Surgery For Rectal Cancer
Most people with rectal cancer need surgery. Radiation and chemo might be given before surgery. Sometimes the cancer can be removed through the anus, without cutting through the skin. This might be done to remove some early stage cancers that are small and close to the anus.
If the rectal cancer is more advanced and close to the anus, surgery will be done to take out the cancer and make an opening on your belly to get rid of body waste . This is called a colostomy. You will need it for the rest of your life.
If the rectal cancer has spread into nearby organs, more surgery is needed. The doctor may take out the rectum and nearby organs, like the bladder, prostate, or uterus, if the cancer has spread to those organs. You will need a colostomy after that surgery. If the bladder is removed, an opening to collect urine or pee is needed, too.
If you have a colostomy or a urostomy, you will need to learn how to take care of it. Nurses with special training will see you before and after surgery to teach you what to do.
Ask your doctor what type of surgery you will need. Ask what your body will look like and how it will work after surgery.
Side effects of surgery
Any type of surgery can have risks and side effects. Ask the doctor what you can expect. If you have problems, let your doctors know. Doctors who treat people with colon and rectal cancer should be able to help you with any problems that may come up.
Treatments For Prostate Cancer Spread To Bones
If prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it nearly always goes to the bones first. Bone metastasis can be painful and can cause other problems, such as fractures , spinal cord compression , or high blood calcium levels, which can be dangerous or even life threatening.
If the cancer has grown outside the prostate, preventing or slowing the spread of the cancer to the bones is a major goal of treatment. If the cancer has already reached the bones, controlling or relieving pain and other complications is also a very important part of treatment.
Treatments such as hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and vaccines may help with this, but other treatments specifically target bone metastasis and the problems it may cause.
What Is Advanced Prostate Cancer
When prostate cancer spreads beyond the prostate or returns after treatment, it is often called advanced prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is often grouped into four stages.
- Stages I & II: The tumor has not spread beyond the prostate. This is often called early stage or localized prostate cancer.
- Stage III: Cancer has spread outside the prostate, but only to nearby tissues. This is often called locally advanced prostate cancer.
- Stage IV: Cancer has spread outside the prostate to other parts such as the lymph nodes, bones, liver or lungs. This stage is often called advanced prostate cancer.
When an early stage prostate cancer is found, it may be treated or placed on surveillance . If prostate cancer spreads beyond the prostate or returns after treatment, it is often called advanced prostate cancer. Stage IV prostate cancer is not curable, but there are many ways to control it. Treatment can stop advanced prostate cancer from growing and causing symptoms.
There are several types of advanced prostate cancer, including:
Biochemical Recurrence
If your Prostate Specific Antigen level has risen after the first treatment but you have no other signs of cancer, you have “biochemical recurrence.”
Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Non-Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Metastatic Prostate Cancer
- Lymph nodes outside the pelvis
- Bones
- Other organs
Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
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What About Other Treatments I Hear About
When you have cancer you might hear about other ways to treat the cancer or treat your symptoms. These may not always be standard medical treatments. These treatments may be vitamins, herbs, special diets, and other things. You may wonder about these treatments.
Some of these are known to help, but many have not been tested. Some have been shown not to help. A few have even been found to be harmful. Talk to your doctor about anything youre thinking about using, whether its a vitamin, a diet, or anything else.
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How Is It Diagnosed And How Fast Does It Grow
Prostate cancer often grows slowly, and most men with early-stage prostate cancer dont notice any symptoms. Symptoms are often noticed later on as the cancer grows. The signs include trouble urinating, blood in the urine, erectile dysfunction, and pain in the back, hips, ribs, or other bones.
According to the American Cancer Society 3 , prostate cancer tests include the following:
Though there are plenty of tests that one can go through to check if you have prostate cancer, there are other ways of how to check for prostate cancer at home.
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What Gets Stored In A Cookie
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In general, only the information that you provide, or the choices you make while visiting a web site, can be stored in a cookie. For example, the site cannot determine your email name unless you choose to type it. Allowing a website to create a cookie does not give that or any other site access to the rest of your computer, and only the site that created the cookie can read it.
Where Prostate Cancer Spreads
Many patients ask, can prostate cancer spread? The answer is, yes. Roughly 80 percent of the time 4 , when prostate cancer cells spread, they spread to bones 5 . Often, the cells spread to the hips, spine, and pelvic bones. This either happens as the cells travel through the blood or lymph nodes or direct invasion. When the cells relocate, they grow and form new tumors .
The good news is that for most men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer, its not terminal. Over 3.1 million men in America who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are alive today.
Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer 6 in American men, with 1 of 9 men diagnosed in their lifetime. If caught early, there are a variety of treatments, including taking the holistic approach to prostate cancer.
