Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer
Because prostate cancer tends to not show symptoms in its early stages, risk factors are another useful tool to identify candidates for screening. The Mayo Clinic notes that risk certainly increases as you grow older, and obese men may be more likely to have prostate cancer that is aggressive or difficult to treat.
For unknown reasons, black men are also at a greater risk of prostate cancer than men of other races. Not only are they more likely to get prostate cancer, but the risk of prostate cancer being aggressive or advanced is also higher.
Finally, your family history or genetics can also help determine your prostate cancer risk. For example, men with close relatives who had prostate cancer are more likely to get it. Also, a family history of breast cancer or the presence of the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 within the family also raises the likelihood of a man developing prostate cancer.
Testing Options For Prostate Cancer
There is no one age for prostate cancer testing, but the American Cancer Society makes recommendations about screenings. According to the ACS, patients in any of these groups should consider asking their doctor about testing:
- Men age 50 or older who have an average risk of prostate cancer and a life expectancy of at least 10 more years
- Men age 45 or older with a high risk, including African-American men and those with a first-degree relative who had prostate cancer before age 65
- Men age 40 or older who have a higher risk, such as more than one first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age
How To Know Whether It Is Cancer
If you have any of the mentioned signs, you should see a doctor. They will take the steps to rule out cancer.
However, you can read here the different options :
RECTAL EXAMINATION
The doctor checks your prostate through your rectum, with a finger. The prostate is in contact with the rectum so this is the way to palpate it.
Doing so, the doctor can check if it is enlarged, if it has hard nodules
PSA
It is detected through a blood test. The more prostatic tissue you have, the higher value of PSA you have.
It is useful if you have a normal PSA value, because that virtually rules out cancer. If your PSA is okey, your prostate is probably ok.
However, if you have a high PSA then you have more prostatic tissue than normal. Maybe you have BPH .
Prostatitis also causes a high PSA, because of the irritated tissue.
So if PSA is normal then everything is good. If PSA is high you probably need some extra tests to find out what is wrong.
An increased PSA can be due to prostate cancer, but also to BPH and prostatitis.
PROSTATE MRI
You go inside the MRI machine and stay still for around 30 minutes.
Usually, it also requires intravenous contrast so you will need an IV line.
- This test will tell the doctor if there are any suspiciousnodules inside the prostate. Also, it will show the prostate cancer stage.
- It will also show if it is a large prostate, but with no malignant nodules .
If there are no nodules, everythings fine. If there are you may need a biopsy.
PROSTATE BIOPSY
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What Are Common Prostate Problems What Are The Symptoms And Signs
Here are some examples of non-cancer prostate problems:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, means your prostate is enlarged, but is not cancerous. It is very common in older men. An enlarged prostate may make it very difficult to urinate or cause dribbling after you urinate. You may feel the need to urinate a lot, often at night. See your family doctor for an exam. Treatments for BPH include:
- Watchful waiting, also called active surveillance. If your symptoms are not too bad, your doctor may tell you to wait before starting any treatment to see if the problem gets worse. Your doctor will tell you how often you need to return for checkups. You can start treatment later if your symptoms worsen.
- Medications. There are medicines that can help shrink the prostate or help relax muscles near your prostate to ease your symptoms. Talk with your doctor about possible side effects.
- Surgery. If nothing else has worked, your doctor may suggest surgery to help urine flow. There are many types of BPH surgery. Talk with your doctor about the risks. Regular checkups are important after surgery.
- Other treatments. Sometimes radio waves, microwaves, or lasers are used to treat urinary problems caused by BPH. These methods use different kinds of heat to reduce extra prostate tissue.
Talking With Your Doctor
Different kinds of doctors and other health care professionals manage prostate health. They can help you find the best care, answer your questions, and address your concerns. These health care professionals include:
- Family doctors and internists
- Physician assistants and nurse practitioners
- Urologists, who are experts in diseases of the urinary tract system and the male reproductive system
- Urologic oncologists, who are experts in treating cancers of the urinary system and the male reproductive system
- Radiation oncologists, who use radiation therapy to treat cancer
- Medical oncologists, who treat cancer with medications such as hormone treatments and chemotherapy
- Pathologists, who identify diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope
View these professionals as your partnersâexpert advisors and helpers in your health care. Talking openly with your doctors can help you learn more about your prostate changes and the tests to expect.
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So What Are The Warning Signs Of Prostate Cancer
Unfortunately, there usually arent any early warning signs for prostate cancer. The growing tumor does not push against anything to cause pain, so for many years the disease may be silent. Thats why screening for prostate cancer is such an important topic for all men and their families.
