When to approach your doctor?
- Frequent and painful urination.
- Reduction in the stream of urine.
- Irregularities during sexual intercourse and ejaculation.
- Occurrence of blood in the urine or semen.
- Aching, discomfort, stiffness in the lower back, pelvis region, etc.
- Swelling/ inflammation of legs.
- Aching bones.
- Advance Prostate Cancer:
- Extreme fatigue and constant weakness.
- Sudden weight loss.
- Broken bones, increased back pain.
- Kidney failure.
- Urinary incontinence.
- Total erectile dysfunction.
Diagnosis Tests:
- (PSA) Prostate specific antigen test
- Biopsy.
- DRE test.
- Trans-rectal Ultrasound Scan (TRUS)
- Advance prostate cancer:
- Isotope bone scan
- X-ray
- MRI scan
- CT scan
Stages & Treatments for Prostate Cancer:
Early Stage: Cancer cells limited to lining testicles.
Low Grade: Cancer cells grown beyond the testicles (metasized).
Treatment:
- Watchful waiting- For older men.
- Surgery or removal of the prostate gland- for younger men.
- Radio therapy- For men with symptoms.
- Hormonal therapy- Post hormonal therapy.
- External beam radiotherapy.
- Brachytherapy.
- Cryotherapy.
- High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).
Moderate-High Grade: Cancer cells begin to spread from the lining to the muscular walls of the bladder.
Treatment:
Radiotherapy using an external machine/ directly into the prostate gland (Brachy therapy)
Failure of Radiotherapy:
- Radical Prostatectomy- Remove prostate gland surgicaly.
- Bilateral Orchidectomy.
Locally Advanced : Cancer cells advanced to nearby blood stream and blood cells.
Treatment:
- Radiotherapy.
- Hormonal therapy.
- Watchful waiting.
- Surgery.
- Combination treatment.
Advanced: Cancer in this stage may or may not have spread to other parts of the body like
Treatment:
Hormonal therapy.
Surgery.
- Chemotherapy.
- Radiotherapy.
- Controlling symptoms.
- Trans urethral resection of the prostate to facilitate smooth passage of urine. (TURP)
- Surgery – not recommended.
Treatment for prostate cancer spread to other parts of body:
- Incurable.
- Can be treated treatment to control the cancer and symptoms.
Recurrent cancer:
Sometimes even after curative treatment cancers do reoccur in the kidney or any other part of the body.
Treatment:
- Radical prostatectomy.
- Bilateral Orchidectomy.
At all above stages, treatments are finalized taking into consideration the overall health, severity, age and other ailments of the patient.
