Are you concerned about a prostate cancer diagnosis for you or a loved one? Or do you simply want to learn more about diagnosis and treatment options?
On this page, we explore what is prostate cancer, stages of prostate cancer, what are the risk factors for prostate cancer, what are the symptoms of prostate cancer, diagnostic methods such as examination and tests, ultrasound, biopsy, etc. We also look into the latest treatment options such as surgical treament, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and next level theranostics treatments for Bone Metastasis Prostate Cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Recently, it is possible to diagnose this condition in early stages thanks to advancements in screening and early diagnosis methods which took place within the last three decades.
The prostate is the gland of male genital system located beneath the urinary bladder and it secretes a part of semen. Prostate cancer is secondary to abnormal growth of those secretory cells. Risk of prostate cancer increases for persons older than 65 years and for those who have positive family history of prostate cancer (especially brothers or father).
Prostate Cancer symptoms:
Positive DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) findings or abnormal blood PSA (prostate specific antigen) result is among most important findings, but they do not necessarily imply that there is definitely cancer, or similarly, above mentioned symptoms may originate from other causes (some other diseases such as non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland).
Your doctor will recommend biopsy to determine whether symptoms or abnormal DRE and PSA result are results of non-cancerous enlargement or prostate cancer. Trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) technique is used to collect biopsy specimens. A finger-sized probe is inserted into rectum and the prostate gland is visualized. After tissue specimens are collected from many regions of the prostate gland, these specimens are examined under microscope to investigate cancer cells.
If prostate cancer is identified in the light of biopsy specimens, some tests can be performed to determine how aggressive the cancer is. Your doctor may request some tests to determine whether the umor is confined to the origin (localized tumor) or whether it had spread to other body regions (metastatic tumor).
All those imaging studies not only provide information about extent of spread and characteristics of the cancer, but they are also important to stage the disease. Details about the stage of your disease are important to determine which treatment will provide the best outcomes.
A conventional staging system is used to determine how localized or spread the tumor is. Stages of prostate cancer range from Stage 1 (localized; cancer cells are confined to the prostate gland) to Stage 4 (tumor has spread to distant lymph nodes and/or organs, including bones). Determining stage of the cancer is important to plan the best treatment for you.
Efficiency of the treatment depends on how localized or how spread the tumor is. Your doctor will recommend one or more than one of following treatment options depending on stage of your disease as well as your age and your general health condition.
Please click for article of new imaging method for prostate cancer;
