PROSTATE CANCER

PROSTATE CANCER

Q. What is a prostate?
Q. What causes prostate cancer?
Q. Am I at risk for prostate cancer?
Q. What are the signs of prostate cancer?
Q. What screening tests are available?
Q. What are the treatments for prostate cancer?


Q. What is a prostate?

Ans. The prostate is a part of a reproductive organ which helps make and store seminal fluid. In adult men a typical prostate is about three centimeters long and weighs about twenty grams.It is located in the pelvis, under the urinary bladder and in front of the rectum. The prostate surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder during urination and semen during ejaculation. Because of its location, prostate diseases often affect urination, ejaculation, and rarely defecation. The prostate contains many small glands which make about twenty percent of the fluid constituting semen.In prostate cancer the cells of these prostate glands mutate into cancer cells. The prostate glands require male hormones, known as androgens, to work properly. Androgens include testosterone, which is made in the testes; dehydroepiandrosterone, made in the adrenal glands; and dihydrotestosterone, which is converted from testosterone within the prostate itself. Androgens are also responsible for secondary sex characteristics such as facial hair and increased muscle mass.


Q. What causes prostate cancer?

A. The cause of prostate cancer is unknown, but the cancer is thought not to be related to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The risk (predisposing) factors for prostate cancer include advancing age, genetics (heredity), hormonal influences, and such environmental factors as toxins, chemicals, and industrial products. The chances of developing prostate cancer increase with age. Thus, prostate cancer under age 40 is extremely rare, while it is common in men older than 80 years of age. As a matter of fact, some studies have suggested that among men over 80, between 50 and 80% of them may have prostate cancer!

Genetics (heredity), as just mentioned, plays a role in the risk of developing a prostate cancer. Environment, diet, and other unknown factors, however, can modify such genetic predispositions. For example, prostate cancer is uncommon in Japanese men living in their native Japan. However, when these men move to the United States, their incidence of prostate cancer rises significantly. Prostate cancer is also more common among family members of individuals with prostate cancer. Thus, a person whose father, grandfather, or even uncle has prostate cancer is at an increased risk for also developing prostate cancer. To date, however, no specific prostate cancer gene has been identified and verified. (Genes, which are situated on chromosomes within the nucleus of cells, are the chemical compounds that determine specific traits in individuals.)Testosterone, the male hormone, directly stimulates the growth of both normal prostate tissue and prostate cancer cells. Not surprisingly, therefore, this hormone is thought to be involved in the development and growth of prostate cancer. The important implication of the role of this hormone is that decreasing the level of testosterone should be (and usually is) effective in inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer.Environmental factors, such as cigarette smoking and diet that are high in saturated fat, seem to increase the risk of prostate cancer. Additional substances or toxins in the environment or from industrial sources might also promote the development of prostate cancer, but these have not yet been clearly identified.



Q. Am I at risk for prostate cancer?


A. Every man over the age of 45 is at risk for prostate cancer. Although prostate cancer can occasionally strike younger men, the risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age and more than 70% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over the age of 65. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer that men get .Although there are several known risk factors for getting prostate cancer, no one knows exactly why one man gets it and another doesn't. Some of the most important risk factors for prostate cancer include age, ethnicity, genetics and diet. Age is generally considered the most important risk factor for prostate cancer, as elaborated by Dr. Tarang Krishna. The incidence of prostate cancer rises quickly after the age of 60, and the majority of men will have some form of prostate cancer after the age of 80. One of the sayings about prostate cancer is that older men (over the age of 80) die with prostate cancer not from prostate cancer. This saying means that many older men have microscopic disease that doesn't shorten their life expectancy because the cancer takes a long time to grow and become clinically important. However, this saying is only a generalization; sometimes prostate cancer can grow quickly even in older patients.

Another important risk factor for prostate cancer is ethnicity. No one knows exactly why, but prostate cancer is more common in African-American and Latino men than Caucasian men. African-American men have a 1.6 fold higher chance of getting and dying from prostate cancer than Caucasian men. Asian and Native American men have the lowest chances of getting prostate cancer. Some doctors believe that genetic differences are important in explaining the different rates of prostate cancer between different ethnic groups; however, there is some evidence that differences in diets may be the cause. When Asian men move to Western countries like the United States, their chances of getting prostate cancer rise. Men who live in the United States and Northern Europe have the highest rates of prostate cancer, while men who live in South America, Central America, Africa, and Asia all have much lower chances of developing prostate cancer.

