Stages of Prostate Cancer You Need to Know!

Stages of Prostate Cancer You Need to Know!

The prostate gland is about the same size and shape as a chestnut. It's situated at the bottom of the bladder. The urethra goes below it between two lobes of muscle tissue that reach from either side of the prostate. Both of these muscular lobes are the way in which the stream of urine is regulated through the urethra.

Inside the prostate semen is produced. This is the liquid that is released during ejaculation and carries a man's sperm.

When excessive cells are produced and start to replicate, they grow into a mass of tissue called a tumor. When the malignant cells start to outgrow the normal cells, the capabilities of the prostate gland and the two lobes become jeopardized.

The 5 Stages of Prostate Cancer

Normally prostate cancer has a gradual growth rate. There have been cases where it has developed unusually quick, but this is not often the case. Prostate cancer cure rates are very high when it is in the first stages, but there are usually no signs and symptoms - so regular screening is vital.

Stage T1

Stage T1 prostate cancer is when it is first establishing. Tumors at this time are small and there are no bodily symptoms outside of a heightened PSA level in the blood. PSA is the prostate specific antigen released into the bloodstream because of tumors developing in the gland. A doctor may only be suspicious of the presence of cancer if the blood test results pointed out an abnormally excessive PSA level. If the suspicion is very high, for example if the patient had close family members with prostate cancer, a tissue sample would be sent for a biopsy to verify it.

Stage T2

T2 prostate cancer is the stage at which the capabilities of the prostate gland start to be affected by the growing disease. Symptoms at this stage include the following.

•     An intense need to urinate
•     Frequent urination throughout the night
•     A sense that the bladder is still full despite urinating
•     Difficulty starting or stopping the flow of urine
•     Unable to urinate at all
•     Poor urine flow
•     Pain or burning while urinating or during ejaculation
•     Blood in semen or urine

A doctor at this stage may be able to sense an area of solidity on the surface of the prostate during a digital rectal exam although this is not at all times the case.

If these signs and symptoms can be found, a blood test would be done for PSA levels. A tissue sample would be sent for biopsy.

Stage T3

T3 prostate cancer is the first stage at which the cancer have multiplied and frequently the cancer has expanded beyond the confines of the prostate.

Once the cancer has extended outside of the prostate, there is no known treatment.

The first likely destination of the cancer at this point is within the seminal vesicles. Occasionally it may reach into the bladder or rectum as well.

Stage T4

T4 prostate cancer is the final stage in the development of prostate cancer. It has likely moved into the bladder, rectum and pelvic bone. It can also set out to travel to other areas of the body through the blood vessels. There is not any cure for this stage, but hormone therapy may help to retard the disease.

Prostate cancer staging is essential for your urologist to look for the best treatment and the likelihood of cure. The important thing to surviving prostate cancer is early screening, diagnosis and treatment. Treatments aside from the conventional surgery and radiation are available, including high intensity concentrated ultrasound. Talk about your options with your doctor.

6 Ways to Steer Clear of Prostate Cancer

6 Ways to Steer Clear of Prostate Cancer

Men of older age ranging from 40 - 65 years old are at a greater risk of having prostate cancer. The risk is higher as man goes older. As we cannot turn back time, and mankind doesn't grow younger, we can't do anything about the fact we are becoming more vulnerable to prostate cancer as years fly by. However there are other alternatives that can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting prostate cancer. Here are 6 ways of protecting your life from prostate cancer:

1. Eat a balanced meal

This applies the same in prevention of other forms of cancer as well. Do not fill up your stomach with just carbs and meats, you need to have at least a fruit and a vegetable per meal. Avoid taking red meat or processed meat and substitute them with other sources of protein such as soy, fish, chicken, beans.

2. Reduce your calories intake.

Eat just enough to give you energy to work until your next meal. Remember that we "eat to live, not live to eat". Stay away from eating foods with saturated fats which are numerous in oily foods and also eggs.  Other than that, you also need to limit your sugar and salt intake, as they can sludge your circulation, preventing fats from being processed efficiently. The best way to enhance blood circulation is to drink a lot of plain water daily.

3. Take supplements while still adhering to your diet.

Although diet can be enough to keep you healthy, you can play safe by taking supplements as well. Since foods nowadays are processed in various manners, and they usually lose their natural minerals and vitamins. To supplements this, you can take multi vitamins daily to provide your body with vitamin A and E. Lycopene and selenium is also important. Lycopene can be found in tomatoes, while cereals and nuts are rich in selenium, especially Brazil nuts.

 

Brazil Nuts

 4. Be a teetotaler.

There's nothing good that can come from alcohol, except for making you forgot the problems that you need to face eventually. Steer clear of taking any form of alcohol, be it from beer, wine or other drinks. It is well-known, and research-proven that the less you drink, the less prone you are to contract any disease, including cancer. If completely restraining yourself from drinking is hard, start slowly by limiting your alcohol intake to no more than 2 glass per day.

