Posts tagged PSA test
What You Must Know If You Suspect Prostate Cancer – From A Nurse
Jan 23rd
Men have traditionally been less likely to seek medical attention than women, especially for minor problems which often serve as warning signs for more serious underlying illness. The main job of the prostate gland is to make seminal fluid, the milky substance that transports sperm. Prostate cancer is deadly but can be cured if it’s caught early enough.
The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man’s reproductive system; it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. Prostate cancer is normally a slow growth cancer that can take years before it becomes deadly. Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor of the prostate gland.
One prostate cancer symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine. Blood in the urine or semen and frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs are often symptoms of cancer. Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for.
Other symptoms might include unintentional weight loss and lethargy. If you have one or more prostate cancer symptoms, you should see a qualified doctor as soon as possible. Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease are bone pain or tenderness, and abdominal pain.
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA enzyme in your blood for abnormalities. Another test usually used when prostate cancer symptoms are present is the digital rectal exam (DRE) performed by the doctor. A PSA test with a high level can also be from a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland.
What is called a free PSA may help tell the difference between BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy), an enlargement of the prostate gland, and prostate cancer. A chest x-ray may be done to see if there’s a spread of cancer. A bone scan can indicate whether the cancer has spread or not.
Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced prostate cancer, blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. The approaches to treatment include: ever watchful waiting to see whether the cancer is growing slowly and not causing any symptoms. Side effects of chemotherapy drugs depend on which ones you’re taking and how often and how long they’re taken.
In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor. The conventional treatment of prostate cancer is often controversial. Medicines can be used to adjust the levels of testosterone; called hormonal manipulation.
Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer. Surgery, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy can interfere with libido on a temporary or permanent basis. Many men simply want the best treatment they can get but what’s important is picking the best treatment for you.
Medications can have many side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire. If chemotherapy is decided upon after the first round of chemotherapy, most men receive further doses on an outpatient basis at a clinic or physician’s office. In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the chosen conventional alternative.
Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal, both of which use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Anyone considering surgery should be aware of the benefits, risks and the extent of the procedure.
With the advent of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause any symptoms. Consider articles, such as this one, just a starting point where you can begin to learn about prostate cancer. Just about all men with prostate cancer survive at least five years after their diagnosis, 93% survive at least 10 years, and 67% survive more than 15 years.
For more information on prostate cancer treatments and prostate cancer symptoms go to http://www.BestProstateHealthTips.com Helen Hecker R.N.’s website specializing in prostate and prostate cancer tips, advice and resources, including information on prostate tests and natural prostate cancer treatments
Prostate Cancer – Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Treatment and Prognosis
Dec 30th
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. It is located immediately below the bladder and just in front of the bowel. Its main function is to produce fluid which protects and enriches sperm.
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 of Prostate Cancer
Waking frequently at night to urinate
Sudden or urgent need to urinate
Difficulty in starting to urinate
Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
Discomfort when urinating
Painful ejaculation
Blood in the urine or semen
Decrease in libido (sex urge)
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. However, anyone experiencing any of the above symptoms is advised to consult a doctor without delay. Early expert diagnosis and treatment of tumors is important and may avert potentially serious health consequences.
Prostate carcinoma 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 tumour could kill them. This led to the old saying “most men die with, not of, prostrate cancer”.
However, that is certainly is not true today. Three developments have changed things considerably:
Men are living longer, giving the cancer more time to spread beyond the prostate, with potentially fatal consequences.
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.
Prostate cancer in younger men often tends to be more aggressive and hence more life-threatening within a shorter time.
Risk Factors and PSA 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 and familial sufferers. 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 Options for Prostate Cancer
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.
Because all treatments can have significant side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, treatment discussions often focus on balancing the goals of therapy with the risks of lifestyle alterations. Natural treatments for prostate cancer symptoms are also worth looking at.
Dick Aronson has been involved in the healthcare industry for 35 years. He has written numerous articles on the subject and runs a number of informative websites, viz: Go to Cancer Information-online , Go to Prostate Cancer Information and Go to Health Innovations
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