Posts tagged Signs
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
Liver Cancer – Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cancer
Nov 29th
Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is a cancer arising from the liver. It is also known as primary liver cancer or hepatoma. The liver is made up of different cell types (for example, bile ducts, blood vessels, and fat-storing cells).
However, liver cells (hepatocytes) make up 80% of the liver tissue. Thus, the majority of primary liver cancers (over 90 to 95%) arises from liver cells and is called hepatocellular cancer or carcinoma.
Primary liver cancer is rarely discovered early and often doesn’t respond to current treatments â thus, the prognosis is often poor. Even when treatments fail to provide much improvement in the liver cancer itself, pain and other signs and symptoms caused by liver cancer can be aggressively treated to improve quality of life. But the most
important news about primary liver cancer is that you can greatly reduce your risk by protecting yourself from hepatitis infection and cirrhosis, the leading causes of the disease.
Secondary Liver Cancer Most of the time when cancer is found in the liver it did not start there but spread to the liver from a cancer that began somewhere else in the body. These tumors are named after the place where they began (the primary site) and are further described as metastatic. For example, cancer that started in the lung and spread to the liver is called metastatic lung cancer to the liver. The rest of the information given here covers only primary liver cancer, that is, cancer that starts in the liver.
Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cancer
Most people don’t have signs and symptoms in the early stages of liver cancer, which means the disease may not be detected until it’s quite advanced. When symptoms do appear, they may include some or all of the following:
Abdominal pain, especially in the upper right part of your abdomen, that may extend into your back and shoulder. Pain that occurs in the right upper area of the abdomen. The liver is a very nerve rich organ and can be sensitive to changes.
Appetite – People with liver cancer may experience a continuous loss of appetite or feel very full after a small meal.
Worsened hepatitis or cirrhosis symptoms – More severe symptoms in people who have chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis are signs of liver cancer. These symptoms could include fluid in the abdomen, a symptom known as ascites, or the need for more and more water tablets (diuretics) to control the amount of fluid in the abdomen.
Abdominal pain is a very common symptom, and also common in children. Unfortunately, because there are so many possible causes of abdominal pain, and many cases are not serious, many cases of acute appendicitis are misdiagnosed each year as gastroenteritis or some other similar condition, especially in children and infants. Although appendicitis is an uncommon condition, it can be fatal. And there are many other serious conditions that may cause abdominal pain.
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes caused by an accumulation of bile pigment -bilirubin- in the blood).
Esophageal varices (occurs when the tumor invaded and blocked the portal vein and the blood drains through esophageal veins).
Rarely: bleeding problems. Many of the proteins required for proper blood clotting are created in the liver. Remove these proteins and blood clotting decreases.
Chronic weight loss or wasting. The liver processes all the building blocks. If it fails to process, the body fails to maintain itself.
Read about Natural Herbal Home Remedies and Pregnancy Information Guide. Also read about Dental and Tooth Care Guide
Emerging Signs Connected With Ovarian Cancer
Nov 26th
If a woman is diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the early stages of the disease, her survival rates are excellent (75%) – that means it’s critical to keep an eye on potential ovarian cancer warning signs.
A woman’s chances of survival are strong if the ovarian cancer is caught early, but approximately 75% of women are diagnosed after it has already spread beyond the ovaries, and this is when survival rates drop to only around 20 or 30 percent.
To learn more about symptoms and signs of ovarian cancer that you should watch out for, read on.
Bloating
Constant and persistent bloating is often a clear indicator of ovarian cancer, especially if it’s a significant change in a patient’s bloating habits. So, if you’ve noticed an increase in how much and how often you’re bloating, talk to you doctor.
Pelvic and Stomach Discomfort
Chronic pelvis and stomach pain along with constipation and digestion problems are more common in women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Loss of Appetite and Decreased Weight
Like many cancer patients, one of the clearest ovarian cancer warning signs is a significantly decreased appetite, trouble eating and, subsequently, significant weight loss. Patients who often feel full after eating just a little bit of food or who have recently developed trouble eating should consult a doctor.
Urinary Problems
Urinary incontinence and a frequent or urgent need to urinate are both common symptoms of ovarian cancer. Patients often compare these symptoms and warning signs to a painless urinary tract infection (UTI). That is, the increased need to urinate but without the burning or pain during urination often associated with a UTI.
Fatigue and Pain
Unfortunately, the fatigue and back pain experienced by many patients with ovarian cancer is similar to pre-menstrual symptoms experienced by many women without the disease. The systems are generalized and not specific enough, but they can be helpful when diagnosing the problem.
One clear indicator is if the symptoms are persistent and almost daily rather than restricted to a specific period. However, other symptoms should be present before the patient is screened for cancer.
Genealogy
If you know that your family has a history of ovarian cancer, it’s important to tell your doctor and be screened or evaluated on an ongoing basis. Essentially, if one immediate family member or two members of your extended family have been diagnosed with the disease, then it could be a clear warning sign and an indicator that you need to watch out for possible symptoms.
The good news is that even early stage ovarian cancer can produce many of these warning signs, and early detection often results in a stronger prognosis. So, watch your body, be aware of changes and don’t be afraid to consult with your physician.
Given the cost and time associated with a medical visit, many people simply do not want to bother with an appointment and would rather assume that warning indicators of a potential problem are insignificant. This is a dangerous assumption, especially if you are experiencing multiple symptoms. Go ahead and schedule the visit just to be sure.
For helpful information on various cancers, please visit cancerinfotips.com, a popular site providing symptom and treatment insights, such as a kidney cancer symptoms, immune system supplements, and many more!
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