Prostate Cancer

What is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is the cancer of the prostate gland. The prostate is the wall-nut shaped gland that produces seminal fluid, which carries sperm. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer for American men.

What are the symptoms of Prostate Cancer?

Symptoms of Prostate cancer may include:

• Dull pain in your lower pelvic area
• Urgency of urination
• Difficulty starting urination
• Pain during urination
• Sensation that your bladder isn’t empty
• Weak urine flow and dribbling
• Intermittent urine flow
• Frequent urination at night
• Blood in your urine
• Painful ejaculation
• Persistent bone pain
• Loss of appetite and weight
• General pain in you lower back, hips or upper thighs

What Causes Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is caused by cancerous cells growing within the prostate gland. This causes swelling of the gland and can result in the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

What Increases My Risk of Developing Prostate Cancer?

• Age – As your age increases, you risk of developing prostate cancer also increases. After you turn 50 your risk elevates significantly higher than ever before.
• Race– African-American men are much more likely to develop and die from prostate cancer than any other group in the United States. In fact, African-American men are 70% more likely to develop prostate cancer than white American men.
• Diet– Obesity and a high-fat diet may increase your risk of developing prostate cancer.
• Family History– You may be more at risk of developing prostate cancer if a close family member has or has had prostate cancer.

How is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?

There are a few different tests that are conducted to properly diagnose prostate cancer. The first test is the digital rectal exam. If anything appears out of the ordinary more tests will be conducted. A prostate-specific antigen test can be an indicator that a prostate cancer is present. However, it may also mean you have a prostate infection, inflammation, or enlargement. A urine test is not able to detect prostate cancer, but it can help rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms. A transrectal ultrasound is used to give doctors an accurate picture of you prostate.

How Prostate Cancer Treated?

There are various methods of treating prostate cancer.

The most common treatments are:

• external-beam radiation therapy
• radioactive seed implants
• hormone therapy
• radical prostatectomy
• chemotherapy
• cryotherapy

Medications for Prostate Cancer

Some common medications that are used to treat prostate cancer include: Casodex, and Zoladex.