An overview of Prostate Cancer

Cancer that develops in the prostate is known as prostate cancer. In males, theprostate is a little walnut-shaped gland that secretes seminal fluid, which feedsand carries sperm.

One of the most prevalent cancers is prostate cancer. In the prostate gland, wherethey may not do much harm, many prostate tumors develop slowly and are localized.Although some prostate cancers spread slowly and may require little to no therapy,others are aggressive and can spread very quickly.

What makes cells in your prostate develop into cancer cells is unknown to experts.Prostate cancer develops when cells divide more quickly than usual, just like othercancers do. Cancer cells do not eventually die, but normal cells do. Instead, theymultiply and grow into a bulge called a tumor. Parts of the tumor may separate andspread to other areas of your body as the cells continue to divide (metastasize).

Fortunately, prostate cancer typically advances slowly. The majority of tumors arediscovered before your prostate has been affected by the disease. At this point,prostate cancer is quite curable.

Prostate cancer may cause no signs or symptoms in its early stages.

Prostate cancer that's more advanced may cause signs and symptoms such as:

1. Trouble urinating

2. Decreased force in the stream of urine

3. Blood in the urine

4. Blood in the semen

5. Bone pain

6. Losing weight without trying

7. Erectile dysfunction

Preventing prostate cancer isn’t possible. Still, taking these steps may reduce yourrisk:

Get regular prostate screenings : Ask your healthcare provider how often youshould get screened based on your risk factors.

Maintain a healthy weight : Ask your provider what a healthy weight means foryou.

Exercise regularly : The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensityexercise each week, or a little more than 20 minutes daily.

Eat a nutritious diet : There’s no one diet to prevent cancer, but good eatinghabits can improve your overall health. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains.Avoid red meats and processed foods.

Quit smoking : Avoid tobacco products. If you smoke, work with your provideron a smoking cessation program to kick the habit.

Prostate cancer can be early detected thanks to screenings. By age 55, if your riskis average, you'll likely get your first screening procedure. If you belong to ahigh-risk category, you could require earlier testing. Screenings typically come toan end at age 70. If screenings reveal that you may have prostate cancer, you mayneed additional testing or procedures.

Screening tests for prostate cancer

If you need further testing due to prostate cancer symptoms, screening tests canreveal this.

Digital rectal examination : Your doctor feels your prostate gland with afinger that has been greased and gloved. A lump or hard spot could be cancer.

Blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) : The prostate gland produces aprotein referred to as protein-specific antigen (PSA). Elevated PSA levels could bea sign of cancer. Moreover, levels increase if you have benign diseases like BPH orprostatitis.

Diagnostic procedures for prostate cancer

Not every person with prostate cancer will require a certain diagnosis. For instance,if your doctor believes that your tumor is developing slowly, they can decideagainst conducting any additional testing since they don't think it has to betreated. You could require more tests, such as a biopsy, if it's more aggressive(growing quickly or spreading).

Not every person with prostate cancer will require a certain diagnosis. For instance,if your tumor is believed to be slow-growing, your doctor may decide to postponeadditional testing because it isn't seen to be significant enough to warranttreatment. You could require more tests, such as a biopsy, if it's more aggressive(growing quickly or spreading).

Your overall health, whether the cancer has spread, and how quickly it is spreadingare just a few of the variables that will affect how you will be treated. You mightcollaborate with urologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologistsdepending on your therapy options. Most prostate cancers that are discovered intheir early stages can be treated and recovered from.

1.0 Specific procedures used

Surveillance

Your healthcare provider may monitor your condition instead of providing treatment ifyour cancer grows slowly and doesn’t spread.

Active surveillance : You get screenings, scans and biopsies every one tothree years to monitor cancer growth. Active surveillance works best if the cancergrows slowly, is only in your prostate and isn’t causing symptoms. If your conditionworsens, your provider can start treatments.

Watchful waiting : Watchful waiting is similar to active surveillance, butit’s more commonly used for people who are frailer with cancer that likely won’t goaway with treatment. Also, testing is much less frequent. Instead of eliminating thetumor, treatments usually focus on managing symptoms.

2.0 Surgery

A radical prostatectomy removes a diseased prostate gland. It can often successfullyeliminate prostate cancers that haven’t spread. Your provider can recommend the bestremoval method if they believe you’d benefit from this surgery.

Open radical prostatectomy : Your provider makes a single cut (incision) intoyour abdomen — from your belly button to your pubic bone — and removes your prostategland. This technique isn’t as common as less-invasive methods like roboticprostatectomy.

Robotic radical prostatectomy : Robotic radical prostatectomy allows yourprovider to perform surgery through several tiny incisions. Instead of operatingdirectly, they operate a robot system via a console.

3.0 Radiation therapy

You may receive radiation therapy as a standalone treatment for prostate cancer or incombination with other treatments. Radiation can also provide symptom relief.

Brachytherapy : A form of internal radiation therapy, brachytherapy involvesplacing radioactive seeds inside your prostate. This approach kills cancer cellswhile preserving surrounding healthy tissue.

External beam radiation therapy : With external beam radiation therapy (EBRT),a machine delivers strong X-ray beams directly to the tumor. Specialized forms ofEBRT, like IMRT, can direct high doses of radiation toward the tumor while sparinghealthy tissue.

4.0 Systemic therapies

Your provider may recommend systemic therapies if cancer has spread outside yourprostate gland. Systemic therapies send substances throughout your body to destroycancer cells or prevent their growth.

Hormone therapy : The hormone testosterone boosts cancer cell growth. Hormonetherapy uses medications to combat testosterone’s role in fueling cancer cellgrowth. The medicines work by preventing testosterone from reaching cancer cells orby reducing your testosterone levels. Alternatively, your provider may recommendsurgery to remove your testicles (orchiectomy) so they can no longer maketestosterone. This surgery is an option for people who don’t want to takemedications.

Chemotherapy : Chemotherapy uses medicines to destroy cancer cells. You mayreceive chemotherapy alone or with hormone therapy if your cancer has spread beyondyour prostate.

Immunotherapy : Immunotherapy strengthens your immune system so it’s betterable to identify and fight cancer cells. Your healthcare provider may recommendimmunotherapy to treat advanced cancer or recurrent cancer (cancer that goes awaybut then returns).

Targeted therapy : Targeted therapy zeroes in on the genetic changes(mutations) that turn healthy cells into cancer cells to prevent them from growingand multiplying. Targeted therapies that treat prostate cancer destroy cancer cellswith BRCA gene mutations.

5.0 Focal therapy

Focal therapy is a newer form of treatment that destroys tumors inside your prostate.Your healthcare provider may recommend this treatment if the cancer is low-risk andhasn’t spread. Many of these treatments are still considered experimental.