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In rare cases, prostate cancer can cause symptoms. Contact your doctor for an evaluation if you experience any of the following:
- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night, some- times urgently
- Difficulty starting or holding back urination
- Weak, dribbling, or interrupted flow of urine
- Painful or burning urination
- Difficulty in having an erection
- A decrease in the amount of fluid ejaculated
- Painful ejaculation
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Pressure or pain in the rectum
- Pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, pelvis, or thighs
Remember: urinary symptoms dont necessarily mean you have cancer. Prostatitis or BPH are benign diseases but can cause similar symptoms and are very common.
What about difficulty in having an erection? Again, this is most likely not caused by cancer but by other factors such as diabetes, smoking, cardiovascular disease, or just plain getting older.
That said: Symptoms are symptoms, and no matter whats most likely to be causing them, you should get them checked out by a doctor.
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Warning Signs Of Prostate Cancer
One of the challenges of prostate cancer is that it often doesnt present symptoms that alert men to its presence, particularly in the early stages. But the Urology Care Foundation notes that there may be some warning signs that you have problems related to your prostate, including the following:
If you get screened for prostate cancer, there are additional warning signs based on how the prostate gland cells look under a microscope, notes the American Cancer Society. Cells that may be concerning will exhibit some level of what is known as prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia . These cells may exhibit low-grade PIN, in which something is slightly off with the cells, or high-grade PIN, when they show clear abnormalities.
Under a microscope, prostate gland cells may also exhibit what is known as proliferative inflammatory atrophy . PIA indicates cells that are smaller than normal and show some signs of inflammation. These cells may be worth additional monitoring because they could develop high-grade PIN and ultimately prostate cancer.
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Why Is A Prostate
A PSA blood test is performed to detect or rule out prostate cancer. The amount of PSA in the blood is often higher in men who have prostate cancer. However, an elevated PSA level does not necessarily indicate prostate cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the PSA blood test for use in conjunction with a DRE to help detect prostate cancer in men age 50 or older and for monitoring men with prostate cancer after treatment. However, much remains unknown about how to interpret a PSA blood test, its ability to discriminate between cancer and problems such as BPH and prostatitis, and the best course of action if the PSA level is high.
When done in addition to a DRE, a PSA blood test enhances detection of prostate cancer. However, the test is known to have relatively high false-positive rates. A PSA blood test also may identify a greater number of medically insignificant lumps or growths, called tumors, in the prostate. Health care providers and patients should weigh the benefits of PSA blood testing against the risks of follow-up diagnostic tests. The procedures used to diagnose prostate cancer may cause significant side effects, including bleeding and infection.
What Is A Prostate Infection
A prostate infection occurs when your prostate and the surrounding area become inflamed. The prostate is about the size of a walnut. Its located between the bladder and the base of the penis. The tube that moves urine from the bladder to the penis runs through the center of your prostate. The urethra also moves semen from the sex glands to the penis.
Several types of infections can affect the prostate. Some men with prostatitis experience no symptoms at all, while others report many, including intense pain.
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What Is Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is common among American men. Your chance of getting prostate cancer may be affected by your:
- Age. Men age 50 and older run a greater risk.
- Race. Prostate cancer is most common among African-American men.
- Family history. If your father or brother has had prostate cancer, you are more likely to have it, too.
- Diet. Eating high-fat food with few fruits and vegetables may raise your risk.
When To See A Doctor
Because its so difficult to identify prostate cancer early, it can often be difficult to know when its right to see the doctor. Of course, any of the warning signs and symptoms mentioned above warrant a trip to the doctor.
There are, however, other scenarios when you should see your doctor for prostate cancer screening, notes the Urology Care Foundation. For example, screening is generally recommended for men between the ages of 55 and 69. And if you have additional risk due to being African-American or having a family history of prostate cancer, then you may want to get screened earlier.
A wise approach: Talk to your doctor about whether prostate cancer screening would be right for you.
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What To Look Out For
The chances of developing prostate cancer increase as a man gets older, with most cases developing in men aged 50 or older.
For many men in the early stages of the disease, there are no symptoms to alert them to prostate cancer. The prostate tends to become bigger with age and because of its position can cause problems with urination. But symptoms may include:
- needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- needing to rush to the toilet or passing urine when you dont expect to
- difficulty starting or straining to pass urine
- taking a long time to finish, with dribbling at the end
- a weak flow
- a feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly
If you have any of these symptoms, it is important to find out whether it is cancer or not, so you should visit your GP for further advice.
