Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancer men can be diagnosed of.
There are three factors on prostate cancer: age, family history and lifestyle.
For age, the older the man gets, the more likely he will acquire prostate
cancer. For family history, there are well-known genetic factors that
contribute to the vulnerability of a man to prostate cancer. There is higher
risk for men who have relatives who died from disease. It also increases the
risk of a person to acquire the disease either because they share
environment or has the same genetic make-up. Lastly, for the lifestyle,
exposure to bad environment (e.g. sexual life, not enough sun) and bad diet
can also increase the likelihood of getting prostate cancer.

Prostate is a small gland, part of reproductive system of male human. It is

located right in front of the rectum and just below the gall bladder.

Prostate cancer is one of the main diseases of a prostate. It is an abnormal

growth of cancerous cells that can be fatal. Although we have great
technologies today, the cause of prostate cancer is still unknown.

Symptoms

According to research, prostate cancer is rather silent. It does not show any
symptoms. However, few people who have experienced prostate cancer say
that they experience difficulty in urinating, which include but not limited to:
waking up at night to urinate, weak urination, hesitant to urinate, less/more
frequent to urinate, or empty bladder. Prostate cancer patients also say that
they experience loss of energy, back pain, weight loss and loss of appetite.

Also, experts say that patients with prostate cancer had fewer erections,
slightly bloody semen, impotent and low semen volume.

Prevention

There are several ways to prevent acquiring prostate cancer.

First way is to reduce the likelihood of a person who do not yet show
symptoms of prostate cancer Avoid having sexual interaction with a person
who is diagnosed with prostate cancer, maintain healthy living, exercise and
eat healthy diet.
Second way is to reduce the likelihood or risk of the cancer to people who is
already at risk of acquiring prostate cancer. This includes early treatment for
the disease.

The third way is to reduce the effect or the damage that the disease can
make by preventing any further complications that will increase the potency
of the disease.

The fourth way is to have vaccine in order to prevent acquiring any potential
cause of prostate cancer.

Treatment

Treatment for the disease depends on the stage and level of intensity of the
disease. The same with other types of cancer, its treatment may include
laser, chemotherapy, excision, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and
surgery.

Stages

The stages of the prostate cancer can be determined using the biopsy
results. The AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer made a staging
system (the TNM system) which are the most commonly used system today.

The TNM system determines how far the disease has gone. It has five key
points in determining the stage of the disease.

1. Tumor (T category) – describes the extent of the tumor.

a. T1 – the tumor either be found by ultrasound or by the doctor’s
hands.
b. T2- visible to the digital exam, however, the tumor is still
confined to the prostate.
c. T3 – the tumor has grown outside the prostate and has grown in
the seminal vesicles.
d. T4 – the tumor has already grown to the tissues of rectum,
bladder, pelvis or urethra.
2. Lymph Nodes (N category) – describes whether the tumor has grown
to nearby lymph nodes.
a. NX – lymph nodes were still not assessed.
b. N0 – disease has not dispersed into the lymph nodes.
c. N1 – disease has dispersed into one or more lymph nodes.
3. Metastasis (M category) – describes whether the disease has spread to
other parts of the body.
a. M0 – disease has not dispersed to other parts of the body.
b. M1 – disease has spread to the other parts of the body.