Do You Recognize The 6 Prostate Cancer Symptoms?

One in six men experience prostate cancer. It is one of the leading causes of death in American men. If left untreated, it can gradually spread to other parts of the body and become irreversible.

Even though you have prostate cancer, you may not notice the symptoms at all especially in the initial stage. If you are over 40 years old, it is recommended that you have your prostate examined to detect any cancer cells.

You can take Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) tests to detect prostate cancer. However, they are not accurate. Always check with your doctor for other prostate examinations.

If you have prostate cancer, your level of PSA will be high enough to be detected. But sometimes, the results can be tampered by other factors which can cause your PSA to rise.

Using a DRE procedure, your doctor can distinguish between prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP) or prostatitis (inflammation of prostate) which is not cancerous. Your doctor will examine for abnormality of the prostate by putting his finger into your anus. By scrutinizing the size, shape, and texture of the prostate, it will reveal whether the prostate is in good health or not.

These symptoms may not signify that you have prostate cancer. Some of the common signs in the early stage that you need to be aware of are:

1. Problem in urinating

2. Increased urination at night

3. Pain during urination

4. Presence of blood in the urine

5. Painful ejaculation

6. Erectile dysfunction

When the cancer spreads to bone and lymph nodes, you will feel pain in your lower back, spine, pelvis, upper thighs, and ribs. This may also weaken your legs and lead to involuntary urination or defecation.

Sometimes, prostate cancer symptoms mimic BHP. Difficulty and increased night time urination are usually accompanied with BHP.

There are several prostate cancer treatments to choose from. Choice of treatment depends on your doctor's advice. Among the treatments are prostate radiation therapy, chemotherapy, active surveillance and surgery.

Early detection of prostate cancer can prevent unnecessary surgery or radiation therapy. You can seek alternative treatment instead. Be aware of these symptoms and signs. It is not something you can ignore even though they are mild and are not affecting your daily routines. Taking care of your prostate health can help you enjoy your retirement years happily.

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Prostate Cancer Symptoms - What Are The Symptoms To Look Out For?

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer occurring in men in the United States today. It generally appears after the age of 50 and its incidence increases with age. Prostate cancer usually doesn't show any noticeable symptoms in its early stages and most men tend to ignore these early symptoms as being nothing more than a normal part of the ageing process. By the time they are aware of the symptoms, the cancer would have reached terminal stages of its development. So, what are the prostate cancer symptoms that we should be on the lookout for to prevent this situation from happening?

Early signs and symptoms of both benign and malignant prostate cancer can include the following:

- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night;

- Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine;

- Weak or interrupted flow of urine;

- Painful or burning urination;

- Difficulty in having an erection;

- Painful ejaculation;

- Blood in urine or semen; or

- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips and upper thighs

These early prostate cancer symptoms are the body's warning signs that something is wrong inside our body. It may indicate the presence of other diseases or disorders such as the enlargement of the prostate gland (a condition called 'benign prostatic hyperplasia' or 'BPH' for short), prostatit, or some other forms of prostate infections which are usually benign. If left untreated, these conditions may become malignant and the cancer may start spreading beyond the prostate to the other part of our body. The only way to find out the truth of the condition and to control prostate cancer at its infancy is to undergo routine checkups with tests known as prostate-specific antigen, or a PSA test, and a digital rectal exam or DRE. Some statistics indicate that an early detection of the prostate cancer at its early stages increases your chances, by as high as 98%, for a full recovery from the cancer.

In its advanced stages, prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body and have many other symptoms. For instance, if it spreads to the bones, it may cause pain in your back, hips, pelvis, and other bony areas. Other suspicious symptoms included weight loss, particularly in elderly men, and difficulty in getting an erection (where you haven't had difficulty before).

If you suspect that you or your loved ones are suffering from cancer of the prostate, Click Here for more information on prostate cancer symptoms or for more information on prostate cancer in general and a possible prostate cancer cure

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Top 5 Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer and is the common cause of cancer deaths among men. The sad fact about this is that most men do not realize that they acquire this killer disease until it has already spread. This type of cancer spreads rapidly but it can be prevented earlier once you know the prostate cancer symptoms you have to watch out for.

Having prostate cancer can affect your overall wellness. It can stop you from doing activities you normally do. It can affect your relationship with other people and even your sex life. Most prostate cancer patients failed to recognize cancer symptoms earlier that they often found out too late. Luckily, you can avoid being one of them by keeping yourself well informed about this dreaded ailment.

Just like other diseases, prostate cancer has several symptoms. Though older men from 50 years old and above are prone to it, still it helps to know the signs of this killer disease earlier in life. Below are five cancer symptoms you need to be aware of for early detection of the killer disease.

1. Difficulties during urination
Top on the list among the Cancer symptoms is urinary difficulties. Since the bladder and the prostate are close to each other, the tumors that grow on the prostate press the bladder causing difficulty in urinating.

2. Presence of blood in the urine
The presence of blood during urination is one of the cancer symptoms you must know. When the patient is already experiencing this, it is now advisable for him to go to his doctor. Though, this doesn't necessarily mean that one has already cancer since some of the urinary tract infections also experience the same symptom, an early check up is still advisable.

