Prostate Cancer

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Testing For The Presence Of Prostate Cancer

About one in every six men will develop prostate cancer which, apart from skin cancer, is the number one cause of cancer deaths in men. For this reason it is vitally important for men to monitor the health of their prostate with regular testing. Some of the prostate health tests available today include:

The Digital Rectal Exam (DRE). The digital rectal exam has been the benchmark of testing for both benign prostate enlargement and prostate cancer for many years and is a simple examination in which your physician can feel the prostate gland with a gloved finger to assess its size and condition.

The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Test. The PSA blood test was approved for use by the FDA in the mid 1980s and is now widely in use. This test looks for the presence of a prostate specific protein in the blood and it is recommended that all men over the age of 50, together with 'at risk' men over the age of 40, have an annual PSA test.

Urine Testing. Urine testing can not only check for diabetes and liver and kidney disease but can also check the condition of the prostate by looking for signs of infection in the blood.

Hyperplasia Intrvenouspyelogram (IVP). This test is a form of x-ray examination in which a dye is injected into the bloodstream and monitored as it passes through the body's vital organs. As far as the prostate is concerned this test follows the flow through the kidneys, bladder and ureter tubes which drain the kidneys and thus looks for any possible restriction caused by an enlargement of the prostrate gland interfering with the flow or urine out of the bladder.

Bladder Ultrasound. This simple non-invasive procedure which can be carried out in the doctor's office can detect whether or not the bladder is emptying fully following urination and thus whether or not an enlarged prostate is narrowing the urethra.

Prostate Ultrasound. A prostate ultrasound is useful for estimating the size of the prostate gland and is also important if further testing using a biopsy is recommended.

Uroflow. A uroflow is another very simple test in which the patient urinates into a container and the strength of the flow of urine is measured.

Cystoscopy. A cystoscopy allows the doctor to make a visual examination of the urethra and the bladder using an instrument which is inserted through the urethra.

In general your doctor will normally recommend PSA screening and will also usually carry out a digital rectal examination as these two tests together are without doubt the best way to detect the presence of possible prostate cancer or of other developing prostate problems. One or more or the other tests mentioned here (or indeed several which we have not listed) may also be ordered but, at the end of the day, the only sure way to confirm the presence of prostate cancer is by carrying out a biopsy.

A prostate cancer biopsy take a number of very small tissue samples from different areas of the prostate for microscopic examination and can not only definitively confirm the presence of prostate cancer, but can also give an indication of the size and type of any cancer.

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ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on a wide range of prostate problems and their solutions, including the therapeutic use of prostate milking

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Early Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Minimizes Risk To Your Health

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Some unwanted symptoms such as urinating frequently at night, noticing presence of blood in the urine or even in the semen and having lower back pain may warrant having prostate cancer diagnosis done. Other reasons why you may need to get prostate cancer diagnosis done include pain in the pelvic region or in your upper thighs which could allude to either prostate cancer or prostatitis which is swelling (non-cancerous) of your prostate gland.

Don’t Panic; Don’t Ignore

Of course, it would be foolish for you to panic when you notice such signs though at the same time it is just as foolish to ignore the warnings. It is always a good idea to ensure that you know one way or the other whether prostate cancer has struck you or not. In order to live life healthily it is necessary to have prostate cancer diagnosis done so that you know at an early stage how best to treat the condition – should it occur. In fact, prostate cancer is a condition that spans a number of stages and the more you allow it to grow without having the condition treated the greater are the risks involved and death will become a very real possibility as well.

Once you have begun to notice symptoms appearing you must then get prostate cancer diagnosis done and not throw up your hands and leave things to drift on their own. It involves checking with your doctor who mostly will begin by performing prostate cancer screening and even performs prostate tests to establish your true health condition. Most often, prostate cancer diagnosis requires that you undergo a digital rectal examination or DRE that checks the texture as well as size of your prostate to establish the presence or otherwise of prostate cancer.

The other step involved in undergoing prostate cancer diagnosis is to have a Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA blood test taken that will measure how much protein is present in the blood and it pays to understand that it is this protein level that is referred to as prostate-specific antigen. When prostate cancer occurs, the production of PSA is on the high side leading to greater amount of it in the blood. You need to also be well informed about how best to deal with prostate disease in general and it is not only prostate cancer that you need to be concerned about.

As far as prostate cancer diagnosis is concerned, one piece of good news is that most often the signs and symptoms that you notice will generally lead to diagnosis of prostatitis and not prostate cancer.

Symptoms and Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

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Prostate cancer is a cancer that occurs when the cells in the prostate start to grow uncontrollably. In general men with prostate cancer have small tumors located in the prostate. The good news is that in most cases of prostate cancer the tumors grow relatively slowly, unlike many other types of cancer, however the bad news is that a small number of men have aggressive prostate cancers that will grow and spread incredibly quickly.

We all hear of people finding out about their prostate cancer too late, after the cancer has already spread and become very aggressive. You need to keep an eye out on your health in general to ensure that you not only avoid prostate cancer but other kinds of cancer as well.

It is very important to be aware of the different signs and symptoms of metastatic prostate cancer, so that if you ever notice any of these signs and symptoms of metastatic prostate cancer you can get in to your doctor and have a prostate cancer screening as soon as possible.

The only way to deal with metastatic prostate cancer, or any other type of cancer for that matter, is to catch it early and then treat it immediately, so noticing the signs will be a huge deal.

Signs and Symptoms

There are a few different metastatic prostate cancer signs and symptoms that you are going to want to be aware of. More than anything this refers to urinary problems. Maybe you notice that you start and stop while you are urinating, or maybe you have troubles urinating altogether.

Bone pain is another of the most commonly complained about symptoms, especially of the back and pelvis.

Remember

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to metastatic prostate cancer is that there often are no signs or symptoms, and the disease therefore often goes undiagnosed and continues to spread and get worse.

If it turns out that you do have prostate cancer, you should not get negative, but instead stay positive and work together with your doctor to come out of it all with the best results. They will work with you as a team and make sure that your condition is properly taken care of.

The treatment plan that is prescribed to one prostate cancer sufferer may not be the ideal choice for you, and so you should never compare your disease to anyone else’s.