A Guide to Prostate Cancer Treatments

Prostate cancer is the most common occurring cancer in men worldwide, and thus is an incredibly serious issue. Prostate cancer is a cancer that occurs in the prostate gland, which is part of the male reproductive system. The prostate gland is the size of a large walnut, and it is located just below the bladder and next to the urethra.

Prostate cancer starts in the glandular tissue of the prostate gland, and although the exact cause of this cancer is unknown, what is known is that the cancer most often occurs in men over the age of fifty, with married men for some reason being at much higher risk than single men.

Prostate Cancer Treatments

Although as of yet there is no cure for prostate cancer, there are various prostate cancer treatments that are available to help you. One of the most common prostate cancer treatments is surgery, and surgical removal of the prostate, also known as radical prostatectomy, is available to many men who are suffering from localized prostate cancer.

This surgery involves the removal of the prostate and as well the surrounding tissues, a specified portion of the urethra, and the seminal vesicles. During the surgery when the prostate is being removed, the surgeon will attempt to save the nerves that are surrounding the prostate, those which are responsible for erections. This however is not guaranteed.

External beam radiation is another of the more common prostate cancer treatments, and it is one that is more readily available, and in which beams of high-energy radiation are directed from outside the body towards a target inside of the body. Hormone therapy is yet another of the most popular prostate cancer treatments, and is actually one of the oldest means of treating prostate cancer as well.

Hormone therapy is also known as androgen deprivation therapy, and the point or goal of it is to reduce levels of the male hormones, or androgens, in the body, as these can actually be responsible for helping the disease to spread. Therefore, lowering the levels of these androgens will often make the prostate cancer shrink or at least grow more slowly.

Hormone therapy is typically used in the following situations: if your prostate cancer remains or comes back after treatment with surgery or radiation therapy, as an addition to radiation therapy as initial treatment if you are at high risk for cancer recurrence, before surgery or radiation to try and shrink the cancer to make other treatments more effective, and if you are not able to have surgery or radiation treatments.

The particular type of treatment that you should use for your prostate cancer will be decided by your doctor, and you should never attempt getting involved with any method of treatment without referral from your physician first.

 

 

 

Prostate News:


ARUP to Offer Decode's Prostate Cancer Risk Test, But Mitomics Catching Up
ARUP Labs plans to begin offering Decode's prostate cancer-risk test to clients nationwide in the fall, the companies said. The LDT, which is meant to complement standard clinical risk screening, including PSA, measures 25 common SNPs associated with prostate cancer risk...

Food for Good Prostate Health « Helpful Cancer Facts
Food for Good Prostate Health Many have had greatly impaired health due to prostate problems. The urethra becomes squashed and therefore blocked by the enlarged prostate in nearly every ageing man. This challenging problem causes ...

Radiation for Prostate Cancer – A Comparison between Brachytherapy
And you can figure out what fits your stage of prostate cancer by consulting a doctor who specializes in prostate cancer treatments. But with all the information you have known about radiation for prostate cancer, and you think that ...

Team walks in honor of Bob Sylvester during Wareham Relay for Life
Robert Bob Sylvester was a man who had the gift of putting people at ease. Friends of his five children would often go to him to talk about their problems or if something was on their mind. He never tired of offering his support to those in need of a sympathetic ear or some well-meaning guidance...

A Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Can Save your Life | Geo Blog
If you experience certain symptoms like frequent night urination, blood in your urine or semen, pains in your lower back, in your pelvis or in...

Radiation may boost prostate cancer survival
Doctors are reporting a key advance in treating men with cancer that has started to spread beyond the prostate: survival is significantly better if radiation is added to standard hormone treatments. Cancer - Prostate cancer - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Prostate ...

Study: Radiation boosts prostate cancer survival
CHICAGO (AP) Doctors are reporting a key advance in treating men with cancer that has started to spread beyond the ...

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - Causes, Symptoms , Benign Prostatic
Family history: If you have a blood relative like your father or brother with prostate problems, then you are likely to suffer from this problem. Ethnic background: This disorder is more common among white and black men. Symptoms ...

New Tests for Prostate Cancer Might Bring More Certainty
WEDNESDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Two new tests promise to cut down on the number of biopsies now taken from men suspected of having prostate cancer, researchers report...

Study: Radiation boosts prostate cancer survival
Doctors are reporting a key advance in treating men with cancer that has started to spread beyond the prostate: survivalis significantly better if radiation is added to standard hormone treatments...

Study: Radiation boosts prostate cancer survival | The Daily
CHICAGO (AP) — Doctors are reporting a key advance in treating men with cancer that has started to spread beyond the prostate. A study finds that survival is...

Botanical Medicine Posts (BMP): Prostate Cancer Prognosis
Prostate cancer, unless it is the aggressive kind, is usually a slow growing cancer. Medical scientists now believe that treating "low-risk" patients who were diagnosed with prostate cancer may be not the best option...

 

 

 

 

Google