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Because over 50% of men over the age of 50 have prostate cancer in the United States today, early detection has been at the forefront of prostate health concerns. Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the prostate cancer PSA (prostate specific-antigen) test along with the digital rectal exam in order to help in detecting prostate cancer earlier.

Prostate cancer PSA tests are designed to measures the level of PSA in the blood. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein that is produced by the cells of the prostate gland. Your doctor takes a blood sample, and the amount of PSA is measured in a laboratory for elevated levels. It is important to note that prostate cancer PSA test levels do not give doctors enough information to discriminate between benign prostate circumstances and prostate cancer solely on its’ own. However, the doctor will take the result of the prostate cancer PSA and combine it with results from several other tests in order to determine the risk or prevalence of prostate cancer in your body.

Using the prostate cancer PSA test to screen for prostate cancer is controversial because it is not yet known if this test actually aids in saving the lives of the men tested. Also, it is not clear if the benefits of prostate cancer PSA testing outweigh the risks of the diagnostic tests and subsequent cancer treatments. One risk is that the prostate cancer PSA test would falsely show elevated PSA levels and subject the man to unnecessary treatments for conditions that are not life threatening. The procedure used to diagnose prostate cancer is a biopsy that may cause side effects, including but not limited to bleeding and infection. Meanwhile, prostate cancer treatments can cause incontinence, erectile dysfunction and general illness. One should always consider the risks and benefits when subscribing to prostate cancer PSA testing and always choose what is best for you and your future.

• About 27,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK.
• It is now the most common cancer in men, having overtaken lung cancer. Prostate cancer kills approx 10,000 men in the UK each year, which is approximately equal to 180 deaths per week, or one death every hour.
• Over the next decade the incidence has been predicted to rise considerably. This is largely due to a likely increase in numbers of cases diagnosed, through the greater use of PSA tests, and an aging population.
• The majority of men with prostate cancer are aged over 60 years.
• There are numerous ways to screen for prostate cancer. These tests include the Digital Rectal Examination, the PSA test and a Transrectal Needle Biopsy.
• The method most commonly used to treat prostate cancer varies in different countries. In the US prostatectomy (removal of the prostate) is common. In the UK, both radiotherapy and prostatectomy are widely used.
• In some cases there can be alternatives to immediate treatment:
  • Watchful waiting is used for elderly patients whose prostate cancer is likely to progress very slowly and will not be their cause of death. In this instance it is not appropriate for immediate active treatment with its associated side effects.
  • Active surveillance aims to individualise therapy by selecting only those men with significant cancers for radical treatment. Men who, in the past would have had either surgery or radiotherapy, are closely monitored with frequent PSA tests and with repeat prostate biopsies. The choice between radical treatment or continued observation is based on evidence of progression during this initial monitoring.
• New improvements in both surgery and radiotherapy may reduce side-effects and increase effectiveness. Conformal radiotherapy delivers higher, lethal doses of radiation to the tumour while minimising damage to the healthy surrounding tissue and a more sophisticated version of conformal radiotherapy known as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is now under development.
• Brachytherapy using radioactive implants is an alternative to external beam radiation.
• Both radiotherapy and surgery can result in impotence, although this is more common with surgery (50-80% of patients). Surgery may cause incontinence whereas radiotherapy may cause side effects in the bowel.
• Little is known about the detailed or molecular mechanism of development of prostate cancer. The cancer genes involved in the development of this disease have not yet been identified.
• Men with a family history of prostate cancer in a first degree relative are at two to three times increased risk of developing the disease. Several prostate cancer genes have been mapped, and may be responsible for around 20% of familial cases.
• It has been suggested that selenium and vitamin E in the diet may protect against prostate cancer.

The PSA Test

• The PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen), together with other tests, can be used to screen for early prostate cancer. PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a protein made by the prostate gland, which leaks into the bloodstream naturally. Sometimes a raised PSA level can be a sign of prostate cancer. More often, it is caused by something less serious like an inflamed prostate (prostatitis) or an enlargement of the prostate that comes with ageing (benign prostatic hypertrophy). A single PSA test cannot show you whether a prostate cancer is present, or whether it is slow or fast growing.
• At most, one in 14 men diagnosed with early prostate cancer following a positive PSA test will be expected to die from this disease
• There is controversy over whether PSA testing should be used in routine screening for prostate cancer. Many medical professionals feel it will be wrong to introduce national screening in this country because the effectiveness of screening is unproven and the side effects of treatment can be harsh. The NHS decided not to introduce national PSA testing in March 1997, because no research is yet available to demonstrate whether or not there is any improvement in mortality. However, in the USA many men have regular PSA tests from the age of 50.
• Men are advised to visit their doctor if they experience any symptoms of early prostate cancer such as difficulty in passing urine.

