The Basics of Prostate Cancer
What exactly is Prostate Cancer? Well, the prostate gland is one of the male’s reproductive organs. It is found deep inside the male pelvis but women do not have a prostate gland.
The purpose of this gland in younger men is that it plays a role in sexual function and reproduction. However as a man gets into his later years of life, 50-60-70 years or more, it really becomes a problem organ. Causing troubles in the same way your tonsils might. Technically a part of you but no longer needed. Like tonsils, if you are lucky they will not cause you any issues. But in some cases like when a man ages, many bad things can happen to his prostate gland.
One common issue with this gland is that as you get older it can grow much larger causing blockage issues, called Urinary Obstructive Symptoms.
Urinary complications
This causes difficulty with the flow or stream of urine, dribbling, having to wake up several times at night. These are the typical symptoms a man with an enlarged prostate might have. It often takes this man longer to urinate than a young healthy man as the enlarged prostate gland blocks or obstructs the urine passage.
Another more serious issue that can happen with the prostate is that it could become cancerous
The prostate gland can develop cancer cells that can grow and grow, potentially spreading to other organs of the body. As the prostate grows it can harbor lots of prostate cancer cells. Typically with the slow-growing cells, they stay within the prostate and lots of times they never cause a problem at all. It is the most common type of prostate cancer. It is called Indolent Slow Growing Prostate Cancer. It would not be such a serious situation for men if this were the only type of prostate cancer, as men do not experience any symptoms with this type of cancer. If a man is not so lucky, he can get other types of prostate cancer that spread to the lymph nodes and to the bones and cause very painful symptoms in other areas of the body as well. With this type of cancer, it is very important to try to identify it early so that treatment can begin right away before it progresses.
Diagnose early
Early diagnoses can save lives so it is important for men of a certain age to go in for their yearly check-up to avoid a potentially serious and sometimes deadly situation. It is the best way to ensure your health. There are two critical elements to detecting prostate cancer, one being the Digital Rectal Examination, which means a doctor would place his finger inside the anus and into the rectum to feel for the prostate. They are feeling for nodules or lumps indicating that something is wrong.
This is the main reason men avoid their check-ups as many men find this to be invasive and embarrassing
But it is very important to your health and can be a lifesaver. This method is not always guaranteed to detect cancer as the lumps may not be on the same side of the rectum. As a backup measure to finding this type of cancer is a blood test called the Prostate Specific Antigen or the PSA. It is often suggested by a doctor when looking for early signs of prostate cancers. With early diagnoses and early treatment, there can be a great success in saving a man’s life. Ultimately the choice to have this screening is up to the man. No one can force this test upon him. So it is in his best interest to take care of his health and do what is right for his body.
What you need to know
What you may not know about Prostate Cancer is that it is the most common cancer in men in this country, in fact in the developed world. There are anywhere between 200 – 300 thousand new cases being diagnosed in this country alone, every year. Somewhere between 30- 50 thousand men die each year from prostate cancer.
A lot of this death could have been prevented with regular check-ups and early diagnosis. A typical thing for men to do these days in the month of November (or sometimes September) is to grow out their beard to raise awareness for prostate cancer and I personally think it is a great way to start an important conversation about men’s health.
I think we should be talking more about this serious issue, destigmatizing it, so that more men will just see it as a normal part of health and we can save more lives.
Medical Practitioner (General Practice) with postgraduate diplomas in Cape Town. My special interest is erectile dysfunction.
Like a lot of guys around my age, going to the doc is not big on my list of this to do. However for my wife it is and she made me go and i am glad she did. It really saved my life!
Cancer is really sad. Once you get the diagnosis, your life feels like itâs over. Everything you wish you had done and everything youâve ever wanted to do, now has a very real time limit on it. The risks that you were scared to take now become things you feel like you need to do because you only have so much time left.
I didn’t realize that cancer was going to be a big part of my life. It all started on my 50th birthday. My wife surprised me with a trip to the Bahamas. We had plenty of fun without the kids. Until our last day of the trip, I begin to have this incessant urge to pee all the day. My wife jokingly teased me that it may be a Urinary Tract Infection. Thinking it was nothing, I scheduled an appointment with my physician. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. He sent me to a urologist to confirm his suspicions… cancer. It’s such a scary word. It wasn’t as scary as going through chemotherapy and telling my family. After years of treatment, the cancer is now in remission. However, it’s still looming over my head, like a feeling I can’t shake.
As a 40 year old man, I never thought it could happen to me. Then, I started to notice pain in my pelvic area. Then, blood in the urine. I went to the Urologist and they conducted a PSA test, followed by a biopsy. I now have prostate cancer, and my whole life has changed.
My husband is terrible at getting his check ups. He refuses to ever see doctors unless hes absolutely miserable with an illness. Well for over the past 3 years or so Ive really been pressuring him to see a doctor about his colon and prostate, and thank goodness I did. I turns out he had early prostate cancer! We were very lucky to have caught it so soon. And he is lucky to have such a caring, nagging wife!
Prostate cancer is very dangerous situation.Its generally in men.It is located next to the bllader and can be examined by getting a digital rectal exam.Prostate cancer cell can be spread by breaking away from a prostate tumor.They can travel through blood vessels or lymph nodes to reach to other parts of body.The prostate and seminal vesicles are part of male reproductive system.The main job of the prostate and seminal vesicles is to make fluid to baithe semen.In its early stages there has no symptoms.When symptoms do occur they can be like those of an enlarged prostate or BPH.No one knows how prostate cancer starts.Autopsy studies show 1 in 3 men over the age of 50 some cancer cells in the prostate.
Prostate cancer is one of the most often forms of cancer diagnosed in men, which is the best reason to have an annual screen and check up by your healthcare provider imperative.
As I began to have trouble urinating, I knew I needed to get a check up. That’s when I found out I had prostate cancer and was in the early stages. I am now going to begin getting treatment done, but I know this may take a while, and hopefully I can get through this difficult time on my own.
Family relationships can be hard, especially when you have loved ones who care. My doctors grew concerned when my PSA levels rose. I can thank my wife for her growing concerns regarding my prostate health. My urologist curated a personal treatment plan which provided me with more time to live. Almost seven years later, I find myself alone and battling this disease by myself.
My wife took me in for my regular check up. The nurse said it was time for a prostate exam. I said no thanks. My wife insisted that I get it done. Unfortunately I was too stubborn and self conscious to have the manual exam done. A year later they did a PSA test as part of my routine care since my dad had prostate cancer too. My PSA level was high. They ended up removing my prostate. I wish I had listened sooner and not been so vain.
As if the humiliation of Dr Big Hands being knuckle deep in my blow hole weren’t enough, I learn that my prostate is big as a canteloul. Now I’ve got to go back and get even more vinyl gloves in places no loving god ever intended them to go. I shudder at the thought. Maybe I should just let the cancer take me instead.
I was feeling pressure in my bowels. I’m over 45 and have never had a prostate exam, just too afraid. I started to think the worst so I went in. Hemorrhoids, not cancer. My god.
My story with prostate cancer began about 2 years ago. I went to use the bathroom like usually, but I began to see small blood spots. I thought it wasn’t much of anything so I ignored it. A few weeks later, the amount of blood I was loosing back there was very unusual so I told my doctor. I went through many tests and exams and the doctor found the prostate cancer. I was at stage one, but if I hadn’t checked it out, it could’ve progressed and been a much different story.