Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a disorder characterized by the enlargement of the prostate gland. This condition is a common part of aging among men and occurs mainly after the age of 40. Some men might not be aware that they have BPH since there are cases where symptoms are lacking. However, a lot more cases include common enlarged prostate symptoms such as, a need to urinate frequently, particularly during the night; pain, burning and difficulty in starting and stopping urination; weak urine flow or dribbling; and a constant feeling that the bladder is not completely empty.
For men who do not experience enlarged prostate symptoms, they might not know that they have BPH until they suddenly find it difficult to urinate. This type of acute symptom called acute urinary retention may be triggered by taking over-the-counter medicines for colds and allergies. These drugs contain a decongestant called sympathomimetic which carries the potential side effect of preventing the bladder from opening or relaxing to allow urine to pass through. Acute urinary retention can also be caused by excessive drinking, cold temperatures and prolonged periods of immobility.
Severe cases of BPH can eventually lead to more serious problems like urinary tract infections, bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones and incontinence. Fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine and lower back pain can also be signs of a severe type of enlarged prostate. However, men should not wait for these symptoms to manifest themselves, a visit to the doctor, particularly for those aged 40 and above, is the best way to know whether BPH has developed.
In diagnosing BPH, a urologist will usually start with a digital rectal exam (DRE). In DRE, the doctor will insert a gloved finger into the rectum to feel the part of the prostate near the rectum. DRE can give the doctor an idea of the size and condition of the prostate. Another test commonly used in cases of BPH is the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. The PSA test is primarily done to rule out cancer as the cause of urinary symptoms. However, ways of interpreting PSA screening results still remain hazy and doctors are still unable to use the test to differentiate cancer from other prostate conditions. This test, though, works much better when used in conjunction with DRE.
Urine flow study is another method of detecting BPH. The device used in this test measures how quickly the urine is flowing. A reduced flow often suggests an enlarged prostate. Another type of test called the intravenous pyelogram (IVP) is basically an x-ray of the urinary tract which can show blockage or obstruction. Cytoscopy, on the other hand, involves the insertion of a small tube through the opening of the urethra in the penis. The tube called cytoscope helps determine the size of the prostate and identify the location and degree of obstruction.
If there is any suspicion of more severe conditions like cancer, a rectal ultrasound is usually recommended by the physician. The use of this test, though, does not mean that BPH leads to prostate cancer. Despite a lot of similarities between prostate cancer and enlarged prostate symptoms, scientists have claimed that no apparent association exists between the two conditions. Nevertheless, getting tested is the best way to rule out any possible occurrence of BPH or even cancer.
PROSTATE CANCER - NEW TREATMENT BY RADIOTHERAPY
Research is continuing to try and improve technology and techniques to allow radiotherapy to the prostate gland to be more effective and to have fewer side effects. One way is to reduce the amount of radiation received by normal organs (bladder, bowel etc) and this has been improving over the last few years with better machines and techniques such as “conformal radiotherapy” and “IMRT”.
Work is also being carried out on combining brachytherapy with external therapy to allow some of the benefits of brachytherapy (fewer side effects, higher overall dose to the prostate cancer) to be used for men with more advanced prostate cancer without compromising the chance of cure.
NEW HORMONE THERAPY FOR PROSTATE CANCER
Some newer prostate cancer hormone treatments have fewer side effects than older hormone based drugs. Some are also felt to be more effective. All the time researchers are testing to try and find the best hormone tablets or injections for use in prostate cancer.
Other research is going on to try and work out the best time to give hormone treatment in prostate cancer and whether it is best to combine this treatment with other types of treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Trials are currently being run to answer these questions and the results should be available in the next few years.
IMPROVEMENTS IN CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT FOR PROSTATE CANCER
In the past prostate cancer did not respond very well to chemotherapy drugs. However now there are newer drugs which are more powerful against prostate cancer and these have started to be used with more frequency in late prostate cancer which has already spread to other organs and which has become resistant to hormone treatments. The best drug found so far is Docetaxel, a new type of chemotherapy drug. It has several side effects including hair loss, nausea and risk of infection. Doctors are now looking to see if Docetaxel would work even better as a combination with other drugs.
USE OF BISPHOSPHONATE DRUGS FOR PROSTATE CANCER TREATMENT
These are a group of drugs which are most often used in treating osteoporosis. It has been recently found that they can also help reduce pain associated with cancer deposits or secondaries in the bones. They may also help reduce the risk of these abnormal bones from breaking or fracturing, by slowing down the damage caused to the bone by the cancer.
Research is ongoing to look at which of these drugs is the best for treating prostate cancer with bone disease and when the best time to start treatment with these drugs is.
