There are approximately 25 000 men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the United Kingdom. For these men the risk of dying from their prostate cancer depends on a number of risk factors. For example if the cancer is confined to the prostate gland at diagnosis the chance of surviving to 5 years is 70%. If the cancer has already spread e.g. to the bones then only 20% of men will survive to five years. Of all the men who currently have prostate cancer in the UK approximately 10,000 will die of the disease each year. The prostate cancer survival rate is much higher in the developed world – unsurprisingly.When a man is first diagnosed with prostate cancer then the doctor who has found the cancer (most often a “urologist” – a surgeon who specialises in looking after problems to do with the kidneys, prostate and bladder) will arrange a series of tests to help assess the risk for that individual patient. The results of these tests will in turn help the doctor and patient to decide the best treatment for that patient.Prostate Cancer Tests to Help Predict Survival
1. Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA2. Digital Rectal Examination or DRE3. Trans-rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy4. CT or MRI Scan5. Bone ScanPSA
This is a protein made by the prostate gland which can be measured on a sample of your blood i.e. a blood test. The PSA level can be raised by non cancerous problems with the prostate gland i.e. not all men who have a raised PSA have prostate cancer. Also some men who have prostate cancer will not have a raised PSA. However PSA does tend to increase as prostate cancers grow, invade and spread so PSA can be used to monitor how a prostate cancer is progressing or how it is responding to treatments.DRE
This is where a doctor feels the prostate gland through the back passage. It tells the doctor how big the prostate gland is, whether the cancer is able to be felt easily and whether it has invaded the area near by.Tran-Rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy
For this test you need to lie on your side with your knees brought up into the chest (same position as for a DRE). An ultrasound probe is then inserted into the back passage. This enables the doctor to see on a screen the outline of the prostate gland. There is no radiation involved. The image on the screen then allows the doctor to insert a needle safely into the prostate gland to take some samples of the prostate tissue. Usually several samples are taken from each area of the prostate gland. These samples are then sent to a laboratory to be looked at under a microscope. This allows confirmation that there is prostate cancer present and tells us how aggressive the cancer looks. Sometimes a local anaesthetic is used to help make the procedure more comfortable.CT or MRI Scan
This is usually carried out in an x-ray department and involves lying still on a thin couch which moves through either a big donut (CT) or into a long tunnel (MRI). This is not painful in any way. The pictures gained from this test helps the doctors to see whether the prostate cancer is still within the prostate gland or whether it had started to invade out of the gland into other surrounding structures. This tells the doctor what “stage” the prostate cancer is.Bone Scan
This requires you to have an injection and then to lie on a special table where a camera scans the whole body. It shows up whether any of the bones in the body have been affected by the prostate cancer i.e. whether the prostate cancer has spread to the bones.Prostate Cancer Stage and SurvivalThe stage of prostate cancer describes how far the cancer has grown and spread. It is assessed by a mixture of DRE and CT/MRI scans.T1 Stage
This is very early prostate cancer which can only be seen under a microscope. At this stage the cancer would not cause any symptoms. Men with this stage are at low risk from their disease may not need any treatment but surveillance. The original cause of a prostate cancer problem can be difficult to diagnose.T2 Stage
This is early prostate cancer but is now big enough to be felt by a doctor on DRE. This may still not have caused any symptoms. This is most often cured if treatment is undertaken at this stage and about 70% of men are still alive after 5 years i.e. average length of survival from diagnosis is well over 5 years.T3 Stage
This is locally advanced prostate cancer which has started to extend and invade outside of the prostate gland. This stage would often cause bladder symptoms in men. By this stage in the disease the chance of cure with treatments is reduced however survival is often around five years.T4 Stage
This is more advanced prostate cancer which invades the structures around the gland. At this stage there are often already secondaries e.g. bone metastases. If the disease has spread it is usually incurable but may be controlled for some time. The average survival is between 1 and 3 years.Predicting Survival in Prostate CancerDoctors use a combination of risk factors to predict the behaviour of prostate cancer but cancers do not always act as expected. The factors they consider include the cancer stage (see above), the age of the patient, the PSA level and how quickly it is rising, and the Gleason Score. The Gleason score is a marker of how aggressive the cancer looks under the microscope and how much of the gland is affected by cancer.
