Prostate Cancer Warning Signs

Posts Tagged ‘Cancer’

Prostrate cancer, a malicious disease only seen in males, unfortunately has well known causes. Unlike other cancers, there are also no disease specific symptoms by which the prostrate cancer can be identified at its early stages. Its presence is felt only when the prostrate gland begins to swell and when the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

Prostrate cancer is mostly observed in males who are over and above the age of 45. The virus can take years to activate inside the human body. Once activated, the virus begins to multiply rapidly and is a threat to the survival of the person, if its growth is not checked upon time. The fact that it has got no known symptoms makes it more difficult to treat the cancer on time, and hence makes the disease deadlier than ever.

Obesity as the cause of prostrate cancer:

The symptoms of advanced prostrate cancer are majorly observed in individuals who:

• Are obese.
• Consume diets rich in Carcinogen (meat cooked at high temperature).
• Consume a lot of fat especially from non-vegetarian diets.

High amounts of fat increases the chances of catching the disease. The voluminous Fat present in the body increases the production of testosterone in the body which in turn is responsible for activating the cancer cells.

Genetic Causes:

• Those men who are related to people suffering from prostrate cancer also have a very high chance of catching the disease.
• Those men who are related to women suffering from breast cancer also have a slight chance of getting infected.

Other Causes:

African-American men and African-Caribbean men have the highest chances of developing the disease than men of other ethnicity. The reason for this is not known, but if you are an African reading this, you should get checked by a doctor as soon as possible.

Common misconceptions about prostrate cancer:

Activities like smoking, drinking, circumcision, infertility, masturbation, an active sex life, use of tobacco etc. and diseases like prostrate infection, inflammation of the prostrate gland etc. have no scientific link with prostrate cancer. It is a serious misconception among people who treat them as one of the causes of the cancer.
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Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the prostate gland. The tumor usually grows slowly and remains confined to your gland for many years, usually without any symptoms. Also, no outward signs are evident during physical examinations of the prostate. However, as the cancer advances, it can spread beyond your prostate into the surrounding tissues and later to other organs. If it spreads throughout other areas of the body, such as the bones, lungs, and liver, it becomes incurable. Symptoms and signs are therefore often associated typically with advanced prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is initially suspected when a PSA blood test shows abnormal results or when a hard lump is felt on the prostate gland during a routine digital rectal examination. A biopsy of your prostate gland is then done and the diagnosis of prostate cancer is made when cancerous prostatic cells are identified in the biopsy tissue.

Prostate Cancer Warning Signs

If the cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms. At later stages, the following warning signs may be present:

• Frequent urge to urinate, especially at night
• Frequent urination in small amounts
• Incomplete emptying of the bladder
• Dribbling of urine
• Difficulty starting urination
• Reduced force of the urine stream
• Pain during urination
• Pain during sex
• Blood in the urine
• Pain in the lower back, hips, and thighs
• Bone pain in the spine, pelvis, or ribs

Detection and Prevention

If you detect the cancer early, it is easy to treat and can be cured. However, in the advanced stages treatment is difficult, and it is incurable if the disease has spread to organs such as bones and lymph nodes. Therefore, beginning at age 40, all men should possible undergo yearly screening for prostate cancer.

Although your family history and hereditary factors increase your chances of getting prostate cancer, a lot of it depends on your life style habits like smoking, exposure to heavy metals like Cadmium, and eating habits. You need to avoid smoking, minimize or avoid the intake of foods such as red meat and saturated fats, and increase the intake of vegetables, fruits, soybean products, tomato products, and Vitamin E to have a healthy prostate.

Technorati Tags: Cancer, Early, Men, Prostate, signs, Stage, symptoms, treatment, Warning

If the cancer is detected early, it is easy to treat and can be cured. However, in the advanced stages treatment is difficult, and it is incurable if the disease spreads to organs such as bones and lymph nodes. There are many treatment options for prostate cancer. Each option needs to be considered carefully, taking into consideration the individual‘s age, overall health and so on.

Treatment Options

The treatment methods that have been traditionally used include Watchful waiting (without any treatment), Surgery (radical prostatectomy), and External beam therapy (EBT). However, there are modern treatment methods developed and used in the last 10-15 years. These newer methods are more effective, and minimize the unpleasant side effects you may face with the traditional therapies.

One of these methods, Radiation Therapy is often used to treat pancreatic cancer, mostly in advanced cases and older patients (to avoid surgery).There are several different forms of radiation therapy, such as external beam, brachytherapy or seed implantation, high dose interstitial radiation, and several forms of combined therapy.

