenges of the treatment regimen recommended by your doctor. What can you expect at this point? Are you cured? Will the cancer come back? What lasting results can you expect regarding your treatment? What about side effects?

These are all valid things to be considering at this stage. Having a recurrence of the cancer that has caused you so much difficulty and stress is a normal fear. However, your doctor will be aware of this possibility and he or she will have developed a plan for follow up care that will give you every opportunity to face your recovery with confidence. Follow up care will include not only health care that will help you recover from the physical stresses of the treatment and the cancer itself, but regular screenings that will help your doctor detect a recurrence at the very earliest stages.

These screenings will be similar to those used to detect prostate cancer markers in those who have not previously had the cancer. You can expect PSA tests (a blood test that detects prostate specific antigens present in your bloodstream) and DREs (digital rectal exams, which detect abnormal growths and bumps).

You’ll need to have these screenings for years after treatment, and it’s important to keep a good record of your initial diagnosis and treatment as well as your health since that point in the event that you ever change doctors. This is so that your new doctor will be completely aware of your need for careful monitoring, in case of a cancer recurrence.

Your doctors will also be equipped to help you deal with the side effects of treatment, including fatigue, the need for counseling, or erectile dysfunction. Caution and education will be your best support during this time.

Filed Under: Cancer, Health Care, Treatment Tagged With: Blood test, Cancer, Prostate, Prostate-specific antigen