Prostate Cancer Treatment

• Facebook
• Whatsapp

Prostate cancer begins when cells in the prostate gland start to grow uncontrollably. The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland found only in males. It makes the seminal fluid which nourishes and transports the sperm. The prostate is below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The size of the prostate changes with age. In younger men, it is about the size of a walnut, but it can be much larger in older men.

This cancer occurs in 4 distinct stages :

1. Stage I: In stage I, prostate cancer is found in the prostate only and the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) is <10.  A tumor involves less than one-half of one lobe of the prostate. At this stage, the symptoms usually go unnoticed and don’t appear on imaging tests.
2. Stage II: In stage II, the tumor is grown inside the prostate but doesn’t extend beyond it. There are 2 sub-types in this stage. In stage II-a, cancer involves more than one-half of one lobe. In stage II-b, cancer spreads to both the lobes.
3. Stage III: In Stage III, cancer has spread outside the gland, but only barely. Cancer in stage III may involve nearby tissues, like the seminal vesicles. The cancer is easily detected in this stage, and the signs & symptoms are profound.
4. Stage IV: In stage IV, cancer has spread (metastasized) outside the prostate to other tissues. Stage IV cancer commonly spreads to lymph nodes, the bones, liver, or lungs.

The exact reason of developing prostate cancer is largely unknown. However, there are a variety of factors that can increase the chances of getting one. These are as follows:

• Genetic: If a person in your family has/had the abnormality, the chances of you getting it increases.
• Age: Men above 50 years of age have higher chances of developing it.
• Diet: A diet high in calcium and animal products can increase the chances of cancer.
• Obesity: Your weight plays a big role in developing prostate cancer. A healthy diet and exercise can help prevent it.

Prostate cancer may cause no signs or symptoms in its early stages. Hence, it remains largely undetected in the beginning stages. As it grows a few signs and symptoms may occur like listed below, Have a look.

• Pain in bones
• Trouble urinating
• Discomfort in the pelvic area
• Burning sensation while urinating
• Decreased force in the stream of urine Blood in semen or urine
• Erectile dysfunction

For the diagnosis, you need to first screen your prostates through several tests. Given below is the list of screening tests and a few therapies that can help to reduce the effect. have a look.

• Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) or Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test: It is done to indicate the anomalies in the size or texture of the gland, prostate infection, inflammation, enlargement, and cancer. Once cancer and the areas affected are identified further prostate cancer treatments (listed below) can take place.
• Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy to kill cancer cells. It can be delivered in two ways i.e through external beam radiation where the radiation comes outside of the body or brachytherapy where the radiation is placed inside the body.
• Hormone therapy: Prostate cancer cells rely on testosterone to help them grow. Hormone therapy is a treatment to stop your body from producing the male hormone testosterone. The options through which it can be done are: By taking medications known as a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) which stops the production of testosterone. Removal of testicles through surgery. Medication to block testosterone from reaching cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill rapidly growing cells, including cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be administered through a vein in your arm, in pill form or both. It can be used when cancer has spread to different parts and when other therapies don’t work.
• Biological therapy: In biological therapy, some of our own body cells are taken and genetically engineered in a laboratory and injected back into the body to fight the prostate cancer cells.

Prostate cancer treatments are generally safe but the patients may experience some side-effects after undergoing surgeries like

• Post-Chemo Nausea
• Leakage of urine
• Erectile dysfunction
• Fatigue periods of heavy sweating and flushing