ALTERNATIVE TO SURGERY FOR TREATMENT OF EARLY PROSTATE CANCER
There are 2 new treatments which are being researched as an alternative to surgery for some men with localised prostate cancer. Both options would not require a general anaesthetic (you would not need to be put to sleep) making them lower risk. Both treatments also have fewer side effects than radical surgery (”prostatectomy”). However neither has been in use long enough to know if it will prevent prostate cancer from coming back as effectively as standard treatments (surgery and radiotherapy).
Cryotherapy is the killing of cancer cells by freezing them. Needles are inserted into the prostate gland under local anaesthetic and liquid nitrogen is passed along them to freeze the prostate and the cancer cells within it. Currently it is being used for men whose prostate cancer has come back despite a first more conventional treatment and so is only being trialled for use as a first treatment option.
HIFU stands for high frequency ultrasound. Here ultrasound waves are directed to where there are cancer cells and are these are used to heat them up, thus killing them. In prostate cancer the ultrasound probe would be put into the back passage and from here ultrasound waves would be fired towards the prostate gland. The results so far have been good in that the treatment is safe and effective.
NEW TREATMENTS FOR PROSTATE CANCER IN VERY EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
There are a number of alternative treatments which are still at a highly experimental stage of development. Gene therapy aims to replace the faulty genes in cancer cells with good ones which would allow the cell to self destruct if it felt it had become too mutated. (Cancer cells have lost this self destruct ability and continue to grow and divide despite having many abnormalities which would normally force the cell to die.) Vaccine treatment looks at ways of making the bodies own immune system recognise and kill cancerous sells. Endothelin blockers are a new type of drug treatment which works by preventing the prostate cancer cells to grow.
Many people may have heard that Vitamin D is being used in the treatment of prostate cancer however this therapy is in the very early experimental stages and is no where near being used in clinics as a cancer treatment. Vitamin D has been reported to block receptors on prostate cancer cells thereby slowing the rate of their growth but there is NO clinical evidence that this is in fact the case. Some researchers claim that the active form of Vitamin D slows the growth of prostate cancer but as yet this has only been tested on mice and other small animals.
Beta-sitosterol is a herbal remedy that people have started to associate with prostate cancer treatment. This natural plant fat has apparently been proven effective for the treatment of an enlarged prostate but not necessarily prostate cancer. According to research Beta-sitosterol MAY help to prevent the emergence of prostate cancer but this has not been clinically proven yet.
As prostate cancer involves the male reproductive system, the prostate, it is a disease that primarily affects the male. Early detection of its symptoms is vital to treatment and recovery. When you have prostate cancer, your prostate cells mutate and multiply out of control. These cancerous cells start to attack all the surrounding healthy cells in the prostate, and can spread to other parts of the body. Very often, this disease also affects the bones around the prostate.
Most men do not realize that they have prostate cancer until it is in an advanced stage. Once it is diagnosed in a later stage, it is usually more difficult to cure or treat. Hence, early detection can help in controlling the spread of the cancer cells. Here are some important prostate cancer symptoms that
you should keep a look out for:
– general pain in the prostate area
– an uncontrollable desire to urinate frequently, especially at nighttime
– difficulty in urinating, both in starting or holding back
– poor flow of urine
– the presence of blood and in urine and semen
– pain or burning sensation when urinating
– erectile dysfunction (inability to have or sustain an erection)
– uncomfortable or painful ejaculation
– a frequent pain or stiffness in the upper thighs, hips, or lower back
It does not mean that you have prostate cancer just because you notice the above symptoms. These symptoms can also be an indication of other diseases. Your best course of action is to go for an accurate and proper diagnosis by a doctor or specialist. You will have to undergo a series of tests in order to determine if you have prostate cancer or some other health problems.
Several factors appear to increase the risk of getting this disease.
Age is a key factor. It has been found that prostate cancer is most common in men over fifty years of age.
Family history is also another key indicator of increased risk. If you have a close male relative who is suffering from the disease, you are twice as likely to have prostate cancer yourself.
In addition, nationality or where you come from can mean different risk levels. Statistics reveal that African-Americans are most at risk, followed by Americans and Europeans. Least at risk are Asians, particularly those that live in the East and Southeast portions of the continent.
It has been said that an unhealthy lifestyle and diet also increases your risk to getting this disease. Although this disease is not preventable, making substantial changes to your diet and lifestyle have been shown to improve your chances of recovery greatly.
To find out if you really have prostate cancer, you need to consult a specialist. Once you describe to him about the symptoms that you have observed, he may order a series of tests to make sure.
