Race And Prostate Cancer
African-American men and Jamaican men of African descent have a greater chance of developing the kind of prostate cancer that grows and spreads. Researchers are not sure why there is a difference in disease and death rates among different races. Some experts think there may be a genetic link.footnote 3
Prostate Cancer: Watch Out For These Signs
In their lifetime, one in nine men will develop prostate cancer, making it the most common cancer in men.In addition to following your doctors cancer screening recommendations, you should pay special attention to the symptoms discussed in this article.If you have any concerns about your situation, be sure to talk with a healthcare professional.
Does Prostate Cancer Have Any Symptoms
Most men with early prostate cancer dont have any signs or symptoms.
One reason for this is the way the cancer grows. Youll usually only get early symptoms if the cancer grows near the tube you urinate through and presses against it, changing the way you urinate . But because prostate cancer usually starts to grow in a different part of the prostate, early prostate cancer doesnt often press on the urethra and cause symptoms.
If you do notice changes in the way you urinate, this is more likely to be a sign of a very common non-cancerous problem called an;enlarged prostate, or another health problem. But its still a good idea to get it checked out. Possible changes include:
- difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
- a weak flow when you urinate
- a feeling that your bladder hasnt emptied properly
- dribbling urine after you finish urinating
- needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
- a sudden need to urinate you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.
If prostate cancer breaks out of the prostate or spreads to other parts of the body , it can cause other symptoms, including:
- back pain, hip pain or pelvis pain
- problems getting or keeping an erection
- blood in the urine or semen
- unexplained weight loss.
These symptoms can all be caused by other health problems. But its still a good idea to tell your GP about any symptoms so they can find out whats causing them and make sure you get the right treatment, if you need it.
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Where Does Prostate Cancer Spread
The most common place for prostate cancer to spread to is the bones. It can also spread to the lymph nodes, liver and lungs and other organs.
A large tumour in the prostate gland can spread into or press on areas around the prostate, such as the back passage or urethra. The urethra is the tube which carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.
Exercise Muscle Mass And Weight Gain
Changing your diet and being more physically active may help you to maintain your normal weight.
Physical activity can help to maintain muscle strength, but it needs to be a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise.
Aerobic exercise is any exercise that makes your heart and lungs work faster to provide more oxygen to the muscles for example walking or gardening.
Resistance training includes weight training and swimming. You have to use your muscles to push against the weights or water, which helps to strengthen them.
Physical activity also helps to control your weight. You dont have to go to the gym, you can build it into your life. For example, you could get off the bus the stop before you need to, do some;gardening or join a walking group. Some hospitals organise exercise sections for cancer patients. Ask your specialist nurse if this is available.;
You should aim;to be physically active for 30 minutes 5 days a week.;Your doctor may check your cholesterol and heart health before you start an exercise plan. This is important if you have conditions such as diabetes or you are overweight.
Hormone treatment may lower your bone density, increasing the risk of fractures. Talk to your doctor if this could be a problem for you.
Eating a balanced healthy diet can help you to maintain a healthy weight. It can also help you lose or put it on if you need to.
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You Have A Sore Lower Back
Many people might assume their sore lower back means they overdid it at the gym or slept poorly, but the Prostate Cancer Foundation advises that pain or stiffness is actually one symptom of prostate cancer.
Pain associated with prostate cancer is usuallydull and deep, according to WebMD. This might help you distinguish it from a strained muscle or exercise injury.
How Do You Know If You Have Prostate Cancer
Theres no way of knowing if you have prostate cancer without visiting your doctor, as most men with early prostate cancer dont have any symptoms. And if you do have symptoms they can be caused by other things.
And you cant check for prostate cancer yourself.
You may want to speak to your GP if you’re;over 50;, even if you don’t have any symptoms. These are all things that can increase your;risk of prostate cancer. Your GP can give more information or tests if necessary.
If youre not sure about what to say to your GP, print and fill out this;form;and show it to them. This will help you have the conversation.
I thought I could be at risk after learning that African Caribbean men are more likely to get prostate cancer than white men.
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Prostate Cancer Screening Tests
Prostate cancer screening tests are preventive health screenings you can get through your doctor or at community screenings. These medical screenings are important because early detection by way of preventive screening of cancer can significantly increase your chances of survival. Additionally, prostate cancer does not always have early warning signs, making the screenings even more important.