How common is prostate cancer?
95% of all prostate cancer patients are aged between 45 and 80. About 27,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. It has become the most common cancer in men overtaking lung cancer. With PSA testing on the increase and an ageing population, incidence is predicted to rise ahead of lung and breast cancer over the next decade.

What causes prostate cancer? Is there anything I can do to reduce the risk of developing it?
Little is known about the genes and molecular mechanism of prostate cancer. Men with a brother or father with prostate cancer have a 3-5 fold increased risk. It has few symptoms in its early stages. When symptoms occur they may include difficulties in urinating or pain and/or stiffness in the lower back and hips. However these symptoms are more commonly caused by other conditions, such as benign (non-cancerous) enlargement of the prostate or arthritis. If you have concerns, you should consult with your doctor.

How is prostate cancer diagnosed?
Early diagnosis of prostate cancer is important for successful treatment. Diagnosis methods include the PSA Blood Test, which tests the level of ‘Prostate Specific Antigen’ in the blood; digital rectal examinations to feel the size of the prostate gland and biopsies which take tiny samples of tissue from the prostate. The PSA test is not specific for cancer and ‘raised’ levels can occur due to benign enlargement or inflammation of the prostate gland. Microscopic examination of the biopsy is required to confirm the presence of cancer.

How is prostate cancer treated?
Some prostate cancers grow so slowly that no treatment is needed. Instead, an active surveillance policy is employed to monitor the condition. When more active treatment is required surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy or a combination of these treatments are used. Surgery, the removal of the prostate gland, is known as a ‘prostatectomy’ and is commonly used in the US. Both radiotherapy and prostatectomy are widely used in the UK.

Will any treatment affect my sex drive and will I still be able to father children?
Different treatments for prostate cancer can cause impotence, reduced ejaculation, a lowered sex drive, urinary incontinence, bowel problems, hot flushes and sweats and tiredness. Surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy all have different side effects which need to be considered in any decisions about treatment.

Will I lose my masculinity?
Treatment for prostate cancer is likely to cause infertility. This should be discussed with your doctor before you start treatment.

Is the chance of developing prostate cancer influenced by dietary or environmental factors?
Eating a diet high in animal fat and low in fresh fruit, vegetables and fish and being exposed to cadmium (a heavy metal) or ‘radiation’ have been identified as possible risk factors which may be associated with prostate cancer. However research is still continuing in this area. Some preliminary research suggests that Lycopene (the compound that gives the tomato its appealing red colour), selenium and vitamin E in the diet could play a preventative role in the development of prostate cancer.

I have heard about PSA screening. Is it necessary for all men over a certain age to be screened?
The PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen) can be used to screen for early prostate cancer. A raised result does not necessarily mean you have cancer, a positive biopsy is needed to confirm cancer which will occur in about one man out of every five. If prostate cancer is diagnosed, it is not necessarily life threatening and curative treatment many not be required – as most men diagnosed with early prostate cancer following a positive PSA test would be expected to have slowly growing cancer which should not cause any problems during their natural lifespan. There is controversy whether PSA testing should be used in routine screening for prostate cancer. Many medical professionals feel it will be wrong to introduce national screening in this country because the effectiveness of screening is unproven and the side effects of treatment can be significant. As a result there is no NHS PSA testing programme because it has not been demonstrated that it leads to an improvement in mortality. However every man over 50 has a right to a PSA test if they request it and in the US many men have regular PSA tests from the age of 50.

A prostatectomy is operation in which all or part of the prostate is removed. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland in the groin that produces the fluid in male semen. Because the prostate fully encompasses the urethra, any enlargement or tumor can restrict the normal flow of urine. This restriction causes symptoms such as difficult, painful, and/or frequent urination. Depending upon the progression of the enlarged gland. there are several types of prostatectomy that doctors may perform. The most common prostatectomy procedures are transurethral, perineal, retropubic, and suprapubic.

