One in six men in the USA and Canada will require some form of prostate cancer treatment. This is a frightening thought, but countering it is the knowledge that around 90% of cases of prostate cancer are treated successfully.
Prostate cancers can get cut out, irradiated or otherwise treated. The sole precondition for certain success is an early detection. However, even if diagnosis is a bit late, there is still a decent chance of recovery, it is just that the cure may be more harsh.
Before we go any further on this issue, I have to warn you that what I am writing is my interpretation of my own research into prostate cancer. I am not a GP; just an interested party being a male who is beginning to enter the age bracket where the rate of prostate cancer begins to rise. I am over 50.
Prostate cancer is one of the more easily treatable cancers but it is certainly life-threatening. It is a significant illness that will kill you if you do nothing about it. The trick is to diagnose it early. The earlier you catch it, the more easily, more painlessly and more quickly it can be dealt with.
After a quick, simple and painless test, you will be told the likelihood that you have prostate cancer, but this test is not decisive, you will have to go for further tests to corroborate the diagnosis. If the check ups prove that you have a problem, your oncologist or urologist will determine a answer.
These are a couple of the terms used when clarifying prostate cancer:
Stage One: cancer is found just in the prostate
Stage Two: a larger cancer but it is still found just within the prostate gland itself
Stage Three: the growth is beginning to spread outside the prostate
Stage Four: the growth is growing outside the prostate to a greater extent
Stage Five: the cancer has spread to other parts of the body - metastasis.
Recurrent: the cancer returns after treatment.
These different stages of prostate cancer may be taken care of in different ways:
Stage 1: occasionally referred to as localized prostate cancer, the medical doctor may suggest the following solutions: - Wait and see. (Closely monitored) - Radiotherapy - Radical prostatectomy (full removal of the prostate) - Hormone therapy
Stage 2: this is further advanced but still localized within the prostate only: watchful waiting (with increased monitoring activity) - radiotherapy (may or may not be done with hormone therapy); radical prostatectomy (perhaps with hormone therapy or not); hormone therapy
Stage 3: the cancer has progressed outside the prostate to nearby tissue: external-beam radiotherapy (Hormone Therapy or not); hormone Therapy; radical removal of the prostate (possibly hormone therapy or not); closer monitoring by the doctors
Stage 5: the prostate cancer has metastasized (spread throughout body and bones): Hormone therapy - External-beam radiotherapy (with or without hormone treatment) - very closely monitored or chemotherapy
Recurrence of Prostate Cancer: Close monitoring - Possibly all of the above treatments
Prostate cancers can get cut out, irradiated or otherwise treated. The sole precondition for certain success is an early detection. However, even if diagnosis is a bit late, there is still a decent chance of recovery, it is just that the cure may be more harsh.
Before we go any further on this issue, I have to warn you that what I am writing is my interpretation of my own research into prostate cancer. I am not a GP; just an interested party being a male who is beginning to enter the age bracket where the rate of prostate cancer begins to rise. I am over 50.
Prostate cancer is one of the more easily treatable cancers but it is certainly life-threatening. It is a significant illness that will kill you if you do nothing about it. The trick is to diagnose it early. The earlier you catch it, the more easily, more painlessly and more quickly it can be dealt with.
After a quick, simple and painless test, you will be told the likelihood that you have prostate cancer, but this test is not decisive, you will have to go for further tests to corroborate the diagnosis. If the check ups prove that you have a problem, your oncologist or urologist will determine a answer.
These are a couple of the terms used when clarifying prostate cancer:
Stage One: cancer is found just in the prostate
Stage Two: a larger cancer but it is still found just within the prostate gland itself
Stage Three: the growth is beginning to spread outside the prostate
Stage Four: the growth is growing outside the prostate to a greater extent
Stage Five: the cancer has spread to other parts of the body - metastasis.
Recurrent: the cancer returns after treatment.
These different stages of prostate cancer may be taken care of in different ways:
Stage 1: occasionally referred to as localized prostate cancer, the medical doctor may suggest the following solutions: - Wait and see. (Closely monitored) - Radiotherapy - Radical prostatectomy (full removal of the prostate) - Hormone therapy
Stage 2: this is further advanced but still localized within the prostate only: watchful waiting (with increased monitoring activity) - radiotherapy (may or may not be done with hormone therapy); radical prostatectomy (perhaps with hormone therapy or not); hormone therapy
Stage 3: the cancer has progressed outside the prostate to nearby tissue: external-beam radiotherapy (Hormone Therapy or not); hormone Therapy; radical removal of the prostate (possibly hormone therapy or not); closer monitoring by the doctors
Stage 5: the prostate cancer has metastasized (spread throughout body and bones): Hormone therapy - External-beam radiotherapy (with or without hormone treatment) - very closely monitored or chemotherapy
Recurrence of Prostate Cancer: Close monitoring - Possibly all of the above treatments
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with prostate cancer and radiation treatment. If you want to know more go to What is the Treatment for Prostate Cancer?
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