Prostate Cancer

CancerGuru Types of Cancer Prostate

Overview

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The prostate is a gland, walnut-sized, sitting below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It produces the fluid that nourishes and protects sperm. It thus supports the male reproductive system. The cancer emerging from the prostate among men is one of the most common forms, but most cases are detected before extending out of the gland. Early detection improves treatment chances substantially; in many cases, cancer can be eliminated at this stage. Since progression of prostate cancer is typically very slow, many men prefer active surveillance for investigative and close observation of disease states.

More aggressive treatment is warranted when the cancer grows rapidly or shows other signs of malignant spread. The options include external radiotherapy and anterior prostatectomy. Treatment usually comprises various parameters, including the staging of the cancer, the patient's age, general health, and preferences. The constant ongoing research and improvements in medical care for prostate cancer have indeed given light to what many men with prostate cancer can expect from the future, heading toward more effective managing and curing of the disease.

Types of Prostate Cancer

When you get prostate cancer diagnosed, you are most likely having an adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma starts in the gland cells - such are those wit in your prostate - which secrete fluids. Prostate cancer, however, may rarely develop by other types of cells.

Less common types of prostate cancer comprise:

Small cell carcinomas
Transitional cell carcinomas

Neuroendocrine tumors
Sarcomas

How common is prostate cancer?

Among the cancers being diagnosed for the males, prostate cancer is the most common after skin cancer. According to the CDC, 13 out of 100 men in America develop prostate cancer at one time in their life. While most men with this disease will live their lives and die from causes unrelated to cancer, some will not even require treatment.

However, prostate cancer causes serious morality issues, claiming around 34,000 lives through the United States every year.

Risk Factors

Another significant risk factor for prostate cancer is:

Advancing age: The chances of having something tend to increase with increasing age. In fact, most of them occurred in men 65 years old and above: 60% of prostate cancer cases occur in men older than 50 years.
Ethnicity: Risk of disease is increased if that person is African American. Moreover, African-American men are also at the highest risk of aggressive forms of prostate cancer and may be diagnosed in younger ages.
Family history of prostate cancer: The man has two to three times increased chances of having the disease if his close relative is a person with prostate cancer.
Genetic predisposition: Increased risk if you have Lynch syndrome, or other inherited mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2.

There are other possible factors that could predispose one, but the evidence against them is not as strong. Such possible risk factors could include:

Smoking
Prostatitis
BMI over 30 (obesity)

Sexually transmitted infections
Agent Orange (used in the Vietnam War).

Symptoms

Very early prostate cancer is commonly asymptomatic. As the disease progresses, some changes may occur, such as:

The need to urinate frequently, almost always urgently, especially at night

Urine flows weak or intermittently starting and stopping
Pain while urinating (dysuria)
Loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence)
Loss of bowel control (fecal incontinence)

Painful ejaculation and inability to have an erection (ED)
Blood may be seen in a man's semen (hematospermia) or urine
Pain may be found in the lower back or in the hip bones, or in the chest.

Do prostate problems always mean that there is prostate cancer?

Not every prostate disorder is cancerous. Some other disorders can show symptoms similar to those of prostate cancer:

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH): BPH will touch just about every person owning a prostate at one time or another. It is a nonmalignant condition characterized by enlargement of the prostate gland. It is curiously one condition that has not been attributed to setting the stage for lung cancer.
Prostatitis: An enlarged prostate in the younger age group is nearly always caused by prostatitis, a benign inflammation of the prostate, bacterial in nature.

Causes

The exact causes of the transformation of prostate cells into malignant cells remain unclear to most experts. Like any other cancer, prostate cancer is initiated when cells begin to proliferate more than normal. The cycle of a normal cell is that it receives signals to grow and perform functions, and then it eventually dies; in contrast, a cancer cell becomes activated, starts multiplying continuously, and does not die at all. So the cells progressively form a mass, which is called a tumor. When the tumor outgrows its local supply of nutrients and oxygen, it could send out some cells into the surrounding tissues and into the bloodstream for metastasis to other body parts.

However, there is a good thing; prostate cancer grows slowly most of the time. Therefore, in most cases, cancer is usually diagnosed while still within the prostatic confines. Early detection leads to high treatability of prostate cancer.