The risks involved in prostatectomy procedures are permanent or semi-permanent impotence. In addition, there are the more common risks such as the danger of serious bleeding or infection. However, if a cancerous prostate is left in place, the disease can also spread to other parts of the body and cause death.

A benign enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is found within more than half of all men in the United States in their 60s and as many as 90% of those over the age of 90. Benign enlargements are usually removed using a prostatectomy technique that requires an incision but rather a scope that is inserted into the urethra with a small score that is used to cut pieces of the gland off of the bladder and cauterize the area to stop bleeding. Malignant enlargements such as those found in prostate cancer, the second leading cause of death in men, sometimes may not require a prostatectomy at all but rather a method of watchful waiting. This technique is often used with slow growing cancer and through two major types of prostatectomy called radical retropubic prostatectomy and radical perineal prostatectomy. These prostatectomies are only performed on patients whose cancer is found only in the prostate. If cancer has spread into other parts of the body, removing the prostate will not prevent the remaining cancer from growing and spreading further.

Nearly two hundred thousand men get diagnosed with prostate cancer yearly, it comes down to about one in every six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. The ratio may seem a little steep but only one in twenty five people diagnosed with prostate cancer will die due to it. Prostate cancer is has a cure rate of over ninety percent when caught and treated early on. The best way to beat prostate cancer is to be aware of its symptoms, and if suffering from the symptoms you should have yourself checked out. Symptoms for prostate cancer include an over active bladder especially at night. A difficult time starting or even stopping the urination once it has started. If you have weak or interrupted flow of urine, such as random pauses in your urine stream. Another symptom of prostate cancer is the presence of blood in the urine or semen. If you have constant pain or stiffness in your lower back, pain and stiffness of the hips, or of the upper thighs can also be a symptom of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer also presents with some sexual side effects, which can include trouble in having an erection or painful ejaculation. All of these symptoms could relate to prostate cancer and if you have one or more you should speak with a medical professional about a prostate exam.

There are a few different methods of treating prostate cancer. The success rate and method used can depend on how early the prostate cancer is found. One method that is becoming more popular is called active surveillance, this is simply watching and testing to see if the issue worsens or symptoms arise, if things change for the worse surgery may be recommended. The surgical method of treating prostate cancer is called a prostatectomy, this is the total removal of the prostate, in most cases they come if from the abdomen and down behind the pubic bone to remove the prostate. Radiation is another method used for the treatment of prostate cancer, the radiation treatment works by shrinking and killing the cancer cells surrounding the prostate. Hormone therapy is yet another method of fighting prostate cancer, this method involves limiting the testosterone in your body, testosterone is the hormone that prostate cancer fuels itself with, without this fuel the cancer could potentially die off.

The prostate gland is located at the base of the bladder if the male body. If the tissues of the gland are swollen, the prostate may need to be surgically removed or destroyed to prevent further complications. There are three major types of prostate surgery; they are transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP, laser prostatectomy, and open prostatectomy. Your doctor’s decision regarding which type of prostate surgery to perform depends on the size of the swollen prostate gland. For example, a gland that is bigger than 30 grams and is less than 80 grams will likely have TURP prostate surgery performed. If the prostate is larger than 90 grams in size, open prostatectomy is the most recommended type of procedure.

Transurethral resection of the prostate is the most common surgical procedure and is performed using spinal epidural or general anesthesia. A cystoscope is inserted into the urethra and up to the prostate gland and a cutting instrument is inserted through the cystoscope tube removing the prostate gland in small pieces. Cauterization is a method used by conducting an electric current to stop the bleeding during the prostate surgery to keep the area clean and lessen the chances of infection.

Laser prostatectomy uses light beams to destroy the swollen prostate tissue that is blocking the opening of the urethra and bladder passage. This prostate surgery usually does not require a hospital stay. After surgery a Foley catheter may be placed to help drain the bladder after surgery for a number of days. Afterward, urine flow should improve and decrease the symptoms related to the inflammation.

Open prostatectomy is performed with an incision that is made in the lower abdomen through which the prostate gland is removed. This is a much more complicated procedure and usually requires a longer hospitalization period and an extended recovery period.