Understanding the Prostate Cancer Stages
There are 5 relevant prostate cancer stages that one must be aware of to understand the full scope of the disease. Prostate cancer is one of the deadliest cancers affecting men today. More men die from Prostate Cancer then any other form of cancer. Yet, Prostate cancer is one the few cancers that, if it is caught early enough, can be corrected or controlled.The first of the 5 prostate cancer stages is usually only found through a blood test or biopsy in the affect region of the body. It is usually found through a prostate-specific antigen level in the blood test. This stage is called T-1, professionally. It consists of a microscopic tumor that is only in the prostate itself. It is undetectable by rectal exams and ultrasounds and usually presents no symptoms. T-1 cancers are usually local cancers.The second stage of prostate cancer is called T2, professionally. This stage is one where the tumor can be felt through a digital rectal exam. It can also be viewed through ultrasound. The tumor is still confined to the prostate area. T2 cancers are usually local cancers.The third stage of prostate cancer is a spreading tumor. This stage is professionally known as stage T3. The cancer at this stage will now start to move to the seminal vesicles and close-by tissues. It has not spread yet to the lymph nodes in the body. T3 cancers usually are regional cancers that affect areas just beyond the prostate.The fourth stage of prostate cancer is afflicting the organs and tissues that reside nearest the prostate. This stage is professionally known as T4. T4 cancers are usually cancers that are regionally located. They reach just beyond the prostate area of the body.The fifth stage of prostate cancer is afflicting the whole of the body. It can affect any organ, bone or lymph node. This stage is professionally known as N+ or M+. The N+ portion means that it is affecting the pelvic lymph nodes. The M+ portion of this stage means that the cancer is affecting the other lymph nodes, organs and bones that are distant from the prostate area of the body. All the parts that are mentioned for Stage M+ do not have to be afflicted with cancer in order to be classified as M+. At this stage, the cancer is considered to be a metastatic cancer, meaning that the cancer is reaching lymph nodes or other parts of the body.Prostate cancer stages are hard to diagnose without the help of your doctor. Early detection can save your life or the life of someone you know. The National Cancer Center for Health Statistics stated that of prostate cancer sufferers on record, 99.9% had survived 5 years. Though there were people who had lived considerably longer than that, the study didn’t indicate any further life expectancies beyond this one.
Learning More About Cancer Prevention And Control
Cancer prevention and control requires you to focus on every part of the human body. Today’s media tends to direct its attention on issues such as breast and prostate cancer, but another deadly form of the disease that affects Americans is cancer of the bladder. When it comes to preventing cancer, industrial nations need to start concentrating on bladder cancer control.The American Cancer Society discusses four types of bladder cancer people can develop. They are urothelial carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinma, and small cell cancer. Each type of bladder cancers is treated differently; and patients are urged to consult with their doctors before beginning any regimen.Cancer of the bladder can be detected early by recognizing certain symptoms such as blood in the urine or a sudden change in your bladder habits. If you are experiencing any other abnormalities, such as excessive pain, you should see your doctor immediately. If you are having trouble with bladder pain control, it could be a warning sign of a growing tumor.If you want to start practicing cancer prevention and control, you should stop harmful habits. Smoking is the leading cause in bladder cancer, and the American Cancer Society reports that smokers develop this disease twice as often as individuals who don’t have this habit.This organization also reports men are more likely to develop bladder cancer than women. Other factors can contribute to this disease, such as age, race and family history. Urologychannel.com reports people over the age of seventy are two to three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than those in their fifties or younger.Although research has not found a definite link to what causes this disease, there is enough evidence to support making positive changes in your lifestyle as a way to lower your risks.If you do develop bladder cancer, there are options for treating this disease. You can choose from several different surgeries, depending on the aggression and stage of your cancer. These can range from a partial removal of the bladder to having the entire organ extracted from the body.If you are in the earlier stages of this type of cancer, you could opt for immunotherapy, chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatments. After receiving your initial treatment, it is important to receive follow-ups to ensure the cancer does not return.If you do have a relapse of your cancer, there are new tests and treatments out to help determine the stage and severity of it. The American Cancer Society discusses on the web site two new tests able to detect tumor cells by using urine samples.A new treatment for cancer relapses is a PDT, or photodynamic therapy test. This method involves injecting a chemical into the body which clings to tumor cells in the bladder. A laser is then used to kill the tumor cells and eliminate the cancer.As research continues for this disease, better advancements in treatments and early detections will be released to help fight this deadly killer.With all the information available to day about cancer, there is good reason why you should advocate cancer prevention and control in your life. This is especially true for cancers that are not discussed frequently in the news, such as bladder cancer.Preventing any kind of cancer involves maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, a well-balanced diet and avoiding habits such as smoking.