The PSA Test checks the amount of prostate-specific antigen in your blood. It also appears in semen. The PSA test can detect whether the amount of the protein is high but other things such as enlarged prostate, without cancer, can also lead to a high PSA. This means that physical exam and possibly biopsy must be done before a diagnosis can be made. It is important to talk to your doctor about your PSA test in relation to your risk factors and overall health.
Roughly one of out nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetime. If you notice any of these signs and symptoms listed above, or even if you don’t, it’s time to think about prostate cancer screening tests. Talk to your doctor about your risk.
Living With Prostate Cancer
Living with prostate cancer depends on how early you were diagnosed. Also, it depends on the type of treatment you received. For example, if you had to have your prostate removed, you may have to live with sexual dysfunction. If you had hormone or chemotherapy, you may have long-terms effects from the medicines used on those treatments. Ask your doctor how you can improve the quality of your life after treatment.
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Connecting The Dots Between Weight Loss And Prostate Cancer
Obesity and prostate cancer are two of the most common medical issues facing older men today. These health concerns are particularly prevalent among U.S. veterans.
That is why Dr. Jonathan L. Wright, a urologic oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, has teamed up with colleagues at Fred Hutch, UW and investigators at VA Puget Sound Health Care System to lead a study in overweight men with low-grade, slow-growing prostate cancer who have decided to take an âactive-surveillanceâ approach to closely monitor their prostate cancer as opposed treating it with surgery or radiation.
The Fred Hutchâbased Prostate Cancer Active Lifestyle Study, or PALS for short, aims to determine whether weight loss achieved through a structured diet and exercise regimen will improve the short- and long-term health of men such as study participant Allan âGeneâ Asay, a 75-year-old Vietnam veteran from Bellingham, Washington.
While his long-term outcome has yet to be revealed, Asay is delighted with his initial results since joining the study in May.
Men With Prostate Cancer May Experience Unintended And Significant Weight Loss There Are Five Reasons Why This Can Happen
The first reason is rather obvious: anxiety and/or depression over the illness. Both anxiety and depression suppress appetite.
Another well-known explanation is the sick feeling that chemotherapy often causes. The drugs can also alter the patients perception of how foods taste.
But there are less obvious reasons why prostate cancer can cause a man to lose weight even if he doesnt have any pre-existing excess body fat.
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What Is The Survival Rate For Prostate Cancer
Most of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer will not die from it. Other medical conditions along with prostate cancer can cause death.
Survival rates for men with prostate cancer have increased over the years due to increased screening and treatment options. Ninety-nine percent of men with prostate cancer will survive for a minimum of five years after diagnosis.
It Has Just Turned My Life Around
âIâve lost 20 pounds or so in the last six months, and I feel great,â he said. âIt has just turned my life around.â
Since he joined the study, Asay has made the 180-mile, round-trip commute between his home and Seattle more than 10 times to meet with exercise physiologist Matthew Van Doren and nutritionist Sarah Altvater in the Fred Hutch Prevention Center, a unique facility that houses a state-of-the-art exercise research center and a human nutrition laboratory that supports a variety of feeding studies.
From Van Doren, Asay has learned about the importance of stretching, cardiovascular and resistance exercise, and consistently getting his heart rate into a fat-burning zone, among other things. From Altvater, he has learned how to keep a food journal to track every calorie and gram of fat that passes his lips, and how to make healthy food choices, like eating more vegetables and staying away from sugary drinks and pastries. âI have skim milk in my coffee now and I try and stay away from cheese, even though I still love it,â said the retired dairy farmer.
Those choices have since become second nature, Asay said in a phone interview the day after Halloween.
âBefore I joined the study, Iâd go to Costco, Iâd go by the bakery and the first thing Iâd have would be a sweet roll. Last night, my wife had candy out for the trick-or-treaters and that doesnât even interest me anymore.
And heâs not done.
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How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed
A blood test called a prostate-specific antigen test is the most common way to check for prostate cancer. A higher level of PSA may mean that you have prostate cancer or that your prostate cancer has come back.
Your doctor also may do a biopsy. In this test, your doctor takes samples of tissue from your prostate gland or from the area where the cancer may have spread and sends the samples to a lab for testing. A biopsy is the only way to know for sure that you have prostate cancer.
If you have had prostate cancer before, your doctor may also order a bone scan, CT scan, or MRI to see if it has come back or spread.
Learning that you have cancer that has spread or come back can be very hard. Some people find that it helps to talk about their feelings with their family and friends. You may also want to talk with your doctor or with other people who have had this kind of cancer. Your local American Cancer Society chapter can help you find a support group.