There is some evidence that a man's diet may affect his risk of developing prostate cancer. The most common dietary culprit implicated in raising prostate cancer risk is a high fat diet, particularly a diet high in animal fats. Also, a few studies have suggested that a diet low in vegetables causes an increased risk of prostate cancer. There are a few foods that have been implicated in decreasing prostate cancer risk: a diet high in tomatoes (lycopene) has been suggested as well as diet high in omega-3-fatty acids (oils found in fish like salmon and mackerel).

A family history of prostate cancer increases a man's chances of developing the disease, as per Dr. Hari Krishna.Cancer-Healer works marvellously in cases of heredity prostate cancers in men. This increase shows itself when a man has either a father or brothers (or both) with prostate cancer, and is even greater when his relatives develop prostate cancer at a young age. A variety of different genetic factors are currently being researched. Variations and mutations in certain genes may be responsible for some increases in prostate cancer rates in families. Men who carry mutations in genes known as BRCA1 or BRCA2 (these are genes implicated in breast and ovarian cancer in women) may have a 2 to 5 fold increase in prostate cancer risk.

Q. What are the signs of prostate cancer?


A. Most early prostate cancers are detected with PSA tests or digital rectal exams before they cause any symptoms. However, more advanced prostate cancers can cause a variety of symptoms including:

1- trouble starting urination
2- urinating much more frequently than usual
3- the feeling that you can't release all of your urine
4- pain on urination or ejaculation
5- blood in your urine or semen
6- impotence
7- bone pain


All of these symptoms can be caused by a variety of things besides prostate cancer, so experiencing them doesn't necessarily mean you have prostate cancer. As per Dr. Hari Krishna, When older men have problems urinating, it is usually caused by process called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which is not prostate cancer. If you experience any of these symptoms, you need to see your doctor for evaluation.

Q. What screening tests are available?

A. We know that prostate cancer usually grows very slowly, so intuitively it would make sense that we could reduce mortality from prostate cancer by picking it up early so it could be treated before it spreads. However, in order for a screening test to be fully embraced, we need to prove that picking up a disease early actually does help reduce the number of deaths. Right now, there is no good data showing that screening for prostate cancer reduces deaths from prostate cancer.

Currently, there are two methods that physicians use to screen for prostate cancer. One of them is called a digital rectal exam (DRE). A digital rectal exam is done in your primary care physician's office. Because your prostate is so close to your rectum, your doctor can feel it by inserting a gloved, lubricated finger into your anus. Your doctor can feel if there are lumps, asymmetries, or if your prostate is enlarged. A digital rectal exam is uncomfortable, but not painful. It is a useful test, but it is not perfect because some small cancers can be missed and only the bottom and sides of the prostate can be examined in this manner. Although it isn't a perfect test, it becomes more useful when it is combined with another test called a PSA.

A PSA (prostate specific antigen) test is a blood test that looks for a protein that the prostate makes. Normal prostate tissue makes a little bit of PSA, but prostate cancer usually makes much more. By checking to see if your PSA is elevated, your doctor can screen you for prostate cancer. The PSA test isn't perfect either, because some tumors won't elevate the PSA and some other processes (like benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis) can cause it to be falsely elevated. However, the higher your PSA is, the more likely the elevation is caused by a prostate cancer. The cut-off that your doctor usually uses is 4.0 ng/ml, meaning that anything below 4.0 ng/ml is normal and anything above it is abnormal. If your PSA is elevated, or you have an abnormal digital rectal exam, then you need to get further evaluation; however, this doesn't necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer. The only way to know for sure whether or not you have cancer is to get a sample of your prostate from a biopsy.


Q. What are the treatments for prostate cancer?

A. There are many different ways to treat prostate cancer, and you will most likely be consulting multiple types of doctors before making a final decision. Physicians are not always in agreement as to the way to proceed because there haven't been enough large trials that compare the different treatment modalities. For prostate cancer, it is important that you get a second opinion and you should talk to both urologists and radiation oncologists to hear about the benefits and risks of surgery, hormonal therapy and radiation in your particular case. If your prostate cancer has already spread at the time of diagnosis, you will also need a medical oncologist to talk about chemotherapy. The most important thing is to discuss your options and make a decision that suits your lifestyle, beliefs and values.

CANCER-HEALER is a treatment where the response is seen in the PSA levels, with the improvement seen in generally all men with prostate cancers. The patients who even opt for chemotherapy also see marked improvement who take CANCER-HEALER in parallel with chemotherapy. Cancer-Healer is effective in prostate cancers.