Prostate Cancer, a Nightmare

What Is Prostate Cancer?

The prostate is a gland within men's body structure that is important for the vital activity of sperm. The prostate can be a nightmare over the age of 50 years, as this gland can become a deadly cancerous organ that will lead to death. Researches indicate that prostate cancer is genetically inherited, and the risk increases when a father or brother has the disease.

So, if you have a genetic relation to this disease, you should check yourself at the age of 45 years. Some researchers have found that capsicum and black pepper may worsen this disease.

What Are the Common Diseases of Prostate?

The most common diseases of the prostate are prostatitis and prostate tumor.

• Prostatitis is the inflammation of the prostate gland.
• A tumor of the prostate can be a benign or malignant one.

What Are the Stages of Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer passes roughly through four stages:

• The first one is when the tumor is so small and at its concise around itself.
• The second stage is when the tumor cells begin to grow and reproduce more. But still, it is concise to the same place.
• The third stage is when the tumor begins to grow outside the prostatic outline. At this stage, the prostate outline becomes irregular.
• The fourth stage is when the tumor cells spread outside to the nearby bones (for example, pelvic bone) and lymph nodes. This spread from the primary site of the tumor to the other bones and lymph nodes is termed metastasis.

What Are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of prostate cancer are:

• Difficulty in urination.
• Feeling pain during urination.
• Blood in the urine.
• Increased urination at night.
• Bone pain in cases of metastasis.

What Are the Methods of Investigation?

We have to determine an indicator that will direct us toward the right place, which is the PSA.

PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) is a tumor marker, the increase of which will indicate cancer in our body.

TRUS (Transrectal Ultrasound) scan is used to detect the enlargement of the prostate through the anal opening. A specimen of the prostate can also be taken by this method.

The specimen can be examined in a well-equipped pathological lab to determine if the cells are cancerous.

The tumor cells will be irregular, disoriented, and non-functional and grow rapidly.

How Is Prostate Cancer Treated?

Early detected prostate cancer can be totally cured by medications.

In the early stages, when prostate cancer is still in stage one, urologists prefer surgical removal of the prostate (prostatectomy).

The prostate can be removed by laser or radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate along with the removal of some tissue around it).

In the last stage, castration is done. Castration by surgically removing the testicles so as to stop the secretion of the male hormone (testosterone). This process is called orchiectomy. This, in turn, stops or delays the growth of cancerous cells.

Prostate cancer is hormone sensitive because it grows due to the response of the male hormone (testosterone). Therefore, hormonal therapy is a must in the metastatic stage.

After treatment with hormonal therapy, PSA becomes low for a certain period of time.

CRPC (Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer) can be treated by chemotherapy.