What Are The Symptoms
Sometimes there are no symptoms of either locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer.
When they do appear, symptoms of locally advanced prostate cancer include:
- Waking up many times during the night to urinate.
- Having trouble starting your urine stream, having a weaker-than-normal stream, or not being able to urinate at all.
- Having pain or a burning feeling when you urinate.
- Having blood in your urine.
- Having a deep pain or stiffness in your lower back, upper thighs, or hips.
Symptoms of metastatic prostate cancer may include:
- Bone pain.
- Swelling in your legs and feet.
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Can Prostate Cancer Be Prevented Or Avoided
Some risk factors, such as family history and hormone levels, cant be prevented. However, your weight, physical activity, and diet may lower your risk for prostate cancer. Work toward a healthy lifestyle by eating the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight .
When Should You Call Your Doctor
Be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions about calling when you have problems, new symptoms, or symptoms that get worse.
if you:
- Are completely unable to urinate.
- Have painful urination and a fever, chills, or body aches.
- Have blood or pus in your urine or semen.
- Weight loss.
- Dull, aching pain in your lower back, pelvis, or hips.
- Swollen lymph nodes in the groin area. These nodes are usually not tender.
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An Active Yet Noninvasive Therapy
âMany men on active surveillance are anxious about doing ânothingâ for their prostate cancer. This study has the potential to provide both patients and providers with an active yet noninvasive therapy that could benefit not only their prostate cancer, but also their overall health and quality of life,â Wright said.
âWe all have busy lives and priorities that make it difficult to stick to a diet and exercise regimen,â he said. âPart of our goal here is to prioritize a shift in lifestyle through a structured, supervised program that participants can sustain after the study concludes.â
This intervention, which is modeled on the National Institutes of Healthâs Diabetes Prevention Program, has a track record of success for participants keeping the weight off years later. âThe DPP has been shown to help participants â both men and women â lose up to 7 percent of their body weight after the six-month intervention and keep the weight off 10 years later,â Wright said. âThis is the first time, to our knowledge, that the intervention has been done solely in male cancer patients.â
Findings from this study, Wright said, will help researchers understand how obesity affects prostate cancer outcomes, and it could have âa profound impactâ on clinical practice by providing a lifestyle intervention as a therapy for men, like Asay, who opt for active surveillance.
Screening For Prostate Cancer
There are no tests available with sufficient accuracy to screen populations of men for early signs of prostate cancer.;However, early detection and treatment can significantly improve prostate cancer survival.
The test most commonly used to aid early detection of prostate cancer is the prostate specific antigen blood test. This is not a diagnostic test as it can only indicate changes in the prostate. If you are concerned about prostate cancer you should talk to your doctor and make an informed choice about whether to have one of the tests designed to find early signs of prostate cancer, in view of the potential risks and benefits.
There are no proven measures to prevent prostate cancer.
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Men’s Weight Linked To Prostate Cancer Growth
Obesity, Weight Gain May Raise Prostate Cancer Risks
A man’s weight gain may affect his prostate cancer prognosis and raise the risk of the disease progressing, according to a new study.
Researchers found men who were obese at the time their prostate cancer was diagnosed as well as those who gained weight quickly before their diagnosis were more likely to have an aggressive form of the disease. These men were more likely to have prostate cancer that progressed after surgical treatment.
Although previous studies have suggested a link between obesity and the risk of developing prostate cancer, researchers say this is the first study to show a relationship between a man’s weight at different ages and the risk of prostate cancer progression after diagnosis and surgical treatment.
Researchers say if further studies confirm these results, doctors should consider a man’s weight and his history of weight gain when designing a prostate cancer treatment plan, such as incorporating diet and exercise strategies to reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression.
Pain In The Back Or Hips
Many times, prostate cancer pain occurs around the lower spinal cord and hips. This a result of the prostate being in close proximity to these regions.
Cancer in the hips will cause bones to become brittle and weak. The result is consistent soreness, especially when bending over or exercising.
Prostate cancer can also put pressure on the spine. The compression of the nerves causes a dull pain that can become stabbing as the cancer grows.
If youve been experiencing severe pain in the back or hips even without engaging in rigorous activities during the day, its best if you get yourself checked. Aside from being one of the most common signs of prostate cancer, severe pain in the back and hips can take a toll on your daily activities, and prevent you from becoming productive during the day. Pain in the back and hips can also adversely affect your mobility, making it very challenging for you to move.
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