Wednesday, March 27, 2024

How Long Can You Live After Prostate Cancer Surgery

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Primary Treatment Options For Stage Ii Prostate Cancer

Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy | Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Patients with stage II prostate cancer are curable and have a number of treatment options, including surgical removal of the cancer with radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy with brachytherapy or External Beam Radiation or active surveillance without immediate treatment. It is important for patients to obtain as much information as possible about the results of each treatment modality and to obtain more than one opinion on the matter, especially when deciding on surgery versus radiation therapy.

Before making treatment recommendations, physicians who treat prostate cancer consider a number of aspects about the patients health, life expectancy and the cancers risk of progression that help predict whether the cancer is truly confined to the prostate and how fast the cancer will grow. These include the clinical stage of the cancer, the prostate-specific antigen level, and the appearance of the prostate cancer cells under the microscope . Together they can be used to predict an individuals risk of prostate cancer recurrence.

  • Low risk: PSA < 10 ng/mL, Gleason score < 6 and clinical stage T1c or T2a
  • Intermediate risk: PSA > 10 to 20 ng/mL or Gleason score of 7 or clinical stage T2b
  • High risk: PSA > 20 ng/mL or a Gleason score of 8 to 10 or clinical stage T2c

Survival Rates For Bladder Cancer

Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain amount of time after they were diagnosed. They cant tell you how long you will live, but they may help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful.

Keep in mind that survival rates are estimates and are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had a specific cancer, but they cant predict what will happen in any particular persons case. These statistics can be confusing and may lead you to have more questions. Talk with your doctor about how these numbers may apply to you, as he or she is familiar with your situation.

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Can Masturbation Cut Prostate Cancer Risk

In this area of interest, a study that took information from 32,000 men looked at whether regular ejaculation helps to prevent prostate cancer.

The researchers published their work in the journal European Urology and reported that more frequent ejaculation might lead to a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Among men aged 2029 years old who had 21 or more ejaculations a month, there were 2.39 fewer in every 1,000 who developed prostate cancer when the researchers compared them to those ejaculating 47 times a month.

Among men who were aged 4049 years old, there were 3.89 fewer people per 1,000 who developed prostate cancer.

The reasons for these results are unclear, but one theory refers to prostate stagnation. This means that less frequent ejaculation allows prostate secretions to build up, possibly contributing to cancer.

An earlier study threw light on other potential aspects of prostate cancer, indicating that frequent sexual activity in younger life increased the risk of prostate cancer. However, the study also indicated that this activity seemed to give protection against the disease when people were older.

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Treatment Options For Localized Prostate Cancer

If you are diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, you may be presented with a number of different treatment options. The most common include:

  • Active Surveillance: Your healthcare provider may want to monitor your disease to see if treatment is necessary. With active surveillance, you will have regular check-ups with your healthcare providers, and he or she may perform biopsies regularly. If your test results change, your healthcare provider will discuss your options for starting treatment.
  • Watchful Waiting: While some healthcare providers use the terms active surveillance and watchful waiting interchangeably, watchful waiting usually means that fewer tests are done. You will still visit your healthcare provider regularly, but your healthcare provider will discuss changes in your health as they relate to managing your symptoms, not curing your disease.
  • Prostatectomy: Removal of the prostate, called prostatectomy, is an option that has a strong likelihood of removing your cancer since you are removing the gland where it is located. However, this is an invasive procedure that can lead to other issues, which will be covered later.
  • Radiation: Your healthcare provider may suggest radiation as a means of therapy that targets tumors with radiation, usually through daily treatments in a hospital or clinic over multiple weeks.

Doctor Visits And Tests

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Your doctor visits will usually include PSA blood tests, possibly with digital rectal exams if your prostate hasnt been removed. These will probably begin within a few months of finishing treatment. How often you need follow-up visits and tests might depend to some extent on the stage of your cancer and the chance of it coming back. Most doctors recommend PSA tests about every 6 months or so for the first 5 years after treatment, and at least yearly after that. Bone scans or other imaging tests might also be done, depending on your medical situation and symptoms.

Prostate cancer can recur even many years after treatment, which is why its important to keep regular doctor visits and report any new symptoms .

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Side Effects Of Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy causes the same types of side effects that external beam radiation therapy does, such as erectile dysfunction.

In some instances, side effects to the bowels may be less severe than those caused by EBRT. Side effects that impact the bladder, however, may be more severe.

High-dose brachytherapy may cause temporary pain and swelling. It may also cause your urine to look red or brown for a short period of time.

Brachytherapy presents with some risks that external beam radiation therapy does not. If you have permanent brachytherapy, you may emit radiation to others for several weeks or months. Your doctor may advise you to stay away from pregnant people and small children during this time.

Occasionally, the seeds may migrate away from their original placement. For this reason, you may also be instructed to wear condoms during sexual activity, to protect your partner.

