Prostate cancer is a very serious disease that most men over the age of 50 develop. While taking preventative measures and early detection screening tests are one way to avoid getting this disease, many still face this fact and seek proper treatment to eradicate it completely or at least slow down the process for a better outcome.
Are there Tests for Prostate Cancer?
There are several screening tests for diseases and conditions like prostate cancer that all men over the age of 50 should consider in order to detect prostate cancer early.
PSA Test
One of the screening tests that most men have done is the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is a protein that’s produced in the prostate and the test simply checks the PSA levels in the blood to ensure there is no disease. If the doctor finds a higher than normal level of PSA, further tests will be conducted to confirm if there is cancer.
Digital Rectal Examination
A digital rectal examination is manually conducted by a doctor during regular physical checkups. They examine the external anal area, the perineal area and prostate.
Cystoscopy
A cystoscopy is a very small medical probe that’s inserted into a man’s urethra to enable a doctor to examine it from the inside. Using the lens and light that are located at the tip of the probe, the doctor is able to find possible infections or signs of disease.
After conducting these tests, the most common findings arebenign prostatic hypertrophy or benign prostatic hyperplasia, which are both a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate. Although many men don’t believe these screening tests are necessary on a yearly or bi-yearly basis, it’s still very important to get screening tests done to ensure a healthy functioning prostate and to catch prostate cancer in the early developmental stages to have the best treatment options possible.
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer symptoms change depending on the cancer’s stage of development. While they do not always stay the same for all who are diagnosed, they are the most common occurrences. To know more about the symptoms of prostate cancer, consider the following stages:
Early Prostate Cancer
Early prostate cancer is generally left undiscovered unless one or more of the screening tests were routinely conducted. This is mainly due to the fact that early prostate cancer grows very slowly and generally does not have any symptoms that show up until the latter stages.
Moderate Prostate Cancer
This is the second stage where symptoms begin to show up, with the most common being difficult urination, frequent urination, painful urination and problems starting or maintaining a balanced urinary flow.
Advanced Prostate Cancer
Once prostate cancer has reached the advanced stages, the cancerous cells have metastasized or spread into other areas of the body like the lymph nodes and bones. The most common symptoms from this stage are blood in the urine, bone pain, sexual dysfunction, swelling in the lower extremities and weight loss.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
Surgery
Surgery is very common for most prostate cancer patients. The surgery options are to remove a portion of the tumor or remove the entire prostate, tumor and surrounding cancerous tissue.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses chemical medications to prevent cancer cells from developing and spreading. They are administered in one of three ways: orally, intramuscularly or intravenously. This is an aggressive treatment option and produces several different side effects and possibly more so when combined with other forms of treatment.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is a less aggressive treatment option that`s performed to reduces testosterone levels in the body. This is one effective way to slow down or completely stop cancer cell growth in the body, however most effective for men with early or moderate prostate cancer.
When it comes to advanced prostate cancer stages, one of the hormone therapy options is a subcutaneous injection of medication like Lupron. This medication helps minimize the testosterone production in the body to slow down tumor growth or at the very least, relieve some of the symptoms that persist with prostate cancer.
Radiation
Internal radiation therapy is another more aggressive treatment option that uses radioactive material to eradicate cancer cells. These materials are implanted in or next to tumors, or simply carried to the diseased area via blood flow.
A second option is external beam radiation therapy like proton therapy. This treatment option is highly accurate to target cancerous tumors by utilizing a very fine beam of protons to kill diseased cells in a very specific manner.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Side Effects
The causes of prostate cancer side effects varies depending on the type of treatment a patient undergoes, their health or physical state after treatment, along with other factors that play a role in treatment and recovery.
Prostate Cancer Surgery Side Effects
Whether a section of the prostate tumor or the entire prostate is removed, there are several temporary and long-term side effects that most men have to deal with, although there are many treatment options to help ease these side effects to boost the overall quality of life as well.
Common surgery side effects are:
- incontinence
- impotence
- erectile dysfunction
- infertility
Prostate Cancer Chemotherapy Side Effects
There are different types of medication used for chemotherapy, and each one has a variety of side effects. The most common side effects that most of the chemo medications have are:
- Nausea
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- fluid retention
- hair loss
- anemia
- fatigue
- constipation
- weakness
- bone marrow suppression
- tingling, numbness or pain in the fingers and toes due to nerve damage
Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy Side Effects
While hormone therapy is among the safest treatment options, there are still side effects that occur for many patients. The main problems that arise are:
- nausea
- diarrhea
- impotence
- loss of sex drive
- liver problems
- heart problems
- osteoporosis
Lupron side effects for prostate cancer vary, however the more common side effects are:
- diarrhea
- dizziness
- headache
- nausea
- breast tenderness
- increased sweating
- Mild burning or pain around the injection area
- hot flashes
- night sweats
- lethargy
- upset stomach
- joint or muscle aches
- testicular shrinkage
- sexual dysfunction
Prostate Cancer Radiation Side Effects
Internal Radiation Side Effects
The side effects of internal radiation for prostate cancer patients vary from short-term to long term.
Short-Term
- discomfort in the pelvic area
- increased urination
- urinary incontinence
- burning sensation while urinating
- blood in the urine
Long-Term
- urinary incontinence
- erectile dysfunction
- infertility
- rectal pain
External Beam Radiation Side Effects
External beam therapy like proton therapy virtually has no side effects after treatment. The majority of patients may have up to 40 different sessions administered with very slight to no side effects at all.
Side effects of prostate cancer treatmentswill generally be part of the treatment and healing process; however there are many new methods currently being studies and researched to help patients beat prostate cancer with fewer side effects and broader treatment options to suit everyone in need.
