Prostate Cancer Symptoms
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The exact cause for prostate cancer is unknown but there are several risk factors which can be observed. Some of these factors are a high fat diet or heritage of example.
Prostate cancer symptoms can only be experienced when the patient has developed the cancer in a larger scale already. The only other way to detect prostate cancer in an early state is having a screening examination.
Once you detect a change in your urine flow like interrupted flow or the desire to urinate very often then you could suffer from the symptoms of prostate cancer already. Other symptoms are blood in the urine or a pain in the hips and thighs.
It could be a matter of life or dead to detect the cancer as early as possible. The earlier the treatment starts the greater the chances of survival. Prostate cancer can be cured but only when it hasn’t spread too much already.
The well known examination where the doctor puts a finger in the rectum to find abnormalities of the prostate gland is the first step in detecting cancer. If there is something odd, the doctor will make a blood test to find out how much PSA is in your blood. If the PSA level is high then it can be bad news. PSA is an antigen and a high concentration of it in the blood can be a sign of cancer.
Another test is the transrectal ultrasound which shows a pretty accurate picture of the prostate gland. This painless procedure can detect tumors within twenty minutes.
If any of the test gives a strong indication for a possible prostate cancer then the best method to get certain is a biopsy. During a prostate biopsy the doctor inserts a needle to take a sample of the tissue. It is then examined under the microscope. It sounds painful but it isn’t. It is also a very fast way to determine cancer.
Once the cancer is detected, the doctor must find out how much it has spread already. An x-ray can show if the cancer has reached the lungs already. A computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can also make internal organs visible.
The treatment must start quickly and is often done by more than one doctor. An oncologist, a surgeon and a urologist are needed to start treatment. The standard treatment is a surgery because it gives the chance to completely remove the entire cancer. There are alternative treatment options as well which you may consider, especially because the surgery can have some serious side effects.
A good prognosis with a high survival rate of 95% can be given when the prostate cancer was detected very early and the surgery was successful. However, the later the cancer was diagnosed, the worse the statistics get. Less than 30% survive the next five years after the cancer was detected very late.