Radical Prostatectomy Extends Life Expectancy In Localised Prostate Cancer Trial Finds

  • Susan Mayor
  • London
  • Radical prostatectomy is associated with significantly more years of life gained than watchful waiting in men with localised prostate cancer, long term follow-up results from a randomised trial have shown.1

    In clinically detected prostate cancer, the benefit of radical prostatectomy in otherwise healthy men can be substantial, with a mean gain of almost three years of life after 23 years of follow-up, said the study authors, led by Anna Bill-Axelson, from Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. But they warned that the benefit is highly dependent on a mans baseline risk, which can now be better assessed with modern diagnostic procedures than in the past.

    Radical prostatectomy is known

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    Are There Any Surgical Techniques That Have Been Developed To Improve Erectile Function Outcomes

    At this time, there are several different surgical approaches to carry out the surgery, including retropubic or perineal approaches as well as laparoscopic procedures with freehand or robotic instrumentation. Much debate but no consensus exists about the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. Further study is needed before obtaining meaningful determinations of the success with different new approaches.

    Get Regular Physical Activity

    Which is Better – Surgery vs. Radiation for Prostate Cancer?

    Some research has suggested that men who exercise regularly after treatment might be less likely to die from their prostate cancer than those who dont. Its not clear exactly how much activity might be needed, but more seems to be better. More vigorous activity might also be more helpful than less vigorous activity. Further studies are needed to follow up on these findings.

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    Assessing Metastases And Local Recurrence

    Once BCR has been detected, it is important to try to establish whether this represents local recurrence or disseminated disease, or both, in order to guide subsequent treatment decisions. Importantly, metastatic disease must be acceptably ruled out before subjecting patients to local salvage treatment, owing to the significant morbidity associated with such treatments. Regardless of whether BCR is detected post-RP or post-RT, the same principles of imaging apply.

    Watchful Waiting Or Active Surveillance/active Monitoring

    Asymptomatic patients of advanced age or with concomitant illness may warrantconsideration of careful observation without immediate active treatment. Watch and wait, observation, expectant management, and active surveillance/active monitoring are terms indicating a strategy that does not employ immediate therapy with curative intent.

    Watchful waiting and active surveillance/active monitoring are the most commonly used terms, and the literature does not always clearly distinguish them, making the interpretation of results difficult. The general concept of watchful waiting is patient follow-up with the application of palliative care as needed to alleviate symptoms of tumor progression. There is no planned attempt at curative therapy at any point in follow-up. For example, transurethral resection of the prostate or hormonal therapy may be used to alleviate tumor-related urethral obstruction should there be local tumor growth hormonal therapy or bone radiation might be used to alleviate pain from metastases. Radical prostatectomy has been compared with watchful waiting or active surveillance/active monitoring in men with early-stage disease .

    • Regular patient visits.
    • Transrectal ultrasound .
    • Transrectal needle biopsies .

    Patient selection, testing intervals, and specific tests, as well as criteria for intervention, are arbitrary and not established in controlled trials.

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    The Side Effects Of Anti

    Most men tolerate anti-androgen therapy well.

    • Hot flashes
    • Weight gain
    • Bone density loss
    • Irritability or mood swings
    • Enlargement of breasts
    • Starting patients on Vitamin D and calcium, providing consultation with our endocrinology team about preserving bone health, and getting baseline bone density scans when indicated
    • Encouraging men to commit to active physical therapy and aerobic exercise to limit weight gain, preserve muscle composition, and even retain urinary function and control it better
    • Recommending medications to help with hot flashes and mood changes that can arise during hormone therapy

    Do We Know Which Treatment Is Best For Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy Or External Beam Radiation

    Prostate Cancer Life Expectancy

    Its not a question of which type of radiation therapy is best in general, but rather which therapy is best for the patients specific disease and quality-of-life concerns. We want to use the most tailored, pinpointed radiation to treat the prostate tumor effectively while minimizing side effects. This can depend on the tumors size and stage as well as other patient characteristics and even a patients individual preferences.

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    Surgery For Aggressive Prostate Cancer Gives 92% 10

    Patients with the most aggressive form of prostate cancer who have surgery radical prostatectomy were found to have a 10-year cancer-specific survival rate of 92%, which is high, and a 77% overall survival rate, according to researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic, USA. This compares to an 88% 10-year cancer specific survival rate and 52% overall survival rate for those who underwent radiotherapy without surgery. The findings were presented at the American Urological Associations 84th Annual Meeting, Chicago.

    Stephen Boorjian, M.D., a urologist at the Mayo Clinic, said:

    Its long been believed that patients with aggressive prostate cancer are not candidates for surgery. We found that surgery does provide excellent long-term cancer control for this type of prostate cancer. In addition, by allowing the targeted use of secondary therapies such as androgen deprivation, surgery offers the opportunity to avoid or at least delay the potentially adverse health consequences of these treatments.

    Their study included 1,847 individuals with aggressive prostate cancer. Between 1988 and 2004 1,238 of them underwent a surgical procedure to have their prostate taken out at the Mayo Clinic, while 609 received radiotherapy at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. 344 of the patients who received radiotherapy were also given androgen deprivation therapy.

