Myth : A High Psa Level Means I Have Prostate Cancer
Not true. A lot of men I speak to feel confused and worried about what their PSA blood tests results mean. Although most men with prostate cancer will have a higher level of PSA, not all men with a high PSA will have prostate cancer.
Your PSA can rise for other reasons such as a urine infection, inflammation in the prostate or benign prostate enlargement. If you have a high PSA, further tests will help get a clearer picture.
Read more about tests for prostate problems;here.
Quality Of Life With Advanced Stage Prostate Cancer
Since Huggins and Hodges won a Nobel Prize in 1966 for their work describing the relationship between testosterone and prostate cancer, androgen deprivation has continued to be an important component in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. It is associated, however, with significant cost in terms of morbidity as well as economics. Side effects of androgen deprivation therapy include hot flashes, osteoporosis, loss of libido or impotence, and psychological effects such as depression, memory difficulties, or emotional lability. Recently Harle and colleagues reported insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, metabolic syndrome, and metabolic complications being associated with castration and thus being responsible for increased cardiovascular mortality in this population.
Because of the palliative nature of androgen ablation, quality of life is an important component of evaluating competing therapies. Intermittent androgen deprivation is one approach to hormonal therapy that has been developed with the aim of minimizing the negative effects of therapy while maximizing clinical benefits and the patients quality of life. It can be used in any clinical situation where continuous androgen deprivation treatment could be applied.
Watchful Waiting And Active Surveillance
Watchful waiting is an adequate approach in patients who are at low risk of death from prostate cancer because of their limited life expectancy due to severe comorbidities., Watchful waiting resulted in similar overall survival when compared with radical prostatectomy, but disease-specific survival was better in patients who had undergone surgery. For some patients it turns out to be hard to persist on a watchful waiting policy, and many men drop out and seek active treatment within several years, mostly when PSA elevation is noted.
Active surveillance is a novel and fascinating approach to distinguish between patients who are at higher risk and need active therapy and patients who are at low risk for disease progression., This approach avoids the risks of therapy while allowing early detection of those patients who are prone to progress. In these high-risk individuals, delayed active treatment is offered. Periodic monitoring of the PSA serum level, digital rectal exam, and repeated prostate biopsies are performed in patients who are on active surveillance, and active therapy is started when predefined threshold values are reached. This concept makes it possible to offer curative treatment to individuals who are at high risk for disease progression as indicated by active surveillance parameters.
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Managing Bone Pain And Weakness
Symptoms like nausea, hot flashes, and pain can usually be relieved with medication. Some people find that complimentary treatments like acupuncture or massage help manage side effects.
Your doctor may also recommend orthopedic surgery to stabilize your bones, relieve pain, and help prevent bone fractures.
Prostate Cancer Its A Man Thing
Unite has joined with Tackle Prostate and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham in the Prostate Cancer Its a Man Thing;campaign. This is a fundraising project to raise awareness amongst men that they need to check it out and talk about it through music and awareness raising campaigns in workplaces, communities, trade unions. They are hoping to sponsor a Man-Van which may include the latest high-tech scanners and are supporting the development of Mens Health Buses to visit workplaces and communities to raise awareness and provide health screening.
You can download the music from the majority of online music stores or purchase the CD from their webiste to help support the casue.
The It’s a Man Thing website shows;the animation encouraging more people to “talk about it”, details;music events and further information on prostate cancer awareness and the ManVan campaign. To find out more information about Tackle please see their webiste.;
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What Happens When Prostate Cancer Is Left Untreated
Doru Paul, MD, is triple board-certified in medical oncology, hematology, and internal medicine. He is an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.
While most men undergo some form of treatment for their prostate cancer, some men today choose to not be treated for their prostate cancer. Instead, they may choose to have their doctors monitor their cancer.
Known as active surveillance, it is common when the cancer is expected to grow slowly based on biopsy results, confined to the prostate, not causing any symptoms, and/or small. In active surveillance, doctors will initiate cancer treatment only if cancer starts growing.
Others men may choose to not undergo cancer treatment because of a short life expectancy or other serious medical problems. They may feel that the risks or side effects of cancer treatment outweigh their potential benefits.
This option is certainly OK and reasonable in the right circumstancesrequiring a careful and thoughtful discussion with your doctor and family.
What Is My Risk Of Developing Mscc
MSCC isnt common, but you need to be aware of the risk if your prostate cancer has spread to your bones or has a high risk of spreading to your bones. Your risk of MSCC is highest if your prostate cancer has already spread to your spine.
Speak to your doctor or nurse for more information about your risk of MSCC.
