Prostate Cancer Questions And Answers
Posted by Owen Jones in Uncategorized, tags: cancer, disease, elderly care, family, fitness, health, illness, medicine, men's issues, other, prostate cancer, surgery, therapy, Uncategorized, unclassifiedAs men become older they run more and more risk of developing prostate cancer. Some doctors advocate regular check-ups after the age of 50 or even 60, but others suggest that you ought to begin checking at 40.
It is wiser to start checking as early as you can and certainly at 40 or 50 years of age, because the earlier it is diagnosed, the more opportunity you have of surviving it. The difficulty with prostate cancer is that it spreads more quickly than most cancers.
In this article, we will endeavour to give answers to a couple of fundamental questions that you may have concerning this male disease. However, there is only room here for the basics, so please take serious questions to your physician.
What is the prostate gland and where is it? The prostate is around the size of a walnut, but is conical in shape. It forms part of the male reproductive system and is connected to the penis because it is wrapped about the urethra right up near to the bladder.
This makes the prostate somewhere between the anus and the penis. Because of its position, it is not simple to get to and so most examinations are rectal ie from the colon. Many men find this embarrassing, which is why lots of men put of a check-up until it is too late.
What are the chances of having prostate cancer? White American males over the age of 50 have a one-in-six chance of developing some malignancy.
Hispanics and Blacks have a one-in-four risk. However, all these figures increase if there is a history of prostate cancer in the family.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer? This question is not easy to answer, because the indications may look like other concerns and everyone knows that ‘all old men’ have bladder issues
The prostate swells as it gets older anyway, so this could be the cause of urination problems. This is characterized by urinating a little at a time, but having to urinate often. Sometimes there are drips too after you have put it away.
The indications of prostate cancer are similar but might include blood in the urine and lower back pain. If you have anything like these problems, you have to have a check-up as soon as you can.
Can prostate cancer be diagnosed early enough to save life? Luckily, the reply to this is yes. There are two types of examination: 1] the DRE - digital rectal exam (or ‘finger up the bum’) and 2] the PSA blood test (prostate specific antigen), although this test is often just carried out if the DRE raises suspicions.
If the cancer is caught early enough through regular screening, the chances of living more than five years are over 90%. Continued success depends on several causes, but the cancer can also be totally eradicated never to return.
It can not be emphasized too much, that, as with some female-specific cancers, success fighting this cancer relies on catching it early.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is currently concerned with the proton prostate cancer treatment. If you want to kcurrently more go to What is the Treatment for Prostate Cancer?
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