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Symptoms That Happen When The Cancer Spreads
When bone metastases occur, there may be new symptoms, like weak bones, spinal cord compression, high blood calcium levels, and stiffness, or pain in the hips, thighs or back. These symptoms can cause extreme feelings of pain and discomfort, such as nerve damage and muscle weakness brought on by spinal cord compression, numbness in the arms, or legs and loss of bladder or bowel control. High levels of calcium can mean vomiting, dehydration, confusion, or abdominal discomfort.
If you experience these symptoms, its important to talk to your doctor about them. Natural remedies or holistic treatment for prostate cancer are options and offer a way to gain control of your health and thrive.
Prostate Cancer Patients Are At Increased Risk Of Precancerous Colon Polyps
- Date:
- University at Buffalo
- Summary:
- Men with prostate cancer should be especially diligent about having routine screening colonoscopies, results of a new study by gastroenterologists indicate.
Men with prostate cancer should be especially diligent about having routine screening colonoscopies, results of a new study by gastroenterologists at the University at Buffalo indicate.
Their findings show that persons diagnosed with prostate cancer had significantly more abnormal colon polyps, known as adenomas, and advanced adenomas than men without prostate cancer.
Results of the research were presented Oct. 19 at a 10:30 a.m. session at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting being held Oct. 15-20 in San Antonio, Texas.
While most adenomas are benign and don’t become cancerous, there is evidence that most colon cancers begin as adenomas. Advanced adenomas carry an even higher colorectal cancer risk.
“Colon cancer and prostate cancer are two of the most common cancers in males,” says Ognian Pomakov, MD, an author on the study. “However there are no published clinical studies to date that determined the prevalence of colorectal neoplasms in people with prostate cancer.
“Our study is the first to show that men with prostate cancer are at increased risk of developing colon cancer, and that it is especially important for these men not skip their routine colonoscopies.”
Story Source:
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Bladder And Urinary Troubles
A prostate tumor that has grown significantly in size may start to press on your bladder and urethra. The urethra is the passage the carries urine from your bladder out of your body. If the tumor is pressing on your urethra, you might have trouble passing urine.
One of the common areas for prostate cancer to spread to is the bladder, because the two organs are close. This can cause additional problems with urination and bladder function.
Some symptoms your bladder and urethra are being affected by cancer include:
- urinating more frequently
- getting up in the middle of the night to pee
- having blood in your urine or semen
- feeling like you have to urinate often and not actually passing anything
Its not as common, but prostate cancer can also spread to your bowel. The cancer first spreads to the rectum, which is the part of your bowel closest to the prostate gland.
Symptoms of cancer thats spread to the bowels include:
- stomach pain
An Easy Way To Prevent Or Even Cure Prostate Cancer
Doctor Thomas Campbell is an American biochemist who has specialised in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. His studies showed that people who were suffering from various types of cancers also were huge consumers of animal protein. In his work The China Study he was able to gather enough evidence that most cancers are produced because of people eating red meat.
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What Stages Have To Do With Cancer Spread
Cancers are staged according to tumor size and how far it has spread at the time of diagnosis. Stages help doctors decide which treatments are most likely to work and give a general outlook.
There are different types of staging systems and some are specific to certain types of cancer. The following are the basic stages of cancer:
- In situ. Precancerous cells have been found, but they havent spread to surrounding tissue.
- Localized. Cancerous cells havent spread beyond where they started.
- Regional. Cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs.
- Distant. Cancer has reached distant organs or tissues.
- Unknown. Theres not enough information to determine the stage.
- Stage 0 or CIS. Abnormal cells have been found but have not spread into surrounding tissue. This is also called precancer.
- Stages 1, 2, and 3. The diagnosis of cancer is confirmed. The numbers represent how large the primary tumor has grown and how far the cancer has spread.
- Stage 4. Cancer has metastasized to distant parts of the body.
Your pathology report may use the TNM staging system, which provides more detailed information as follows:
T: Size of primary tumor
- TX: primary tumor cant be measured
- T0: primary tumor cant be located
- T1, T2, T3, T4: describes the size of the primary tumor and how far it may have grown into surrounding tissue
N: Number of regional lymph nodes affected by cancer
M: Whether cancer has metastasized or not
Symptoms Of Colon Cancer That Has Spread To Specific Areas
- Liver Colon cancer that has spread to the liver can result in fatigue, jaundice, swelling in the extremities, nausea or abdominal bloating.
- Lungs Another common area where metastatic colon cancer may spread is the lungs. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest pain or a persistent cough.
- Brain Colon cancer that has spread to the brain may result in headaches, confusion, memory loss or blurred vision.
