Health Disease and Care

Prostate cancer – An alert for men over 40 years

July 6th, 2009

Some diseases are not talked about publicly unless any known celebrity is affected by it. One such disease is prostate cancer that came into light when Ronald Reagan, the former President, overcame it recently. However, he was definitely not the first man to be suffering from it as one out of every ten men are the victims of this life-threatening disease.

It is not only the most widely known malignancy among American men but is also the second most common reason for cancer deaths, with first position being taken by the lung cancer. Experts thereby recommend yearly screening or PSA test for all men above the age of 40 years, for early detection of prostate cancer. Timely diagnosis, of course, increases the chances of cure.

As cancer is an abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth in a particular body part, prostate cancer is therefore the uncontrolled and abnormal cell growth within the prostate gland. Prostate, which is of the size of the walnut, plays an important role in the male reproductive system and lies deep inside the pelvis. You can locate it below the urinary bladder, facing the rectum and surrounding the urethra.

Prostate cancer is significantly found in America, Australia and Europe. Though no particular environmental causes can be pointed out, dietary fat is believed to heighten the risk of this cancer. Family history of the prostate cancer also increases the risk by 2-3 times.

Early symptoms go undetected in most cases but advanced stages of prostate cancer may cause the following symptoms:

Hesitancy
Urinary urgency
Slow flow of urine
Incomplete emptying of the bladder
Dribbling after the urination

Pelvic pain may also occur in a few cases. Urethra compression is the man reason for this pain.

There is also a possibility that prostate cancer can reach to other body parts. Usually, pelvic nymph nodes are the first to be affected. But no symptoms are observed at this time.

Bone tissues are next to be attacked that may cause bony pain in lower back or pelvis and many other areas. Most common detection of prostate cancer is related to the prostate’s benign enlargement. Along with this, you may also notice many symptoms in the lower urinary tract. As a result, sometimes, prostate cancer is diagnosed when you consult a doctor regarding your other problems associated with your urinary tract.

A downfall in the mortality rate of prostate cancer has been reported as compared to the previous decade. This mortality rate reached its peak when 41,800 deaths were reported due to prostate cancer, by the American Cancer Society in 1997. Irrespective of this fact, it is essential to know that many men expire while suffering from prostate cancer but not because of it.

Hence, make sure that you undergo yearly PSA test to avoid any threat to your life, once you cross 40 years.

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