    The investigators worked out their overall and cancer-specific survival rates:

    Dr. Boorjian said:

    Frequent Or Loose Poo

    Your bowel movements might be looser or more frequent than before your treatment.

    You might need to take anti diarrhoea medicines, such as loperamide . Bulking agents, such as Fybogel might also help. Your doctor or nurse can prescribe these for you, talk to your doctor before taking these.

    You might find that you need to avoid high fibre foods. Although we normally think that a high fibre diet is the most healthy, it might make long term diarrhoea worse. Some people find it best to avoid high fibre vegetables, beans and pulses .

    Let your doctor know if you have ongoing problems with frequent bowel movements or bleeding. They can refer you to a specialist team. The team includes cancer doctors, digestive system specialists, bowel surgeons, dietitians and specialist nurses.

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    The Bottom Line: Expert Wound Care For Radiation Wounds

    As a patient of radiation therapy, you need ongoing and personalized wound care to help you overcome radiation injuries and side effects. You deserve to get that help in the comfortable, refreshing, and attractive environment offered by R3 Wound Care and Hyperbarics.

    With eight convenient locations throughout Texas, R3 Wound Care provides advanced therapies like HBOT previously only available at large medical institutions. Every HBOT treatment at R3 occurs in a clear acrylic chamber where you relax, recline, and enjoy a good book or movie for a few hours.

    Visit the R3 location closest to you today to learn more about this natural alternative healing treatment and its potential to finally liberate you from your painful radiation side effects.

    General Prostate Cancer Survival Rate

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    According to the American Cancer Society:

    • The relative 5-year survival rate is nearly 100%
    • The relative 10-year survival rate is 98%
    • The 15-year relative survival rate is 91%

    Note: Relative survival rate means the percentage of patients who live amount of years after their initial diagnosis.

    Keep in mind, however, that because the compiled list figures are of cancers diagnosed up to 15 years ago, you may have an even greater chance of survival than these indicate due to advances in prostate cancer treatment technology

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    > > > 1 Bedtime Hack To Pee Like A Bull

    An enlarged prostate can also be the cause of other problems. If the enlarged prostate is causing symptoms, the best treatment would be a natural remedy. In the meantime, there are treatments for a wide range of conditions that cause a man to experience pain. A common surgical procedure involves an electric loop, laser, or electro-stimulation. The procedure is a safe and effective option for treating enlarged or symptomatic BPH.

    What Are The Side Effects

    The most common side effects of surgery are leaking urine and problems with getting or keeping an erection .

    Your risk of getting these side effects depends on your overall health and age, how far the cancer has spread in and around the prostate and how likely it is to grow, and your surgeons skill and experience.

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    Radical Prostatectomy Survival Rates

    Men who undergo radical prostatectomy have a high survival rate and low rates of cancer recurrence, cancer spread and death, according to a study of 10,332 men who had surgery between 1987 and 2004. The research showed that between 5 and 20 years after having the surgery, only 3% of the patients died of prostate cancer, 5% saw their cancer spread to other organs, and 6% had a localised recurrence.

    Another large Scandinavian study compared men who chose active surveillance with those treated by radical prostatectomy. The results suggest that in the long term, younger men with higher-risk tumours who have a radical prostatectomy, have a definite survival advantage.

    Results from another study at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore confirmed that 82% of men undergoing radical prostatectomy were free of recurrence at 15 years. The data from the research also indicated that in those men whose PSA level starts to rise again after surgery, the recurrent prostate cancer spreads in only around one-third of the men. In addition, unless a man had an aggressive grade of prostate cancer, the spreading of the disease would not become life-threatening for several years and would be amenable to treatment.

    Radiation Therapy And Radiopharmaceutical Therapy

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    External-beam radiation therapy

    Candidates for definitive radiation therapy must have a confirmed pathologic diagnosis of cancer that is clinically confined to the prostate and/or surrounding tissues . Staging laparotomy and lymph node dissection are not required.

    Radiation therapy may be a good option for patients who are considered poor medical candidates for radical prostatectomy. These patients can be treated with an acceptably low complication rate if care is given to the delivery technique.

    Long-term results with radiation therapy are dependent on stage and are associated with dosimetry of the radiation.

    Evidence :

  • A retrospective review of 999 patients treated with megavoltage radiation therapy showed that cause-specific survival rates at 10 years varied substantially by T stage: T1 , T2 , T3 , and T4 . An initial serum PSA level higher than 15 ng/mL is a predictor of probable failure with conventional radiation therapy.
  • Several randomized studies have demonstrated an improvement in freedom from biochemical recurrence with higher doses of radiation therapy as compared with lower doses . None of the studies demonstrated a cause-specific survival benefit to higher doses.
  • After a median follow-up of 10 years, despite a statistically significant improvement in biochemical PFS with the higher dose of radiation, the 10-year OS rate was the same in both groups: 71% . Likewise, there were no differences in prostatecancer-specific survival.
  • Evidence :

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