Prostate Cancer Symptoms
What are the symptoms?
You may never have any symptoms or problems from the disease. That's because some types of prostate cancer can be slow-growing and may not become a serious threat to your health before you die from old age! On the other hand, others can take a faster-growing, more aggressive form and may be more harmful.
Early prostate cancer rarely causes symptoms. This is because the cancer is not large enough to put pressure on the urethra, which it encircles. If the cancer grows and spreads beyond the prostate (advanced prostate cancer), it may cause the following problems:
- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night;
- Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine;
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine;
- Painful or burning urination;
- Difficulty in having an erection;
- Painful ejaculation;
- Blood in urine or semen; or
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.
However, these symptoms are common to many conditions, especially enlarged prostate (BPH) and may not be advanced prostate cancer. They can also indicate the presence of other diseases or disorders, so if you're experiencing any of these symptoms you'll have to undergo a thorough examination to determine their underlying cause.
Diagnosis
If you decide to consult a doctor about your symptoms, he'll ask you about them and give you an examination. He may do some of the following tests himself or alternatively refer you to a urologist (a specialist) to get them done:
- A digital rectal examination (DRE) is the only direct and simple way to examine your prostate. Your doctor will insert a lubricated, gloved finger into your rectum and feel your prostate through the wall of your rectum. An enlarged prostate has a hard, irregular surface
- A PSA blood test will test the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a sample of your blood. PSA is a chemical which is made by both normal and cancerous prostate cells. If you have an abnormally high level of PSA, prostate cancer is a possibility. But there's a drawback, a high PSA score does not always indicate cancer and can be caused by other prostate diseases. Many authorities advise against having this test on evidence-based grounds.
Note: A newer test called AMACR is more sensitive for determining the presence of prostate cancer than the PSA test and may soon be more widely used to diagnose disease
- In a prostate biopsy, your doctor will surgically remove a small piece of tissue using a needle. The sample will be sent to a laboratory for examination to find out if it is a tumour and how fast it is growing.
- CT (computerised axial tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and bone scans can help your doctor see how far the cancer has spread (if at all). A bone scan involves injecting a small amount of radioactive liquid into your vein. This can show if the cancer has spread to the bone.
There are two main ways urologists and oncologists grade prostate cancer: one, called the Gleason system, uses scores of 2 to 10. Another system uses G1 through G4. The higher the score, the higher the grade of the tumour. High-grade tumours grow more quickly and are more likely to spread than low-grade tumours.
The important thing to remember is that so-called prostate symptoms, although they can be a nuisance, are not necessarily symptoms of prostate cancer, and in many cases successfully respond to palliative treatment. And even if you do have prostate cancer, you may die of old age before it can kill you.
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