Whether or not to treat prostate cancer conventionally is one of the major medical dilemmas we have today. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. Approximately 222,000 cases will be diagnosed this year, however most prostate tumors tend to grow slowly. They never actually threaten lives. There is no sure way to tell which tumors will grow at a more rapid rate.
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests can help find tumors many years before they cause any prostate cancer symptoms, however routine screening of men who are at average risk is currently not recommended, because there is no proof that it saves lives.
Prostate cancer treatments are particularly rugged, especially on older men. And many men end up after the treatment with sexual, bladder control or other prostate gland or prostate health problems. Many doctors instead recommend "watchful waiting" to monitor signs of prostate disease and treat it only if the signs or symptoms get worse. Smaller studies have given contrary views of the safety of this approach.
This new study looked at the natural course of the disease in the men who had chosen that option. Grace Lu-Yao of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey was the head of the study. It's the first study involving so many older men. 50% of the men were over 75 and many of their tumors were found through the PSA tests.
As part of this study they used the U.S. government's prostate cancer database. The researchers studied 9,017 men who were diagnosed over a period of ten years, from 1992-2002, with early-stage cancer who did not get prostate surgery, radiation or hormone therapy for at least six months. Most of the men never had any treatment whatsoever.
Ten years later only 3 percent to 7 percent of those with the low-grade or moderate-grade tumors (which are rated by how aggressive the cells appear to be) had died of prostate cancer, while 23 percent of those with high-grade tumors died. Overall, prostate cancer killed only 10 percent of the patients.
It's thought that most of the patients are going to die from something else and because of this most of the older men with the early-stage tumors could delay any treatment. It's not clear what should be done, if anything - whether it's conventional prostate surgery, radiation and hormone therapy or alternative treatment. This may be true even if people are younger or have a more advanced prostate cancer. Most cases are diagnosed in men who are 68 or older, and most are in an early stage.
In any event this large study shows that a large number of men do well with no initial treatment and with no treatment long term. So this new study shows that for older men observation is a reasonable approach. Many patients do well for a long period of time with absolutely no treatment.
To sum up, older men with early-stage prostate cancer are not taking a big risk if they just keep a good eye on the progress instead of going ahead with treatment. It's the largest study to look at this issue since the PSA blood tests to detect prostate tumors became so popular in the 1990s. The study may persuade some middle-of-the-road prostate doctors that we are over-treating prostate cancer and that PSA testing may be magnifying the problem. Finally patients have the opportunity to concentrate on adopting a healthy lifestyle and most importantly adopting a healthy diet.
Prostate Cancer Hormone Treatment
Cancer that grows in the prostate gland is called prostate cancer. About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.S. At an advanced age, the risks of surgery for prostate cancer or other more radical treatments may actually be worse than the disease.
One symptom is a need to urinate frequently, especially at night. Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for. There may be other symptoms not mentioned here.
One prostate cancer symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine. Having one or more cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer. Most prostate cancer symptoms, although associated with prostate cancer, are more likely to be connected to non-cancerous conditions.
One downside to PSA testing is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA enzyme in your blood for abnormalities. The decision about whether to pursue a PSA test should be based on a discussion between you and your doctor.
There are several potential downsides to PSA testing; for example a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer. What is called a free PSA may help tell the difference between BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy), an enlargement of the prostate gland, and prostate cancer. A bone scan can indicate whether the cancer has spread or not.
Surgery, called a radical prostatectomy, removes the entire prostate gland and some of the surrounding tissues. Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer. What you can do now is begin to understand what exactly your treatment options are and where you're going to begin.
In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor. Medications can have many side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire. Urinary incontinence can be a possible complication of surgery.
In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the chosen conventional alternative. Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal, both of which use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Whether radiation is as good as prostate removal is debatable and the decision about which to choose, if any, can be difficult.
Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced prostate cancer, blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. Surgery, radiation, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy all have significant side effects; know fully what they are before you proceed.
Many men simply want the best treatment they can get but what's important is picking the best treatment for you.
Other medications used for hormonal therapy, with side effects, include androgen-blocking agents, which prevent testosterone from attaching to prostate cells. Thoroughly discuss your treatment options and concerns with your doctor and other health professionals; it never hurts to get a second or even third opinion or more if necessary.
With the advent of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause any symptoms. If you haven't been diagnosed but are concerned about symptoms you should call for an appointment to see your doctor; and if you're a man older than 50 who has never been screened for prostate cancer (by rectal exam and/or PSA level determination) or not had a regular annual exam, or have had a family history of prostate cancer, make an appointment soon.
The outcome of prostate cancer varies greatly; mostly because the disease is found in older men who may have a variety of other complicating diseases or conditions, such as cardiac or respiratory disease, or disabilities that immobilize or greatly decrease their activities.
Helen Hecker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mortgage, Free Credit Report Score and Pimple. For more information on and prostate cancer symptoms go to http://www.BestProstateHealthTips.com Helen Hecker R.N.?s website specia. Helen Hecker's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.
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