You can find out more at the page below:
The majority of prostate problems are not cancer.
Prostate cancer, once diagnosed, responds well to treatment and may be cured.
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Tests Used To Check The Prostate
This first step lets your doctor hear and understand the “story” of your prostate concerns. You’ll be asked whether you have symptoms, how long you’ve had them, and how much they affect your lifestyle. Your personal medical history also includes any risk factors, pain, fever, or trouble passing urine. You may be asked to give a urine sample for testing.
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What You Need To Know About Prostate Cancer
Unless it causes problems, most men dont give a lot of thought to their prostate. The small gland is responsible for producing seminal fluid , and its located beneath the bladder and around the urethra, the tube that transports fluid to the penis.
Most types of prostate cancer are known as adenocarcinomas, which are cancers that develop from gland cells, the Mayo Clinic says.
While some forms of prostate cancer grow and spread quickly, others grow quite slowly. The American Cancer Society notes that some people can have undetectable prostate cancer for decades without it causing any problems. But the risks of prostate cancer are quite serious, particularly as it begins to spread to other areas of the body.
Early Warning Signs Of Prostate Problems
Preventive prostate screenings may help men avoid many problems later in life, unfortunately most men wait until after the issues have already begun.
05/17/19 2 min read
Theres never a bad time for men to take a proactive approach to prostate health. But the truth is the majority of males put off worrying about this all-important gland until reaching 50 years oldan arbitrary milestone that can encourage complacent behavior.
Unfortunately, men who havent visited a medical professional for preventive screenings may one day begin exhibiting a range of seemingly innocuous problems that could actually be an indicator of something far more troubling.
That little bit of hesitation just before your urine stream starts?
You might only be in your 30s, but it could be a sign that your prostate is beginning to enlarge.
The middle of the night trips to the bathroom in your 40s?
That could be an indication that nodules are beginning to grow on your prostate, causing over-stimulation, forcing more urine into your bladder.
Then suddenly youre 50 or 60 years old and you have a full-blown prostate problem.
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Medication For Urinary Problems
Your doctor may suggest various medications to help ease your urinary problems, including:
- medications to reduce the tone of the muscles of the urethra and prostate to minimise any constriction to urine flow caused when these muscles contract
- medication to reduce the size of the prostate gland. These medications work by blocking the action of male hormones produced by the prostate gland
- medications to relax the bladder, making unwanted contractions less likely and reducing the symptoms of urgency and frequency of urination
- the over-the-counter preparation saw palmetto is sometimes used. This may help some men, especially if frequent urination at night is a problem.
However, recent reviews of the evidence for using saw palmetto as a treatment for mild or moderate urinary symptoms did not show any improvement, compared to no treatment, in men with BPH.
What To Do If You Are Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer
Aforementioned is evidence that cancer of this kind may not be detected until it starts causing ultimate damage. It is important to know your options. Be sure to consult your doctor as soon as you suspect that you or a loved one may have cancer. Having routine checkups are of immense importance, as they can help you catch the disease early.
If you are in the late stages of prostate cancer, let All American Hospice shoulder some of your burden. We offer 24/7 home service and palliative care to help ease the draining process of being diagnosed with cancer.
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What Else Can Cause These Symptoms
As men get older their prostate gland enlarges. It isn’t normally cancer. But instead a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia . BPH is when the prostate gland grows and presses on the urethra. The urethra is the tube that empties out urine from the bladder.
BPH does not develop into cancer. But you can have an enlarged prostate at the same time as having areas in the prostate gland that contain cancer cells.
See your doctor if you have any of the changes described here.
The changes don’t mean that you have cancer but it is important to get them checked so your doctor can help with you cope with them.
Transrectal Ultrasound With Prostate Biopsy
Transrectal ultrasound is most often used to examine the prostate. In a transrectal ultrasound, the health care provider inserts a transducer slightly larger than a pen into the mans rectum next to the prostate. The ultrasound image shows the size of the prostate and any abnormal-looking areas, such as tumors. Transrectal ultrasound cannot definitively identify prostate cancer.
To determine whether a tumor is cancerous, the health care provider uses the transducer and ultrasound images to guide a needle to the tumor. The needle is then used to remove a few pieces of prostate tissue for examination with a microscope. This process, called biopsy, can reveal whether prostate cancer is present. A transrectal ultrasound with prostate biopsy is usually performed by a doctor in a health care providers office, outpatient center, or hospital with light sedation and local anesthesia. The biopsied prostate tissue is examined in a laboratory by a pathologista doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases.
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