Diagnosis

Not every suspicion arising from the initial screening warrants further tests immediately. If the doctor believes that it is a slow-growing cancer and is not likely to present any problem in the near future, they may propose 'watchful waiting' instead of rushing into testing. However, if the cancer is deemed aggressive, they will, of course, line up all relevant tests:

Imaging

These tests such as MRI or transrectal ultrasound provide clear images of your prostate. They will be used to spot any abnormalities and decide regarding possible biopsy.

Biopsy

The doctor removes a small area of tissue from the prostate. This is the only absolute way to know whether you have cancer and how aggressive it is likely to be. The tissue is also sometimes investigated for genetic mutations that can help influence treatment decisions.

What are the grades and stages of prostate cancer?

Once diagnosed with prostate cancer, the members of your care team will speak to you about something called the Gleason Score and the stage of your cancer. These two factors will help them determine the degree of seriousness of the cancer and what treatment might be best suited.

Gleason score: this score describes the degree of aberrance of your cancer cells relative to normal cells. A high score correlates to grossly abnormal cells that are more likely to grow and spread.
Cancer staging indicates to your doctor how much cancer has spread. It may be:
Local: limited to the confines of the prostate.
Regional: widespread within nearby boundaries such as areas like the bladder or surrounding abnormalities.
Distant (or metastatic): spread into more distant parts of the body (bones, lymph nodes, liver, lungs, or even brain).

Treatments

The alternatives for treating prostate cancers are plentiful; however, the option fit for a justifiable treatment would be one based on the level of growth and spreadivity, general health condition of the patient, and finally, the patient's preferences.

In several instances, especially so for slow-growing cancers and those contained in the prostate, treatment may not be necessary for quite some time. In some instances, you and your doctor would prefer an active surveillance approach-that is, surveillance that looks for changes without intervention through regular monitoring, comprising follow-up visits, PSA tests, imaging, and, at times, biopsies.

If treatment is required, treatments may include:

Surgical treatment (Prostatectomy)

The surgical procedure of removing the prostate gland and, in some cases, some surrounding tissue. It is usually performed if the cancer has been undoubtedly contained within the prostate.

Radiation Therapy

Very strong rays that kill cancer cells. Radiation can be given from the outside through a machine or brachytherapy, where a few seeds with radioactive substances go inside the prostate.

Hormone Therapy

Prostate cancer cells grow in response to male hormones (testosterone). Hormone treatment reduces or blocks these hormone levels to slow down or shrink the cancer.

chemotherapy

The treatment by chemotherapy agents can be given when the disease extends beyond the prostate and hormone treatment is ineffective, usually with the intent of eliminating cancer cells from the body.

Immunotherapy

A treatment designed to enhance the ability of the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells. Less commonly, it may find use in the selected case.

Targeted Therapy

If a genetic test indicates certain mutations, agents against said mutations may be administered so as to destroy cancer cells but leave the healthy cells unharmed.

Side Effects of Treatment

Each prostate cancer treatment has its set of side effects. Some of these symptoms last for a shorter period and go away after the treatment ends, while most linger on even longer. Not everyone has the same kind of experience when it comes to side effects, and this differs depending on the treatment type, general state of health, and body reaction.

Here are some of the most frequent:

Urinary troubles: Bladder completion problems, with leaking urine (incontinence), are usually a side effect of surgery or irradiation. Some regain full control whereas some experience lasting symptoms.
Dysfunction in erection: It may be due to the nerve injury caused during surgery or radiation therapy making the process tougher to achieve or maintain an erection. Although there are treatments for this, it may occur to some men over a long period.
Bowel disturbance: Radiation therapy may also stain the rectum, leading to symptoms such as diarrhea, bleeding, or some discomfort experienced while defecating.
Fatigue: Generally, most people are found to complain of tiredness when they are receiving treatment and immediately after. This can last for many weeks or even months but normally decreases over time.
Hormonal fluctuations: This may involve a range of manifestations as in hot flashes due to hormone therapy, adding on to increased weight and muscle mass, tendering of breasts and changes in moods along with decreased libido.
Bone thinning: Prolonged and lifelong hormone replacement therapy weakens bones to osteoporotic levels, thereby increasing the chances of fractures.
Emotional sucking: Emotions usually get sucked because of the cancer, the therapies one will have to undergo, or due to the side effects. Some very common ones may involve anxiety, or depression, or quite simply a sense of being overwhelmed - enough for you to feel the need for help.

You will be informed by the health care team of all the expected adverse effects as well as how to deal with them. There are indeed numerous means, medications, and therapies that can be of assistance in improving your quality of life during the time of treatments as well as after.