Seed Implantation or Brachytheraphy

In seed implantation or Brachytheraphy, radiation oncologists place (under anesthesia) small radioactive seeds, about the size of a grain of rice, into your prostate. This is done by inserting needles containing the seeds, using ultrasound guidance, through the skin of your perineum (the area between the scrotum and anus). These seeds irradiate and kill the cancer cells, and remain in your prostate for a number of months. Either radioactive Iodine (I -125) or palladium (Pd-103) is used for the radioactive seeds.

Seed implantation is an effective treatment when the cancer is localized to the prostate, requires no surgical incision, and requires a short recovery time. It can be an outpatient procedure and most men go home the same day. Also, you can return to your normal activities a few days after treatment. The biggest advantage is that two to three times as much radiation can given to you compared to external beam therapy, with very less radiation affecting the surrounding tissues. The success rate is often very high because of these reasons.

Technorati Tags: Brachytheraphy, Cancer, Implantation, Options, Prostate, Radiation, Seeds, treatment

Prostate cancer is one of the most common and deadly types of cancers for men in the world today. Like any other type of cancer, prostate cancer is caused when cells start to multiply abnormally and form a mass that is called tumor. A tumor can be benign or malignant, where the malignant ones are always cancerous tumors. Prostate cancer appears in your body when malignant tissues affect the prostate.

Thousands of new cases are diagnosed across the world every year. Prostate cancer, like other prostate problems, commonly occurs in men aged 50 and older. Sometimes men may feel the symptoms themselves or sometimes their doctors detect prostate problems during routine examinations. Urologists, who are experts in diseases of the urinary tract, diagnose and treat prostate related problems.

Typically, prostate cancer does not give off any obvious warning signs. Another confusing aspect is that most of the possible warning signs are very similar to the signs for other prostate health problems that are non-cancerous in nature. Also, prostate cancer warning signs are greatly affected by ageing. As you grow older, the prostate continues to grow bigger until it became troublesome. Normally you face problems during urination as an enlarged prostate prevents the proper flow of urine.

Prostate Cancer Warning Signs

The following are some common prostate cancer warning signs:

• Frequent urge to urinate, especially at night
• Incomplete emptying of the bladder
• Dribbling of urine
• Difficulty starting urination
• Reduced force of the urine stream
• Frequent urination in small amounts
• Pain during urination
• Pain during sex
• Blood in the urine
• Pain in the lower back, hips, and thighs
• Bone pain in the spine, pelvis, or ribs

Treatment and Prevention

If you detect the cancer early, it is easy to treat and can be cured. However, in the advanced stages treatment is difficult, and it is incurable if the disease has spread to organs such as bones and lymph nodes.

Although there is most likely a hereditary factor to your chances of getting prostate cancer, a lot of it depends on your life style-related habits like smoking, exposure to heavy metals like Cadmium, and eating habits. You need to avoid smoking, minimize or avoid the intake of foods such as red meat and saturated fats, and take more of vegetables and fruits to have a healthy prostate.

Technorati Tags: Cancer, Hips, Painlower back, Pelvis, Prevention, Prostate, signs, Thighs, treatment, urinate, urination, urine

The prostate is a small gland located below the bladder, found only in the male reproductive system. Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate mutate and multiply without control. It is one of the most common cancers found among men and is typically found among older men above the age of 50. Men with a family history of this cancer are also under a great risk, and should get tested regularly.. Increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables and reducing the consumption of red meat and saturated fats can prevent prostate cancer to a great extent.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of prostate cancer are the following:

• Difficulty and pain while urinating
• Passing urine often, particularly at night
• Blood in the urine
• Pain in the lower back, hips, and thighs
• Bone pain in the spine, pelvis, or ribs
• Problems in sexual intercourse

Advanced Prostate Cancer

If the cancer is detected early, it is easy to treat and can be cured. However, in the advanced stages treatment is difficult, and it is incurable if the disease has spread to organs such as bones and lymph nodes. When the cancer reaches the end stages, the person may suffer weight loss, pain in various parts of the body such as lower back, hips, and thighs. Treatment in the advanced stage aims generally at reducing pain and improving the quality of life.

Treatment Options

A multidisciplinary team of doctors, which includes a urologist, radiotherapy specialist, hormone therapy specialist, chemotherapy specialist, surgeons, and oncologists help you in deciding the course of your treatment. Before deciding on the type of treatment, various factors related to the patient have to be taken into consideration, which include:

• Your Age
• Overall health
• The extent of spread of the cancer
• The symptoms that are visible
• Possible side effects of the treatment

Hormonal therapy is the preferred method of treatment in advanced prostate cancer. Chemotherapy may be used if hormone therapy is not effective in controlling the disease. Surgery to remove the prostate gland is not a viable option in case of advanced cases. However, a trans-urethral resection of the prostate can relieve problems with passing urine in advanced cases. Painkillers may be given in some cases and Radio therapy may be used to relieve bone pain in others.