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Does Overdiagnosis Lead To Overtreatment Of Older Men
The widespread use of PSA screening has led to an increase in the diagnosis and treatment of early localized prostate cancer. Data from the US Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urological Research Endeavor database suggest a significant decrease in risk in the last 2 decades in the United States, with more patients being identified with low-risk disease at diagnosis, but the role of active treatment of low- and intermediate-risk disease in elderly men remains controversial.
The median time from diagnosis to death from prostate cancer for men with nonpalpable disease is approximately 17 years., Considering that the US male life expectancy at the age of 65 years is 16 years, aggressive therapy will hardly extend life expectancy of older men with no palpable prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis. Twenty to 30% of prostate cancers detected by PSA screening programs show Gleason scores of 6 or lower and, thus, are not poorly differentiated and have volumes smaller than 0.5 cm3.
Histologic evaluation of radical prostatectomy specimens demonstrated that about 20% to 30% of cancers are small volume, show low Gleason scores, and are consequently clinically harmless., Many of these cancers pose little threat to life, especially for older men. Has PSA screening resulted in prostate cancer overdiagnosis?
Colon Cancer Can Lead To Prostate Cancer
Research showed that men who developed colorectal and prostate cancer at the same time were followed up to the end of 1995. They were identified from the Victorian Cancer Registry.
Then they were divided into groups by age and years of follow-up. For example, the cause of death was determined in those who had prostate cancer following colorectal cancer.
Men with prostate cancer were compared with men without prostate cancer who also had colorectal cancer. The stage of colorectal cancer was then compared in the two groups.
People who get colorectal cancer are more likely to get prostate cancer. Men under 65 are at the most risk.
Men who have had their first colorectal cancer are at higher risk of getting prostate cancer than men with second primary cancers. People with second primary prostate cancers are more likely to die from prostate cancer than colorectal cancer.
Younger men who have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer are at a higher risk of getting prostate cancer. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence that screening for prostate cancer will help, but this should be thought about when deciding what to do in the long term.
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Prostate Cancer Facts And Stats:
- In the UK, over 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year that is 130 new cases every day. There has been a 16% increase over the last 10 years.
- In the UK more than 10,500 men die from prostate cancer each year. One man dies every hour, accounting for 13% of all male deaths.
- 1 in 4 black African-Caribbean and black African men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK thats double the overall 1 in 8 risk faced by all men in the UK.
Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50 and risk increases with age. Black men are increasingly being diagnosed from age 40.
Early detection may prevent death from prostate cancer although there are few symptoms at early stage.
How Do I Know How Long I Have Left To Live
You might want to know how long you have left to live. This can help you prepare and plan the time you have left. There might be things you want to do or people you want to see. But some men dont want to know how long they have left. Everyone is different.
You can ask your doctor how long you have left to live. They wont be able to give you an exact answer. This can be frustrating and it may feel like your doctor is trying to avoid your questions. But no-one can know for certain how long you have left because everyone’s body and everyone’s cancer is different. However, your doctor will be able to give you some idea based on where the cancer has spread to, how you are responding to treatment, how quickly the cancer has spread, and what problems it is causing.;
It can be helpful to talk with your family about this. You may not want to upset them but they might have similar questions and thoughts to you.
If you have months or maybe years left to live, it can be difficult for your doctor to say exactly how long you have left. This is because they dont know how you will respond to;different treatments. If your treatment stops working so well, there may be other treatments available. Some men may not respond well to one treatment, but may respond better to another. Read more about;treatments for advanced prostate cancer.
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So Why Is The Number Of Men Dying From Prostate Cancer Increasing
As our population grows and people live longer, more and more people will be diagnosed with cancer.
Prostate cancer is primarily a disease of older men. Those aged 50 and above are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with it. In 2015, the disease was most common in men aged 65-69.
If more men are being diagnosed, then sadly this can mean that more men will die. In recent years, survival rates have increased significantly thanks to a heightened awareness among men, the development of new treatments and the availability of new tools that can diagnose the disease earlier.
However, breast cancer research has traditionally received significantly more funding than prostate cancer research, and the latest figures have led to calls for more studies in this area to tackle the increase in deaths.
Causes Of Prostate Cancer
It is not known exactly what causes prostate cancer, although a number of things can increase your risk of developing the condition.
These include:
- age risk;rises as you get older and;most cases are diagnosed in;men over 50 years of age.
- ethnic group prostate cancer is more common among men of African-Caribbean and African descent than;in men of Asian descent.