There are several different types of treatments used on the prostate; prostate treatment depends on the ailment the patient is suffering from. Prostate ailments range from natural enlargement of the prostate due to aging to the more severe prostate cancer. Each has their own form of prostate treatment ranging from doing nothing to full removal of the prostate through surgical procedure.

The most common ailment amongst older males is the enlargement of the prostate, it’s a natural process that takes place generally starting in the forties, the prostate simply begins to enlarge, in some cases getting large enough to squeeze the urethra. When the urethra gets crushed it makes it difficult or painful to urinate. The first stage of prostate treatment for enlargement is to simply wait and monitor the prostate to see the growth rate, in some cases the enlargement may not be enough to cause any problems, in others further prostate treatment will be needed. One method is simply medicating the problems, some forms of these medications simply alleviate the symptoms and others actually work to shrink the prostate down to a less troublesome size. In some cases surgical prostate treatment is needed, this involves the cutting or scraping of the prostate tissue to alleviate the pressure, or even the use of microwaves to burn the enlarged tissue off.

The treatment for prostate cancer has the similar options, medicinal and surgical, yet they very greatly. As with an enlarged prostate the first step in prostate treatment for prostate cancer is to watch and see what happens and take the necessary steps if conditions worsen. Medicinally they can try and use hormone therapy to lessen or stop the production of the hormone that the cancer feeds upon, in this case testosterone. Radiation is another form used to try and fight and kill off the cancer cells. If it comes to the need for surgery they, in nearly all cases, remove the prostate. Even with the prostate removed they may wish to use medicinal treatments as well to fight off any possible spread of the cancer cells.

Prostate problems are very common in men age 50 and older. A common misconception however is that most prostate problems are not cancerous. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that produces the fluid in sperm that is released through the urethra. Even though many prostate problems are not cancer causing, they should all be taken as seriously as if they were cancerous. Here we will discover what the most common prostate problems are today.

Acute prostatitis is an infection of the prostate caused by bacteria and will seem to start all of a sudden, causing fever, chills, and pain in the lower back and between the legs. It can also cause pain when you urinate or have sexual intercourse. Antibiotic drugs can help significantly kill the bacteria and reduce the pain and accompanying swelling. Chronic prostatitis is an infection of the prostate that is persistent over time and can enflame every now and again. These prostate problems are difficult to treat and when antibiotics begin not to work as well as they used to or at all, it is time to visit a doctor to discuss more aggressive treatment options.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, is perhaps the most common of prostate problems common in older men. BPH causes the prostate to enlarge, and place pressure on the urethra in turn, making it difficult to urinate, or create a need to urinate often and especially at night. The final concern regarding prostate problems is prostate cancer itself. Prostate cancer is usually treatable depending the stage of the cancer, the types of treatments used, and if the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland. Early detection of symptoms and expedience in telling your doctor about any discomfort you are experiencing will greatly improve your chances on avoiding these prostate problems in the future.

Many men think that they do not need to worry about their prostate health until they are in their 50’s and 60’s. This is certainly a myth. Prostate health is an important consideration for any young man who cares about his body and future health.

There are quite a few precautions that men can take in order to maintain a healthy prostate. One important risk factor of prostate issues is stress. Take some time to turn off the cell phone, get your favorite pair of sweats, and relax! Calming frazzled nerves and taking time out to enjoy the things that are important to you is not just great for mental health but for prostate health as well. Exercise is also an important factor in ensuring that you have taken the precautionary steps toward good prostate health. Alternative exercise regiments such as tai chi, tae-bo, yoga, and Pilates have been known to reduce stress while toning and strengthening the body.

The most important aspect of prostate health is food and adequate vitamins. Men with a history of prostate health concerns in their families should absolutely take note of the following foods that can either help or hinder your prostate health. Helpful and healthful foods that are good to you and your prostate are fresh vegetables and fruits, legumes (peas, beans, etc), fresh cold ocean water fish (such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and cod) for essential fatty acids, and whole grains. Food that should be avoided are fatty meats (such as hamburger. steaks, and other beef and pork products), salts, hydrogenated oils like margarine, and what is found in the ingredients of donuts, cookies, cakes, potato chips, and other deep-fried foods and sweets. canned, packaged, or otherwise processed foods are also detriment as well as, sodas, alcohol, black teas (which includes most iced teas), coffee, and dairy foods, especially if they have been pasteurized such is the case with milk.