Although scientists don’t know exactly what causes prostate cancer, they’re not sure why one man gets prostate cancer and another does not, they have been able to identify some risk factors that are associated with the disease. The known biggest risk factor is age. Although the disease is extremely rare in men under age 40, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Prostate Cancer’
Where does prostate cancer form?
Prostate cancer forms in the tissues of the prostate. Unlike many other forms of cancer, prostate cancer grows slowly. Most cancer patients have only the early prostate cancer. The cancer cells are only found in the prostate gland. Although both prostate and skin cancer are the most common cancer in American men, few die from [...]
Prostate Cancer – Staging Prostate Cancer
If cancer is found in the prostate, the doctor needs to know the stage of the disease and the grade of the tumor. Staging is a careful attempt to find out whether the cancer has spread and, if so, what parts of the body are affected. The grade tells how closely the tumor resembles normal [...]
Prostate Cancer – Planning Treatment
A team of specialists often treats people with cancer. The team will keep the primary doctor informed about the patient’s progress. The team may include a medical oncologist who is a specialist in cancer treatment, a surgeon, a radiation oncologist who is a specialist in radiation therapy, and others. Before starting treatment, you may want [...]
Prostate Cancer Defined
The body is made up of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide, and produce more cells as needed to keep the body healthy and functioning properly. Sometimes, however, the process goes wrong — cells become abnormal and form more cells in an uncontrolled way. These extra cells form a mass of tissue, called [...]
How does a patient decide what the best treatment option is for localized prostate cancer?
Choosing a treatment option involves the patient, his family, and one or more doctors. They will need to consider the grade and stage of the cancer, the man’s age and health, and his values and feelings about the potential benefits and harms of each treatment option. Since both surgery and radiation therapy are options for [...]
Can prostate cancer be found before a man has symptoms?
Yes. Prostate cancer screening is looking for the disease before a person has any symptoms. Two screening tests commonly used to detect prostate cancer in the absence of symptoms are the digital rectal exam (DRE), in which a doctor feels the prostate through the rectum to find hard or lumpy areas, and a blood test [...]
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Most of the time, prostate cancer does not initially cause symptoms. By the time symptoms do occur, the disease may have spread beyond the prostate. Symptoms of prostate cancer may include the following: * Urinary problems: o Not being able to urinate. o Having a hard time starting or stopping the flow of urine. o [...]
Who is at risk for prostate cancer?
An important risk factor is age; more than 70 percent of men diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 65. African American men have a substantially higher risk of prostate cancer than white men, including Hispanic men. In addition, dramatic differences in the incidence of prostate cancer are seen in different populations around [...]
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer forms in the tissues of the prostate. Except for skin cancer, cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer in American men. It was estimated that more than 186,000 men in the United States would be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 . In most men with prostate cancer, the disease grows [...]