5. Do Regular Exercise

Despite the hustle bustle of nowadays lifestyle, you need to spend some time for exercising or doing sports. If you're that busy, then consider taking the stairs instead of elevators. Walk to the nearby groceries instead of driving, play with your kids and what not. Keep yourself fit and keep your weight in check. Remember that obesity is the main reason for various disease, including heart disease and cancer. If you're overweight, begin your weight reduction plan immediately.

6. Know Your Family

Its always good to be nice and know your family members well. Investigate your family cancer history deeply, even to the roots of your family. If your father or grandfather has had a history of prostate cancer, chances are, you are at a high risk too. Its good to know that you are much more vulnerable to contract prostate cancer so that you can begin adopting a healthy lifestyle earlier, and apply the other 5 ways suggested here immediately.
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Which Prostate Cancer Treatment is For You?

Which Prostate Cancer Treatment is For You?

There are two types of treatment for prostate cancer. One is surgical operation, where the gland is removed totally or partially. Another one is radiotherapy, in which a radiation is used to destroy the tumor part of the gland. For years, these two methods were the only one used to treat prostate cancer. Recently however, modern procedures have emerge resulting from intensive researches carried around the world. 

Surgical Treatment

The surgical treatment usually require patient to stay for one day at the hospital, since the operation will be conducted usually early the next morning. An you will be given a proper diet the day before so that no complication will arise due to nutritional factors. Infrequently, some procedures require more days of hospital stay, it all depends on how quick you can recover.

A total prostatectomy is a method where the entire prostate gland is removed surgically. This is regularly done on patients with solitary prostate cancer. Apart from prostate, the organ nearest to the prostate, which is the seminal vesicles is also removed.  And due to this fact, impotence becomes one of the most frequent side effect of surgical treatment. Sometimes patient may also suffers post-operative urinary incontinence.

One less invasive procedure is the transurethral resection, where the surgical tool is inserted through the penis. The cauterizer will remove any blockage in the urinary tract and then another tool will be inserted to remove part of the cancerous growth of the prostate. Although this surgical method is less invasive, it may also bring urinary continence as a side effect.

Radiotherapy Treatment

The principle method of radiotherapy treatment is using radioactive emission to destroy cancerous cells and preventing them from spreading further.

EBRT, which stands for External Beam Radiotherapy, utilizes radioactive emission aimed with very high power at the pelvis. The radiation will penetrate the skin but will not damage other soft tissues, since the beam can be aimed with high precision. This high energy radiation will then destroy the tumor. However, this procedure must carried out over several days, since there is a limited amount of radiation that a human body can withstand per day. Therefore, this kind of treatment is usually recommended for out-patients and these patient will regularly visit the hospital for some weeks.

The complications that may arise from this treatment are minimal, but if the radiologist performing the treatment is careless, patient may suffer radiation burns at other organs of the pelvis such as rectum or bladder. Some may even suffers impotency.

Another treatment which also uses external source of radiation is Proton Beam Therapy. However, the beam is not from a radioactive source. The beam is made up of charged ions which can also do the same ionizing damage to the tumor. There has been claims that this method is safer and comes with lower risk of side effect, although it is still not been proven clinically.

An Introduction To Prostate Cancer

An Introduction To Prostate Cancer

Only men have prostate gland and they're considered the 'second heart' of men, showing how important of an organ it is. It is located at the initial part of urethra, just below the urinary bladder. Prostate cancer can simply be defined as the autonomous, excessive growth of the prostate cell which eventually developed into a tumor. This tumor may damage other healthy tissues and spread to the other part of the body.

Prostate cancer often occurs to the elderly, usually older than 65, with a rate of  16% occurence. One out of six men will get prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is found most often in men older than 65 years. The disease is a little rare for asians, but are more common to europe and black men. Apart from that, the risk is also higher for those who has a father with prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer at the early stage is asymptomatic. With time, the symptoms may develop and present as painful urination, hematuria, pain in the lower back region or hips. Other sign may be frequent urination, especially during night time (nocturia).

For diagnosis, the cancer mass can be felt by digital rectal examination performed by the doctor. Another possible test is to see the level of PSA in blood. PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen, which is physiologically present in men in low amount. However, a high level of PSAs in blood mean that one might be down with prostate cancer. The test for absolute confirmation of prostate cancer is prostate biopsy, usually done when high level of PSA is detected in blood.

Nowadays, with the modern medical technology, prostate cancer can be treated by surgery  or radiotherapy. Younger men might even avoid these treatment by having regular visits to the doctor to monitor their cancer. Unfortunately, there is the incurable stage of prostate cancer, which occurs when the cancer already invade other parts of the body.

Patient with slow-growing cancer usually are asymptomatic for their lifetime. On the other hand, the prognosis for patient with malignant prostate cancer are poorer, and the mortality rate is high. Chances can be taken by surgical treatment and radiotherapy. And if the treatment is successful, patient may live free of any health disturbance for many years. Yet, the risk for treatment complication is high, and patients will have long-term side effects such as urinary incontinence, painful bowel movements and erectile dysfunction. Have a regular meet up with doctors to decide which treatment is the best.