#PROSTATE #CANCER: SCREENING is the START of a CURE

 

WHAT IS PROSTATE CANCER?

The prostate

 

The prostate is a gland found only in males. As shown in the picture below, the prostate is just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The size of the prostate varies with age. In younger men, it is about the size of a walnut, but it can be much larger in older men. The tube that carries urine (the urethra) runs through the center of the prostate. The prostate contains cells that make some of the fluid (semen) that protects and nourishes the sperm.

 

The prostate begins to develop before birth and keeps on growing until a man becomes an adult. Male hormones (called androgens) such as testosterone cause this growth. The prostate usually stays at about the same size or grows slowly in adults, as long as male hormones are present.

There are several types of cells in the prostate, but nearly all prostate cancers start in the gland cells. This kind of cancer is known as adenocarcinoma. The rest of the information here refers only to prostate adenocarcinoma.

Some prostate cancers can grow and spread quickly, but most of the time, prostate cancer grows slowly. Autopsy studies show that many older men (and even younger men) who died of other diseases also had prostate cancer that never caused a problem during their lives. In many cases neither they nor their doctors even knew they had it.

 

Risk factors for prostate cancer

A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of getting a disease. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, such as smoking, can be changed. Others, like a person's age or family history, can't be changed.

But risk factors don't tell us everything. Many people with one or more risk factors never get cancer, while others with this disease may have had few or no known risk factors. For some of these factors, the link to prostate cancer risk is not yet clear.

Age: Prostate cancer is very rare in men younger than 40. The chance of getting prostate cancer goes up quickly after a man reaches age 50. Almost 2 out of every 3 prostate cancers are found in men over the age of 65.

Race: Prostate cancer is more common in African men than in men of other races. African men are also more likely to have a more advanced disease when it is found and are more likely to die of the disease.

Family history: Prostate cancer seems to run in some families. Men with close family members (father or brother) who have had prostate cancer are more likely to get it themselves, especially if their relatives were young when they got the disease. (The risk is higher for men who have a brother with the disease than for those with an affected father.)

Diet: Men who eat a lot of red meat or high-fat dairy products seem to have a greater chance of getting prostate cancer. These men also tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables.

Obesity: Some studies have found that obese men may be at greater risk for having more advanced prostate cancer and of dying from prostate cancer, but not all studies have found this

Smoking: A recent study linked smoking to a possible small increase in the risk of death from prostate cancer, but this is a new finding that will need to be confirmed by other studies.

SIGNS and SYMPTOMS of prostate cancer

Early prostate cancer often causes no symptoms. It may be found by a PSA test or DRE. Problems with urinating could be a sign of advanced prostate cancer, but more often this problem is caused by a less serious disease known as BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).

Other possible symptoms of advanced prostate cancer are:

·       Trouble having or keeping an erection (impotence)

·       Blood in the urine

·       Pain in the spine, hips, ribs, or other bones

·       Weakness or numbness in the legs or feet

·       Loss of bladder or bowel control

Once again, other diseases also can cause these symptoms.

SCREENING tests

Men above 40 years should be tested with the PSA blood test. The digital rectal exam (DRE) may also be done as a part of screening. PSA (prostate-specific antigen) is a substance made by the prostate gland. Although PSA is mostly found in semen, a small amount is also found in the blood. Most healthy men have levels under 4ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter) of blood. The chance of having prostate cancer goes up as the PSA level goes up.

If your level is between 4 and 10, you have about a 1 in 4 chance of having prostate cancer. If it is above 10, your chance is over 50%.

Men who have a PSA of less than 2.5ng/ml may only need to be retested every 2 years.

Screening should be done yearly for men whose PSA level is 2.5 ng/ml or higher.

Prostate biopsy

If certain symptoms or the results of tests like the PSA blood test and/or DRE suggest that you might have prostate cancer, your doctor will do a prostate biopsy to find out.

During a biopsy, tissue from the prostate is removed so it can be sent to the lab to see if it contains cancer cells. A core needle biopsy is the type of biopsy used most often.

GET SCREENED TODAY

Avoid waiting for the symptoms to appear. If you are 40 years and above or have a close relative who has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, take action now.