Prostate Cancer

Basic facts The prostate is a gland the size of a walnut it sits at the neck of the bladder Only men have a prostate gland! Prostate cancer is the commonest type of male cancer By far the biggest risk factor is age

The symptoms Often none many prostate cancers are small never spread or cause symptoms or problems As men age naturally their prostate gland gets bigger it squeezes the water pipe causing difficulties with urine passage – dribbling, poor stream, a little bit left over after finishing If a prostate has cancer it may get bigger and cause similar symptoms It can be difficult to tell but possible clues – blood in your urine, losing weight, back pain

The PSA test Prostate Specific Antigen – a protein that is produced by the prostate and enters into your blood. Government really want a screening test for prostate cancer but they haven’t chosen PSA as it isn’t that good at picking up prostate cancer 1 in 5 prostate cancers never have a raised PSA level Only 1/3 rd of those with a small rise in the PSA have prostate cancer There is no evidence using the PSA to pick up prostate cancer at an early stage improves overall survival.

What if I have prostate cancer? What might be the options? Monitoring Surgery to remove the prostate Try and switch off the body’s hormones that stimulate the prostate to grow A combination of chemicals or beams of radiation to kill cancer cells

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