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Prostate is a small gland found only in the reproductive system of men. It is the size of a walnut and surrounds the urethra, the tube which carries urine from the bladder to the penis. Prostate cancer mostly affects men over the age of 50 and is rarely found in younger men.

It differs from most other cancers in the body in that small areas of cancer within the prostate may not grow or cause any problems or syptoms for many years. As a result, prostate cancer in your body may be detected only after the cancer has spread to the other organs.

However, the survival rate of prostate cancer can be very high if the disease is caught in its early stages. But it is very difficult to diagnose prostate cancer in time as the tumors have to be big enough to be noticeable. Therefore, you might not be able to catch prostate cancer at Stage 1. But if you pay attention to your body, your doctor may be able to detect it as it goes into Stage 2.

Early symptoms

The five early symptoms of prostate cancer that will help you detect the disease are explained below:/

1. Urinary Difficulties

The first symptoms of prostate cancer are urinary difficulties. This is because as the tumor grows it presses against your urethra. When this happens, a man will experience a frequent urge to urinate, trouble urinating despite the frequent urge, and a very low urine flow.

2. The Presence of Blood

If there is presence of blood in your urine or semen, it needs to be taken seriously. It is a definite indication of a serious problem.

3. Erectile Dysfunction

As the prostate gland is a sexual organ, erectile dysfunction may indicate prostate cancer though not necessarily so. If you are experiencing erectile dysfunction, discuss it with your doctor to make sure prostate cancer can be fully ruled out.

4. Swelling in the Legs

Swelling in the legs is an early symptom of prostate cancer. This is because when the disease starts to spread from one part of the body to another, it will spread into the lymph nodes. As a result, the unhealthy lymph nodes will start to accumulate in your legs and cause swelling.

5. Pelvic Discomfort

Pelvic discomfort is an important symptom of prostate cancer. This is because, when the disease affects the lymph nodes, it can cause them to press up against the nerves in your pelvis, resulting in pain.

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Prostate cancer is today one of the leading cancers among men across the world. Though the exact cause of the cancer is unknown, there are various factors which are considered as risk factors. The risk factor increases with age, incidence of the cancer in the family, and is also unusually prevalent in certain regions of the world.

The various risk factors are explained in the followin section:

1. Age

If you are 50 years or older, you are at a greater risk of being affected by prostate cancer. More than 70 percent of the cancer has been diagnosed in men over the age of 65.

2. Genetic Factors

5 percent to 10 percent of all prostate cancers can be attributed to an inherited DNA change, such as the cancer susceptibility gene. This may be a reason for a higher risk of inherited prostate cancer in Afro-American men than in Caucasian men.

3. Family History of Prostate Cancer

Having a father or brother, or several relatives who had this cancer at a young age increases your chances of being affected by prostate cancer to a great extent.

4. Race

Prostate cancer is widely found among men in the United States, is quite widespread in Europe, and the least found in South and East Asia. Also, it is more prevalent among the African Americans than the Africans and the Caucasian- American men. Japanese and Chinese men, who are one of the least affected, are greatly affected by the cancer when they migrate to the US due to change in life style and food habits.

5. Diet

The more red meat and high-fat diet you consume, the more susceptible you are to developing prostate cancer. Foods rich in fiber content, soy proteins, and Vitamin A from plant sources reduces the risk while Vitamin A from animal sources increases the risk of the cancer. Obesity also increases the chances of developing hormone-dependant tumors like the prostate.

6. Exposure to Substances

To a small extent, Cadmium is suspected to be a risk when it interacts with Zinc, which is found in the prostate. People who work in the welding industry, make batteries etc. are exposed to Cadmium. Cigarette smoking may also increase your chances of developing this cancer.

7. STD and Vasectomy

Having had a vasectomy or a sexually transmitted disease can pose a small risk to you developing prostate cancer though this is still not established.

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Prostate cancer is today one of the leading cancers among men across the world. Though the exact cause of the cancer is unknown, there are various factors which are considered as risk factors. Various researches have shown that smoking could be one of the risk factors in causing this cancer as well as in aggravating the condition in men stricken with the disease. In addition, research has shown that smoking worsens prostate cancer therapy side effects.

Smoking may help the progress of prostate cancer in several ways in your body. Smoking influences the progression of prostate cancer through a process that affects certain genes in the body and is also likely to alter your hormonal balance by creating an environment conducive to tumor growth. It can increase the amount of steroid hormones called androgens, which can fuel the growth of malignant prostate cells in your body. Also, tobacco is a source of cadmium, a heavy metal that interacts with zinc found in the prostate, which leads to prostate cancer. This human carcinogenic metal inhibits DNA repair in your body, which allows cancer cells to mutate and multiply.

