Caribbean L 30 ife, Sept. 6, 2019 BQ
Health
Men who learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer can improve their
chances of surviving a potential diagnosis.
Signs and symptoms
of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a deadly disease
that forms in the tissues of the
prostate, a gland in the male reproductive
system that is found below
the bladder and in front of the rectum.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society,
prostate cancer is the most common
cancer among Canadian men (excluding
nonmelanoma skin cancers),
while the National Cancer Institute estimates
that nearly 30,000 American men
will lose their lives to prostate cancer in
2014, and roughly 15 percent of American
men will be diagnosed with prostate
cancer at some point in their life.
Despite its status as a potentially
deadly disease, prostate cancer can be
beaten. In fact, the NCI notes that the
fi ve-year survival rate for men diagnosed
with prostate cancer between
2004 and 2010 was 98.9 percent, proving
that a prostate cancer diagnosis is not a
death sentence. Like many types of cancer,
prostate cancer is most effectively
treated when discovered in its early
stages. For example, the fi ve-year survival
rate for patients diagnosed with localized
prostate cancer, which describes
cancer that is found only in the part of
the body where it started, between 2004
and 2010 was 100 percent.
Men are often their own best friends
when it comes to fi ghting prostate cancer.
Men over 50 should speak to their
physicians about routine prostate cancer
screenings, which include the prostate
specifi c antigen test or the digital
rectal examination. Such screenings
can help detect prostate cancer early
and dramatically improve a man’s prognosis.
In addition to screenings, men
can learn the signs and symptoms of
prostate cancer to further improve their
chances of surviving a diagnosis.
Early signs of prostate
cancer
Prostate cancer does not always
show signs or symptoms in its early
stages, and that’s because it tends to be
slow-growing. A sign of prostate cancer
refers to something that a physician
or healthcare professional can observe
and recognize, while a symptom
is something that only the person experiencing
it can feel. It’s important men
recognize that certain symptoms associated
with prostate cancer may be caused
by other conditions and that the presence
of these symptoms does not mean
a man has prostate cancer. However, it’s
equally important that men who notice
symptoms associated with prostate cancer
bring them to the attention of their
physicians immediately.
Changes in bladder habits are among
the most common symptoms of prostate
cancer, and these symptoms tend to be
early indicators of the disease. These
changes may include a frequent need to
urinate, especially at night; an intense
need to urinate; diffi culty in starting or
stopping the fl ow of urine; inability to
urinate; weak and/or interrupted urine
stream; and burning or pain during urination.
Blood in urine or semen and painful
ejaculation may also indicate the presence
of prostate cancer.
Late signs of prostate
cancer
When prostate cancer is not detected
early, the cancer then grows larger and
may metastasize, or spread to other organs
of the body. This spreading can produce
the following late signs and symptoms,
which differ greatly from those
that appear during the early stages of
prostate cancer.
• Bone pain, especially in the back,
hips, thighs or neck
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Low red blood cell count (anemia)
• Weakness or numbness in the legs
or feet
• Loss of bladder or bowel control