The PSA, or prostate specific antigen test, is used to detect the disease. During this process, a small piece of the prostate will be removed and examined under a microscope to check for prostate cancer cells. Additionally, other tests such as X-rays and bone scans may also be used to determine the extent of the cancer.
While it appears cumbersome to go for that many tests, it is important to remember that they may actually help you save your live. You can get treated for prostate cancer symptoms if you take early action.
There are more and more organisations and groups around the world who will offer support and advice to not just women but men as well who have been affected by breast cancer.
Many of these groups and organisations not only spend time counselling people but they hold many fund raising events and campaigns to help pay for further research into the disease.
In some cases some of these groups or organisations will offer treatment to those patients diagnosed with the disease who can not actually afford to pay for the treatment themselves.
Below is a list of the various organisations and groups that can be found in the USA which have been specifically set up to fight this disease and provide support to those who have been diagnosed with it.
One such group in the USA is the American Cancer Society (ACS) who are a community based health organisation and which helps to fight all the various types of cancers that now seem to affect the population.
They also spend vast amounts of their time not just focusing on treatment of cancer but also its prevention and how to reduce the suffering felt by the patients and their families and saving lives.
They also help with costs for carrying out further research and educating people on the disease and making the population more aware of its effects.
Another organisation is Cancer Care Incorporated who provide a telephone support service for all cancer issues, and this includes medical information, cancer terms and definitions, counselling, guidance on local services, free information material, as well as information on local support groups to the patients area as well as an abundance of educational programs on cancer matters.
Now we come to CRFA (Cancer Research Foundations of America) which is a national group and which focuses on the prevention of cancer both through educating people and scientific research.
It is also able to provide people with information on other forms of cancer as well as breast such as prostate, lung, colorectal, skin and cervical.
Then you could if you wish contact The Living Beyond Breast Cancer Foundation which has been set up and provides a helpline where you are able to obtain support after being diagnosed with the disease.
You will discover that the people at the other end of the phone talking to you will have previously been diagnosed with the disease and survived.
They are able to provide you with first hand information on the treatments offered, the way in which it is diagnosed and how to survive it.
But don’t forget the people at the other end of the phone can only offer you emotional support and not actual medical advice, for that you will need to see your doctor who will then refer you to a specialist.
Then there is the Medicare Hotline which is another breast cancer foundation and this one can offer the patient information on mammography and the way it is used in helping to detect breast cancer during the early stages.
Also we have the NABCO (National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organisations) who can provide people with answers to the many questions that they will have relating to the disease and they can either call them or send them an email to obtain the information they require on breast cancer and the many issues relating to it.
If you would like to obtain a more individual response regarding a question you have in respect of the disease it may be a case of you contacting the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service, which can provide patients with answers to any specific question they may have relating to the disease.
Also a number of years ago a Foundation was set up called the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation which helps to fight breast cancer and are well known for organising lots of awareness programs as being a huge contributor in raising funds through various campaigns they have organised such as breast cancer walks.
This foundation also has a helpline where they have trained volunteers who can talk to individuals regarding the disease as they have suffered from it themselves.
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has been set up and is specifically committed to offering people with the latest information that is available concerning breast cancer and breast health to those that contact them.
Lastly we have the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organisation which helps fight against both breast cancer and provides support to those suffering from the disease by providing them with a helpline that is operated by trained personnel only.
These people are volunteers but who have all survived breast cancer and are not only prepared but have the experience to answer the various types of questions that will be posed by the caller regarding breast cancer.
They can also provide emotional support to the men and women who have been affected by this disease.
Despite the precautions taken to give the radiotherapy as accurately as possible there will always be some side effects associated with radiotherapy to the prostate gland even with “best treatment”. This is partly because to reach the prostate gland from the outside the X-rays have to pass through normal tissues (bladder, bowel, skin) and partly because an area around the prostate gland needs to be treated in case the prostate is in a slightly different position each day (e.g. because the bladder is filled to a different extent) and because it can treat any cancer cells which are trying to invade out of the prostate gland itself.
EARLY SIDE EFFECTS
a. Tiredness and Fatigue - most patients receiving radiotherapy will feel tired especially towards the end of treatment.
b. Skin reaction - this is usually very mild with prostate cancer treatment and may be a slight pinking of the skin or sometimes a sore back passage
c. Diarrhoea - the x-rays will have to pass through some of your bowel to reach the prostate gland and this can irritate the bowel and cause diarrhoea, it can usually be well controlled by medication
d. Cystitis - a burning feeling when you pass water is due to irritation of the bladder by the X-rays on their way to the prostate gland
e. Piles - these can often flare up during treatment
f. Loss of Hair - you may lose some of your pubic hair where the x-rays pass through the skin but this normally grows back after treatment finishes, the hair on you head will not be affected
g. Impotence - radiotherapy may make it difficult for you to have or maintain an erection
LATE SIDE EFFECTS
In a small number of patients permanent damage to bowel or bladder may occur and can sometimes require treatment. In some men the impotence fails to recover.