But most important, it is to understand that you are not alone. There is help at every step of the journey, no matter what hurdles it brings.

Support

The diagnosis of prostate cancer is certainly overwhelming for patients, but there are ways to do it. It is there and available every step of the way-the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

Some of the ways you can get help and stay connected are:

Healthcare team support

Your doctors, nurses, and specialists are not there to just take care of the cancer but also to address side effects management, to have discussions on your decisions that will feel just right for you, and so forth. Don't feel shy or afraid to reach out to them at any time, should you need further information or reassurance.

Counseling and mental health care

Just getting through the range of emotions one might feel, from anxiety to sadness and confusion, is a lot of work in itself. Talking with a counselor, psychologist, or therapist tends to help people work through feelings and even strengthen resilience. Some cancer treatment centers are offering mental health services for people living with cancer.

Support groups

There are times when one just needs to have a talk session with somebody who knows exactly what these days are like. Prostate cancer support groups may be in person or virtual get-togethers which provide the opportunity to air the way one feels, listen to others share their stories, and learn useful tips on managing the issues and reactions that arise.

Family and friends

The closest to you should know how they can help you drive to the clinic, cook meals, or just be there listening. You do not have to go through everything alone.

Practical and financial support

Many organizations for this area give help in areas like transportation and home care, for insurance questions, and financial assistance. Check with your healthcare provider for local resources or with national organizations like the American Cancer Society or ZERO - The End of Prostate Cancer.

Research

Research into prostate cancer is ever-evolving to provide hope for many patients now and in the future. It is a greater focus now for scientists all over the world to better understand prostate cancer, develop new tools for its earlier detection, and develop the most efficacious and least harmful treatments.

Here are examples of some key areas of research that are exciting:

Improved Screening Tools

The researchers are working toward finding newer blood tests, imaging methods, and genetic testing methods for an earlier and accurate detection of prostate cancer, sometimes even before the symptoms show.

Personalized Medicine

Not all prostate cancers come out of the same mold. Investigators are learning more about the genes behind individual tumors. This could lead toward customized treatment depending on the specific features of a person's cancer.

New Treatments

Novel immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormonal therapy are underway in the laboratory. Some of the newer therapies are geared toward training the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells; others aim to exploit the genetic Achilles' heel of cancer."

Better Ways To Manage Side Effects

Studies are also focusing on how to lessen treatment's effects on quality of life, for instance, improving the rehabilitation from urinary issues, sexual health complications, and fatigue post-therapy.

Gaining Insight Into Risk Factors

Scientists still examine why some persons develop prostate cancer and others do not. Studies on lifestyle, environmental triggers, and genetics may one day result in better means for preventing these cancers altogether.

Prevention

Getting screened regularly for prostate cancer: Consult your health provider on when and how often you should go for screening. The risk factors that will dictate the best plan for your actions will include aspects such as your age, family history, and background.

Maintaining weight in the healthy range will reduce the risk for most cancers, including prostate cancer. Unsure about how that healthy weight looks for you? Your doctor can set a body goal for you.

About a 150-minute moderate exercise routine should be performed every week; about 20 minutes of exercise each day should cover this. This may include walking, swimming, cycling, and dancing. A vigorous body movement can help keep the immune system strong and body weight moderated.

No food stops cancer, but there is some evidence that healthy eating varieties of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can promote well-being, so try to eat them. Eliminate red meat and processed food as far as possible, but try to reach for the colourful, plant-based portions of meals during the week.

Tobacco affects the whole body, and quitting smoking is one of the best prevention you can have for your health in the long run. If you smoke, consult your physician regarding programs and tools that would enable you to stop smoking permanently.

Questions to Ask your Healthcare Provider about Prostate Cancer

If you have prostate cancer, you may want to ask your healthcare provider:

Q1. Has the cancer spread outside of my prostate gland?
Q2. Is my family at risk for developing prostate cancer? If so, should we get genetic tests?
Q3. Should I look out for signs of complications?
Q4. What are the treatment risks and side effects?
Q5. What kind of follow-up care do I need after treatment?
Q6. What’s the best treatment for the stage of prostate cancer I have?

Prostate Cancer

Overview

Symptoms

Treatments

Side Effects of Treatment

Support

Research

Prevention

Maintain Healthy Weight

Exercise Regularly

Take a balanced diet

Stop Smoking