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Treatment of prostate cancer

The prognosis for prostate cancer patients has improved over the years. The survival rates for all stages of prostate cancer have increased from 67% to 97%. Public awareness and early detection are the main reasons for the increase in survival rates.

Prostate is a male gland that surrounds first part of the urethra and is responsible for production of semen (the sperm carrier). Prostate cancer is the name given to development of cancer in prostate and prostate cancer is generally found in older men i.e. men that are over 50 years of age. The risk of prostate cancer can be reduced by including sufficient tomato and tomato products in your diet. Similarly, fresh fruits and vegetables are also said to reduce the chances of occurrence of prostate cancer. On the other hand there are suggestions that animal fat and dairy products can increase the risk of prostate cancer

Since prostate cancer affects the abilities of prostate gland the main symptoms are shown by the urinary system. So prostate cancer might lead to more frequent urination or it might lead to difficultly in passing urine (e.g. pain while urinating). It’s important to note that enlargement of prostate gland doesn’t necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer. Also, the occurrence of these symptoms can’t be attributed to prostate cancer without proper tests and diagnosis by a qualified doctor.

Diagnosis of prostate cancer

There are a number of ways in which diagnosis of prostate cancer is carried out. Your doctor will, of course, enquire about the symptoms first and then prescribe certain tests based on how strong the prostate cancer symptoms are. The various prostate cancer tests include rectal examination (in which the rectum passage is used to feel abnormalities in prostate gland). Then we have blood test that checks the level of prostate-specific antigen in your blood. Ultrasound tests are another means of diagnosing prostate cancer and these are sometimes done in parallel with biopsy of prostate tissue samples. Though these tests are known to be quite good at detecting prostate cancer, they can’t be labeled as 100% accurate and hence some other advanced tests might need to be carried out in certain cases.

Treatment of prostate cancer

The treatment approach for prostate cancer will depend on whether it is in its early stages or whether it has got more advanced. Note that if the prostate cancer is detected in too advanced stage, it might spread to bones even and become more or less uncontrollable. The best way to keep prostate cancer at bay is to take proactive approach by consulting doctor (and even going for blood test) regularly and hence catch prostate cancer in its early stages. Surgery, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy are the most usual ways of treating prostate cancer. However, chemotherapy may be used too.

The presence of cancer cells around the prostate determines the extent to which the cancer has spread. It affects the areas surrounding the prostate such as the seminal vesicle, lymph nodes, rectum and bones. Even when prostate cancer spreads to other areas, such as the bone, it is still considered to be prostate cancer and not bone cancer.

A variety of causes and contributing factors lead to prostate cancer. The major risk factors are age, race and family history. The chances of prostate cancer increase after the age of 50. The incidence of prostate cancer in Asian men is the lowest. Caucasian and African American men are the largest groups afflicted with the disease.