What is prostate cancer?

What are risk factors for prostate cancer?

Factors that can increase your risk of prostate cancer include:

• Increases age: Age is the most significant risk factor for prostate cancer. Your risk increases as you get older.
• Family history of prostate cancer
• Race: Black men have a greater risk of prostate cancer than do white men.
• Do not have a healthy diet: Men who eat a lot of red meat, high-fat diet are more likely to develop prostate cancer.
• Obesity: Obese men diagnosed with prostate cancer may be more likely to have advanced disease that's more difficult to treat.
• Diets high in calcium and vitamin D
• Vasectomy

NOTE: Reviews of the evidence have found that Vitamin E, lycopene and selenium probably reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Prostate cancer may not cause signs or symptoms in its early stages. Prostate cancer that is more advanced may cause signs and symptoms such as:

• Hesitancy: You may have to wait at the toilet for a while before urine starts to flow.
• Dribbling after urination
• Frequency (You may pass urine more often than normal)
•  Urgency (You may have to get to the toilet quickly)
• A sensation of incomplete emptying of the bladder even after passing urine
•  Weak flow of urine
•  straining in order to urinate

Prostate cancer may spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, the most common site for the cancer to spread is bones, Affected bones can become painful and tender. If the cancer spreads to the spine, it may press on the spinal nerves and cause other prostate cancer symptoms such as lower extremities weakness and bladder or bowel incontinence.

Drugs May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer

•  Dutasteride (5-alpha reductase inhibitors)
• Selenium
•  Vitamin E
•  COX-2 inhibitors

How is prostate cancer diagnosed?

What are the treatment options for prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer can be treated several ways. Treatment options which may be considered include: surgery, radiotherapy, hormone treatment, cryosurgery and, chemotherapy.

• Radiation therapy
• Surgery to remove the prostate
• Chemotherapy
• Cryosurgery: Cryosurgery involves freezing tissue to kill cancer cells.
• Hormone therapy

What are the treatment options for prostate cancer?

• Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonists can stop the testicles from making testosterone Examples are leuprolide, and goserelin.
• Antiandrogens can block the action of androgens such as testosterone. Examples are flutamide and nilutamide.
• Drugs that can prevent the adrenal glands from making androgens include ketoconazole and aminoglutethimide.
• Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one or both testicles, the main source of male hormones, such as testosterone, to decrease the amount of hormone being made.