While there are forms of alternative prostate cancer treatment, the above are considered to be the proven techniques and procedures.
http://www.healthyprostatenow.info prostate symptoms occur in 95% of men. prostate PSA Defense supplement formula may reduce prostate symptoms, ist with prostate treatment and health. More info..
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Does prostate cancer have symptoms? In this health video minute on prostate cancer, Dr. Schlegel (Department Chairman) of Cornell Urology discusses the symptoms that more often lead men to their doctors (urology/prostate cancer) for thorough examination including a PSA test –the current test in detecting the probability of prostate cancer in men. Detecting prostate cancer is both difficult and unique.
Source: An Original HealthTheater.tv Production/In ociation with the Dept. of Urology, Weill-Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital. Credits: Executive Producer:Sean Moloney
Duration : 0:1:4
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Technorati Tags: cancer, doctor, dramatic, erection, Health, medical, penis, prostate, robotic, sexual, symptoms, testicle, testosterone, urology
In 2003, Bob Monkhouse died from prostate cancer, a disease which is now killing one man every hour in the UK.
Shockingly, although it’s almost as common as breast cancer, it gets a fraction of the research funding.
Highly promising research projects are ready to go right now, they just need the money to get started.
This advert was made with the full support of Bob’s family, so please visit the below site and “give a few bob”
http://giveafewbob.org/
Supported by ClearChannel, JCDecauz, The Sun, vue and WHSmith (badges available)
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From beyond the grave: Bob Monkhouse appears in prostate Cancer Research’s new campaign
Now, thanks to computer wizardry, he can be seen in an ad for Prostate Cancer Research’s Give A Few Bob campaign. The ad-makers took archive footage of Monkhouse and blended it with shots of a body double taken in a graveyard in Surrey.
The script is spoken by a soundalike and begins with Monkhouse saying: “Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your TV again, here I am. Gosh, four years already, doesn’t time fly.”
He goes on to tell one of his favourite gags: “I wanted to die like my father, quietly, in his sleep - not screaming and terrified like his passengers.”
And he says: “What killed me kills one man per hour in Britain. That’s even more than my wife’s cooking. Let’s face it, as a comedian, I died many deaths. Prostate cancer, I don’t recommend.”
Monkhouse’s widow Jackie, 70, told The Sun: “When I was approached about the Give A Few Bob campaign I felt it would be a great honour for my husband.
The ad-makers took archive footage of Monkhouse and blended it with shots of a body double taken in a graveyard in Surrey
“Bob would love this ad. It’s funny but has a serious message about the threat of prostate cancer.
“They’ve done a fabulous job bringing my Bob back - although there’s a bulge in the lapel of his jacket he wouldn’t have stood for. I have the original upstairs and it fitted him like a glove.”
The campaign aims to raise donations for research into the disease.
The ad agency came up with the idea after seeing the Radio 2 promotional film in which Elvis Presley appeared on stage with the Sugababes and Noel Gallagher.
Duration : 0:0:40
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National recognized expert, Christopher Kane, MD, Urology Chief, UCSD Medical Center, reviews Prostate Cancer epidemiology and risk essment information such as serum PSA, clinical stage, Gleason grade and biopsy information. He also reviews the stage and risk migration that has occurred throughout the PSA era. Finally, Dr. Kane reviewed robotic radical prostatectomy and how this exciting new technology is applied to prostate cancer surgery. Series: SIRA (Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging) [5/2008] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 14199]
Duration : 0:53:40
Technorati Tags: cancer, prostate, prostatectomy, robotic
An educational video describing treatment options for the prostate cancer patient at Chicago Prostate Cancer Center. World leader in minimally invasive treatments. Dr. Brian Moran, world renowned radiation oncologists in the field of prostate cancer and advanced biopsy techniques. Over 10,000 procedures performed since 1997. Brachytherapy provides cure rates equal to surgery and IMRT with lower risk of side effects. One time outpatient procedure, minimally invasive with return to normal activity within a day. Safe and effective. No risk of radiation exposure to family members.
Duration : 0:8:45
Technorati Tags: biopsy, brachytherapy, cancer, cure, Health, implant, IMRT, options, prostate, prostatectomy, PSA, rates, seed, Surgery, treatment