- Lymph nodes The lymph nodes in the abdominal area can be affected by colon cancer, resulting in abdominal bloating and swelling as well as a reduced appetite.
- Peritoneum If this tissue is affected by cancer, it can result in abdominal pain, bloating, a constant feeling of fullness, weight gain or loss or nausea.
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Stem Cell Or Bone Marrow Transplant
A stem cell transplant, sometimes called bone marrow transplant, replaces damaged blood-forming cells with healthy ones. The procedure takes place following large-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and to stop your stem cells from producing cancerous cells.
Stem cell transplants can be used for several types of cancer, including multiple myeloma and some kinds of leukemia.
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If Colorectal Cancer Spreads
Cancer cells can spread from the colon or rectum to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.
Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care. If colorectal cancer spreads, it can spread to the following:
- nearby lymph nodes
- nearby tissues in the abdomen or pelvis
- peritoneum
- American Society of Clinical Oncology. Colorectal Cancer. 2017: .
- Brierley JD, Gospodarowicz MK, Wittekind C . TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours. 8th ed. Wiley Blackwell 2017.
- Wilkes GM. Colon, rectal, and anal cancers. Yarbro CH, Wujcki D, Holmes Gobel B, . Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice. 8th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning 2018: 51: 1423 – 1485.
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What Screening Tests Are Used For Bladder Cancer
It is not standard to screen for bladder cancer. Bladder cancer screening may be used in people who are considered high risk. If you have a history of bladder cancer, a history of a birth defect of the bladder, or have been exposed to certain chemicals at work, you may be considered high-risk. You should ask your provider if screening tests are right for you.
Testing the urine for blood, abnormal cells, and tumor markers can help find some bladder cancers early but the results vary. Not all bladder cancers are found, and some people may have changes in their urine but do not have bladder cancer. These tests can be used in those who already have signs of bladder cancer or if the cancer has returned. However, more research is needed to determine how useful testing the urine is as a screening test.
What Causes Bladder Cancer And Am I At Risk
Each year, about 83,730 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. It affects more men than women and the average age at diagnosis is 73.
Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for bladder cancer. About half of all bladder cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Other risk factors for developing bladder cancer include: family history, occupational exposure to chemicals , previous cancer treatment with cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, or pelvic radiation, the medication pioglitazone, exposure to arsenic , aristolochic , bladder infections caused by schistosoma haematobium, not drinking enough fluids, a genetic condition called Lynch Syndrome, a mutation of the retinoblastoma gene or the PTEN gene. and neurogenic bladder and the overuse of indwelling catheters.
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Can Colon Cancer Affect Prostate
Like many things in cancer, metastasis of colon cancer can affect other parts of the body at its advanced stages, causing some complications. If it does have spread, first it will affect the nearby tissues such as other parts of digestive system. It also can spread to distinct organs, especially such as liver and lungs. But can it affect prostate, too?
Understanding prostate in general
One of reproductive organs that cannot be found in women is prostate, male-reproductive organ . It is located below the bladder, an essential organ in your urinary system and just in front of rectum .
It surrounds the first section of urethra . In male reproductive system, urethra also has function to carry semen . See the picture !
Prostate plays a key role to make and squeezes semen to help nourish and protect sperms during male ejaculation. Male hormones, especially such as testosterones, are responsible for the growth and function of prostate. Testosterones are made in the male testes.
Cancer prostate is the most common cancer in men. It and its treatments can affect the productivity of male reproduction. For instance, some cancer treatments can cause too low testosterone levels.
Interestingly, many patients with prostate cancer die due to other conditions. In fact, it often grows very slowly. Even some people with it dont realize until they die from another health problem.
Colon cancer can affect prostate for several reasons
Surgery For Colon Cancer
Most people with colon cancer have some type of surgery. The cancer, a small part of normal colon on either side of the cancer, and nearby lymph nodes are often removed. The 2 ends of the colon are then put back together.
For most colon cancers, an opening on the belly to get rid of body waste is not needed, but sometimes one is used for a short time. This opening is called a colostomy. If you need a colostomy for a short time, your doctor or nurse can tell you more about how to take care of it and when it can come out.
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How Long Is A Course Of Chemotherapy
In the majority of cases for best results the patient will need regular chemotherapy over a specific period. A protocol plan is drawn up which specifies when treatment sessions will occur and for how long.
A course of chemotherapy may be just a one-day treatment, or can last for a few weeks it will depend on the type and stage of the cancer . If the patient requires more than one course of treatment there will be a rest period for his/her body to recover. This could be a one-day treatment followed by a weeks rest period, followed by another one-day treatment followed by a three-week rest period, etc. This may be repeated many times.
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