Cancer is when cells in the body grow out of control. Prostate cancer is a group of abnormal cells in the prostate.
Like many types of cancer, prostate cancer can be aggressive. This means it grows quickly and can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Prostate cancer can also grow more slowly.
If you have prostate cancer, it is important for your doctor to monitor the growth of your cancer carefully.
If left completely unchecked, the cancer can grow quickly and spread to other organs in your body. This makes treatment much more difficult.
Prostate cancer, especially in its early stages, often does not have any symptoms. Symptoms are more likely to appear as the cancer grows.
Call your doctor if you have any of these symptoms:
* Difficulty starting to urinate
* Less force to the stream of urine
* Dribbling after you finish urinating
* Frequent urination, especially at night
* Blood or pus in the urine
* Pain while urinating
* Pain with ejaculation
* Hip and lower back pain that does not go away over time
* Pain in the lower part of your pelvis
* Unintended weight loss and/or loss of appetite
The treatment options for prostate cancer depend in part on whether the tumor has spread. For tumors that are still inside the prostate, radiation therapy (using x-rays that kill the cancer cells) and a surgery called radical prostatectomy are common treatment options. "Watchful waiting" is also a treatment option. In this approach, no treatment is given until the tumor gets bigger. Watchful waiting may be the best choice for an older man who has a higher risk of dying from something other than his prostate cancer.
Generally, tumors that have grown beyond the edge of the prostate can't be cured with either radiation or surgery. They can be treated with hormones that slow the cancer's growth.
What is radical prostatectomy ?
Radical prostatectomy is a surgery to remove the whole prostate gland and the nearby lymph nodes. Most men who have this surgery are under general anesthesia (puts you into a sleep-like state). After the prostate gland is taken out, a catheter (a narrow rubber tube) is put through the penis into the bladder to carry urine out of the body until the area heals.
Risks and benefits of radical prostatectomy
If you're in good health, the short-term risks of this surgery are low. The hospital stay is usually 2 to 3 days, with the catheter left in place for 2 to 3 weeks. You're usually able to go back to work in about 1 month. You shouldn't have severe pain with this surgery. Most men regain bladder control a few weeks to several months after the surgery.
The main advantage of surgery is that it offers the most certain treatment. That is, if all of the cancer is removed during surgery, you are probably cured. Also, the surgery provides your doctor with accurate information about how advanced your cancer is, since the nearby lymph nodes are taken out along with the tumor.
Surgery does have risks and complications. The main risks of this surgery are incontinence (lack of bladder control) and impotence i.e. erectile dysfunction (loss of the ability to get or keep an erection long enough to have sex).
This aspect represents a frequent cause of fear and concern
both for the 55–65 year old patients (“aging males”) and their partners and has a significant impact on the choice of therapy.
Even it the neurovascular bundles can be saved, an average of 50 % of the patients is likely to complain of erectile dysfunction. It is only in the course of the first 2 years after prostatectomy that rehabilitation of erectile dysfunction can be expected. It is all the more crucial to begin with rehabilitation therapy of the erectile tissue at an early postoperative stage to prevent an irretrievable loss of erectile function. Medication with of PDE-5 inhibitors likr Tadalafil ( Cialis) or Sildenafil ( Viagra) or prostaglandins is considered the best available treatment.
Radiation therapy: Risks and Benefits
There are 2 types of radiation therapy. In one type, called external beam radiation therapy, radiation is given from a machine like an x-ray machine. In another type, radioactive pellets (called "seeds") are injected into the prostate gland. This is sometimes called seed therapy or brachytherapy . Both methods work about the same in curing prostate cancer.
The machine therapy is usually given 5 days a week over 7 weeks, which you might find time-consuming. However, you don't need any anesthesia. The side effects are milder than the side effects that can come with seed therapy. However, seed therapy can be done with just one hospital visit. For seed therapy, you have to have anesthesia for a few minutes, but you should be able to go home right after the treatment. In seed therapy, higher doses of radiation can be put right on the cancer. You may feel more discomfort after this treatment.
About one half of patients become impotent within 2 years of having radiation therapy. Many men feel very tired at the end of the treatment period. About 15% to 30% of men who have radiation therapy have urinary burning, urinary bleeding, frequent urination, rectal bleeding, rectal discomfort or diarrhea during or shortly after the treatment. Serious complications are rare. However, a degree of uncertainty goes along with radiation treatment. Since the prostate gland and the lymph nodes are not taken out, your doctor can't tell the exact size of the tumor. The cancer could come back many years after radiation treatment.
At 10 years after treatment, cure rates are about the same for radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy. There are no surgical risks for men who have radiation therapy. There's no risk of bleeding. You don't have to stay in the hospital. You'll recover faster. Daily activities can usually go on during the treatment. Incontinence is extremely rare afterward. However, surgery may give you a better chance of cure over the long term.
Watchful waiting: Risks and Benefits
Many prostate cancers are small and grow slowly. Because many men with a slow-growing tumor have the same life expectancy as men who don't even have prostate cancer, it may not be necessary to treat very small, very slow-growing prostate tumors. Also, some men feel that the side effects of treatment outweigh the benefits. In watchful waiting, you get no treatment, but you see your doctor often. If there's no sign the cancer is growing, you continue to get no treatment. Hormone therapy can be started if the cancer starts to grow.
It can be hard to tell if a small tumor is going to grow slowly or quickly. Your doctor will get clues about the way your tumor will grow by checking your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, examining the biopsy tissue and giving you a rectal exam. The choice of watchful waiting is up to you.
Hormone therapy
The purpose of hormone therapy is to lower the level of the male hormones, called androgens, which are produced mostly in the testicles. This is because androgens, such as testosterone, help the prostate tumor grow. Monthly shots can be given or the testicles can be surgically removed. Once the testosterone is out of your body, the prostate cancer usually shrinks. Hormone treatments are most often used in patients with cancer that has already spread beyond the prostate gland.
While prostate cancer usually responds to 1 or 2 years of hormone therapy, after some time most tumors start to grow again. Once this happens, the treatment goal is to control symptoms. No treatment can cure prostate cancer after hormone therapy stops helping.
Disclaimer
The information contained herin is a summary and does not contain all possible information about this product / products. For complete information about this product / products or your specific health needs, ask your health care professional. Always seek the advice of your health care professional if you have any questions about this produ t/ products or your medical condition.
This information is not intended as individual medical advice and does not substitute for the knowledge and judgment of your health care professional. This information does not contain any assurances that this product / products is safe, effective, or appropriate for you.
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