Several research have shown that men under age 65 those who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for 40 years face a 100 percent increased risk of developing the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer as compared to nonsmokers. Also, compared to nonsmokers, current smokers face a 40 percent increase in the risk of prostate cancer.

In addition, smoking cigarettes could lead to severe side-effects in your body when undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, just as in case of cancers of the head and neck, cervix, lung and breast.. Patients who smoke during treatment normally develop acute gastrointestinal side-effects such as diarrhea, much more severe than nonsmokers. This highlights the importance of quitting smoking before starting radiation therapy.

However, on the positive side smoking doesn’t appear to impact long-term side effects on your gastrointestinal system or on your urogenital system. Research has shown that while the risk of developing prostate cancer increases with the number of packs of cigarettes and the number of years you have smoked, this risk reduces to near that of nonsmokers within about 10 years of your quitting smoking.

Here is a great article on Smoking and Prostate Cancer.

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The body is made up of different types of cells that in turn are grouped into different tissues and organs. There are more than 200 different types of body cells. Cancer is a disease caused by the changing of these normal cells in an uncontrolled way, thus forming a lump, which, if not treated medically, will spread into adjacent normal cells or apply pressure on other body structures.  Cancer research is all about identifying what causes cancer and working out ways and means for the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of this deadly disease.

In the world today, there are many NGO’s and government sponsored institutions engaged in comprehensive cancer research work.  Billions of dollars are spent annually on such work by these institutions.  Normally such research work is spread from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the carrying out of clinical trials of different treatment applications so as to evaluate and compare the efficacy of such applications.  However, since 1990’s, the focus of these research has been centered on immunotherapy and gene therapy.

Some non-governmental organizations such as American Institute for Cancer Research (AIR) and Cancer Research UK have been funding thousands of scientists, doctors, and other research students in cancer research.  Their research work covers almost all aspects of cancer-related subjects through extensive programmes of world-class research in hospitals, universities and other institutes all over the world.

More and more promising researchers, students, and scientists are joining in cancer research work in order to fight this deadly disease that afflicts millions of patients globally. The aspiring students of cancer research may well remember that they could find very insightful and educative research articles and source material from the World Wide Web.  At the same time, if they are looking for some research grant or fellowship to carry out cancer research work to save the lives of millions of cancer patients in the world, they have a ready reference guide in the Internet where a simple search will give them a plethora of websites of such organizations that are all too ready to grant such assistance.

Everybody concerned about cancer, be it patients or academics, are keen on finding the latest news on the types of new therapy and information on treatments.  Internet has all these.  However, it is always useful to corroborate this evidence of the latest from many sources before accepting a single research paper.  Mind you, cancer research is an ongoing process.

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While cancer facts are easily obtainable on the internet and from your doctor, if you or someone you care about is diagnosed with cancer, panic sets in. The good news is that cancer is no longer a death sentence. Treatments for the disease are improving with time and research, and one day the expression ‘finding a cure for cancer’ may cease to be synonymous with doing something almost impossible.

So what is cancer? One of the best known cancer facts is that it has something to do with tumours and the word tumour is often used interchangeably with cancer. However, it is possibly for a tumour to be benign and therefore pose no threat to the individual concerned. (A benign tumour is one which does not invade other cells or parts of the body.) A malignant tumour, on the other hand shows uncontrolled growth, invades and possibly destroys nearby tissues and may show metastasis as well (i.e. spreading to another part of the body).

Amongst the little known cancer facts is the fact that cancer may not even be painful, depending on its location. Another of the cancer facts that could surprise you is that it can even be caused by some types of poisonous mushrooms and a toxin that can grow on peanut plants. (Don’t let that put you off peanuts, though, peanuts are harmless.)

Other encouraging cancer facts include the fact that the number of deaths to cancer is actually down from previous years. This could be because people today are more health conscious and are cutting down on unhealthy activities like smoking. They are also careful about overexposure to UV rays which can cause cancer. More good news in cancer facts is that there’s more and more awareness of the disease and organisations worldwide are teaming up to fight cancer.

While cancer is a notoriously difficult disease to treat, with patients sometimes needing three or more doctors (specialists in different areas), who may not always agree with each other, patients should not give up. Positive thinking and will power evidently work as well with cancer as they do with other illnesses, with patients making apparently miraculous recoveries because of their will to survive.

Statistical cancer facts may not be available to prove this, but faith in their religion can help a patient through the tough times that come with having cancer. Most importantly, never ever lose hope.

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