Common symptoms of prostate cancer

The prostate gland is responsible for producing some fluid of the semen and controlling urination in men. Prostate cancer is accountable for affecting the prostate gland. The gland is located right below the bladder and in front of the rectum. In advanced cases, it can spread to nearby organs to the prostate, most notably the bladder. It is the most common cancer among men in the United States. Early detection of the prostate cancer is treatable while advanced stages might get fatal.

Regular testing is important to complete diagnostics before it hits the metastasis phase, i.e.

Prostate cancer stages
Prostate cancer is divided into four stages, and each has a different treatment approach. The extent of spread and size of tumor decides what stage of cancer it is.

• Stage I
  In the very first stage of prostate cancer, the tumor is non-detectable by physical examination and imaging tests.

Prostate cancer – Symptoms
During the early stages of prostate cancer, there are no specific symptoms. Symptoms usually develop during later stages of cancer. The symptoms of prostate cancer patients experience might vary in intermediate stages and aggressive stages.

Early prostate cancer symptoms

• A frequent urge to urinate
• Blood during urination
• Difficulty in urinating
• Painful urination and sometimes ejaculation
• Difficulty in achieving and maintaining an erection

Advanced prostate cancer symptoms

• Bone fractures
• Bone pain, often in the femur, pelvis, ribs, and spine
• Fecal/urinary incontinence
• Leg weakness

Treatment
Treatment is different for early (Stage I and Stage II) and advanced (Stage III and Stage IV) stages of prostate cancer.

Early stage prostate cancer treatment
Treatment recommendations in different cases will depend on the specific case with medical history. Before the treatment, the doctor will discuss all available options with the patient. In early stages of prostate cancer treatment, patients might receive a combination of hormone therapy and radiation therapy for about 4 to 6 months. When the cancer is small in size and localized, it is treated by means of:

• • Monitoring or watchful waiting – For the slowly developing cancer, immediate treatment might yield undesired side effects. Hence, PSA blood levels are regularly checked.
  • Radical prostatectomy – The affected prostate is surgically removed using radical prostatectomy. Robotic keyhole surgery allows for a shorter duration of hospitalization, as well as fast recovery. However, it is more expensive than a traditional surgery that requires about three months of the recovery period and 10 days of hospitalization.
  • Brachytherapy – Radioactive seeds are used to deliver targeted radiation treatment by means of an implant in the prostate.
  • Conformal radiation therapy – It minimizes healthy tissue exposure to radiation. Radiation beams are configured in a way so that the region where they overlap at is similar to the shape of the affected region.
  • Intensity modulated radiation therapy – It is an advanced form of conformal radiation therapy.

Advanced stage prostate cancer treatment
Advanced stages of cancer are more aggressive and spread throughout the body. The patient might most likely require long-term hormone therapy. Unlike the early stages of prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy can’t be used in advanced stages, as it doesn’t treat cancer spread to other parts of the body. Participating in clinical trials is an alternative to no-effect hormone therapy. However, doctor consultation is important for doing so. Typical cases of advanced stage prostate cancer are treated by means of:

• • Chemotherapy – Used for killing/eliminating cancer cells around the body
  • Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) – Androgens are male hormones that can stimulate cancer growth. It is an androgen suppression therapy, assisting in reducing the effects of androgen.