3. Difficulties during erection
Cancer symptoms include difficulties during erection. This kind of cancer affects the sexual life of the patient. He gets the inability to get and maintain an erection. Sometimes he experiences painful ejaculation. The prostate is a part of the male reproductive system so it is only normal that symptoms may affect other sex organs. If you have been experiencing the same scenario, you might as well see your doctor to be diagnosed instead of waiting for other Cancer symptoms.

4. Legs start to swell
Perhaps, you may wonder why swelling of the legs is considered as one of the many Cancer symptoms. Well, as the disease continues to grow, it will also spread to the lymph nodes. When this happens, legs begin to swell. Sometimes, the swelling also cause hips and buttocks to experience severe pain.

5. Pelvic discomfort
Cancer symptoms like having severe discomfort on the pelvis, roots from having affected lymph nodes. The nodes squeeze the pelvis causing pain. To prevent prostate cancer, the five early prostate cancer symptoms should be taken into consideration. Consult your doctor immediately once you experience these symptoms for treatments. It is the best way to fight prostate cancer before it gets worse.

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Detecting Prostate Cancer Symptoms Early

It is still unknown what really causes prostate cancer but several risk factors have been discovered like family history, race, age or high fat diet.

Having a screening examination at fixed intervals is important to detect the cancer early. Looking for symptoms yourself is not enough because you can not detect it early enough. Once you have prostate cancer symptoms already, it is (too) late already. After the disease has broken out already, you could have symptoms like weak or interrupted urine flow, blood in the urine or a pain in the back, thighs or hips. There could also be a burning sensation.

It could be a matter of life or dead to detect the cancer as early as possible. The earlier the treatment starts the greater the chances of survival. This can be cured but only when it hasn't spread too much already.

The doctor will also put his digit into the rectum to feel any lumps in the prostate. If he finds any abnormalities, the doctor will order an blood test to find out if a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is in the blood. While low amounts of PSA are ok, a high amount of PSA is a strong sign for cancer. A trans rectal ultrasound examination is another option. This painless method gives a good picture of the gland within 20 minutes.

A biopsy is needed once the above tests indicate the occurrence of cancer. That means that the doctor must take a small sample of the tissue by using a needle. The sample is then checked under a microscope and if the sample is cancerous it is an exact diagnosis. The biopsy itself is a quick and rather painless method to diagnose prostate cancer.

Once it is detected, the doctor must find out how much it has spread already. An x-ray can show if the cancer has reached the lungs already. A computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can also make internal organs visible. Once it is diagnosed the treatment must start immediately. There are several different treatment options but still the surgery is the most effective way to totally remove the cancer. The treatment will need a team of doctors, an urologist, a surgeon and an oncologist. The surgery is not without risks and side effects so that some prefer alternative ways.

A good prognosis with a high survival rate of 95% can be given when it was detected very early and the surgery was successful. However, the later the cancer was diagnosed, the worse the statistics get. Less than 30% survive the next five years after the cancer was detected very late.

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Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Prostate cancer can be fickle. Some patients live with prostate cancer their entire lives and never experience any problems. They never knew they had it, meaning they probably didn't experience any symptoms. Other patients may experience symptoms. Symptoms are usually not present in the early stages of prostate cancer.

Symptoms
If the patient does experience symptoms, typically these are the symptoms that are associated with prostate cancer:
· Having to urinate more often than normal
· Not being able to urinate at all
· Having a weaker urine stream than usual
· Difficulty trying to start the urine stream
· Getting up in the night to urinate
· Having the feeling that the bladder is not empty, even after urination
· Pain or burning sensation during urination
· Blood in the urine
· Blood in the semen
· Pain in the lower back, pelvic region, abdomen, and/or hip area

These symptoms can also be the result of other related factors, so don't jump to conclusions. Having an enlarged prostate can also result in some of these same symptoms, as well as urinary tract infections and prostatitis (an infection within the prostate).

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your physician to schedule an exam.

Diagnosis
The physician will be able to perform one or two tests to determine whether this cancer is present. The tests are the digital rectal exam and the PSA blood test. Both tests will be performed with minimal pain and discomfort to the patient, and results can either come immediately (with a digital rectal exam) or within a few days (with a PSA blood test).

With the earliest stages of prostate cancer, the digital rectal exam will not detect anything because the tumor is too small to feel or to be apparent. This is why the PSA blood test is conducted. Since the approval of the PSA blood test, more and more patients are being diagnosed with prostate cancer in the earlier stages. Because of this, treatment is working, which in turn has caused the survival rate to climb and the death rate to decline.

Emergency Symptoms
Emergency symptoms include lower back pain, blood in the urine, or discontinued urination. All of these symptoms can lead to the death of the patient if they are caused by untreated prostate cancer. Contact a physician or visit the emergency room immediately if loss of urination occurs. Contact a physician immediately if you experience lower back pain or blood in the urine; they may need to perform tests immediately.

Lower back pain can be caused by back pressure that has built up on the kidneys because of a blockage; and a blockage can cause damage to the kidneys. Loss of urination, if not treated, can lead to death.
Even if you show no signs or symptoms of prostate cancer, please schedule an annual exam so that you can be checked once a year for the disease. Remember, sometime prostate cancer grows slowly and does not show any symptoms, so it can only be detected through an exam.

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