- family history having a brother or father who developed prostate cancer under the age of 60 seems to increase the risk of you developing it. Research also shows that having a close female relative who developed breast cancer may also increase your risk of developing;prostate cancer.;
- obesity recent research suggests that there may be a link between obesity and prostate cancer.
- exercise men who regularly exercise have also been found to be at lower risk of developing prostate cancer.
- diet research is ongoing into the links between diet and prostate cancer. There is evidence that a diet high in calcium is linked to an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
In addition, some research has shown that prostate cancer rates appear to be lower in;men who eat foods containing certain nutrients including lycopene, found in cooked tomatoes and other red fruit, and selenium, found in brazil nuts. However, more research is needed.
Want to know more?
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Risk Of Prostate Cancer
About 1 man in 8;will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.
Prostate cancer is more likely to develop in older men and in non-Hispanic Black men. About 6 cases in 10 are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older, and it is rare in men under 40. The average age of men at diagnosis is about 66.
The Early Warning Signs
Late diagnosis can reduce chances of survival, limit treatment options or result in more invasive interventions.
So, it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms.
The difficulty is most men with early prostate cancer dont have any signs or symptoms, according to Prostate Cancer UK.
One reason for this is the way the cancer grows – you usually only get early symptoms if the cancer grows near the urethra and presses against it, changing the way you urinate.
If you do notice changes in the way you urinate, this is more likely to be a sign of a very common non-cancerous problem called an enlarged prostate, or another health problem.
But its still a good idea to get it checked out.
Other signs to look out for include:
- difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
- a weak flow when you urinate
- a feeling that your bladder hasnt emptied properly
- dribbling urine after you finish urinating
- needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
- a sudden need to urinate you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet
If prostate cancer breaks out of the prostate or spreads to other parts of the body, it can cause other symptoms, including:
- back pain, hip pain or pelvis pain
- problems getting or keeping an erection
- blood in the urine or semen
- unexplained weight loss
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Myth : Its Important To Treat Prostate Cancer As Soon As Possible
This is something concerned men and family members ask me about a lot. Men are often keen to act quickly when they hear they have cancer, but in fact not all prostate cancer needs immediate treatment. Most prostate cancers are slow growing, and youd have time to consider your;options;and make the right decision for you.
In fact, some men might never need treatment or can delay their treatment while their cancer is carefully monitored.
Limitations Of This Study
Firstly, the analyses performed in this study were based on a number of assumptions and considerations, most of which were required to address the lack of available data by ethnicity. This highlights the urgent need for more routine collection of data that captures ethnicity to ensure that researchers can more accurately evaluate whether inequalities exist. For records with complete ethnicity data, it is worth noting that this is based on self-reported ethnicity. Secondly, this study does not provide any information on men of mixed ethnicity since the minor ethnic groups within the major ethnic group Mixed include a wide range of mixed ethnicities, making it difficult to attribute any potential differences in risk to one particular ethnicity. Finally, since the mortality data in this study corresponded to men who died from prostate cancer between 2008 and 2010, the majority of these deaths may have been from prostate cancers diagnosed before 2008. Therefore, the ratio of prostate cancer deaths to diagnoses should be interpreted with caution.
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How Is Advanced Prostate Cancer Treated
The primary treatment of prostate cancer is prostatectomy, which is a surgery to remove a part of the prostate gland or the entire prostate gland in younger patients.
Androgen deprivation therapy is usually the choice of treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Also known as hormone therapy, it is also used for treating patients who are unfit or unwilling to undergo surgery or/and radiation therapy.
Examples of hormone therapies for advanced prostate cancer include
- Abiraterone
Staging Of Prostate Cancer
Doctors will use the results of your prostate examination, biopsy and scans to identify the “stage” of your prostate cancer . The stage of the cancer will determine which types of treatments will be necessary.
A widely used method of staging is;a;number staging system. The stages are:
- Stage 1 the cancer is very small and completely within the prostate gland
- Stage 2 the cancer is within the prostate gland, but is larger
- Stage 3 the cancer has spread from the prostate and may have grown into the tubes that carry semen
- Stage 4 the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes or another part of the body, including the bladder, rectum or bones; about 20-30% of cases are diagnosed at this stage;
If prostate cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of survival are generally good. About 90% of men diagnosed at stages 1 or 2 will live at least five more years and 65-90% will live for at least 10 more years.
If you are diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer, you have a 70-80% of chance of living for at least five more years.
However, if you are diagnosed when your prostate cancer has reached stage 4, there is only a 30% chance;you will live for at least five more years.
Want to know more?
- Cancer Research UK: the stages of prostate cancer
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