Fight Prostate Cancer in Its Early Stages With a Prostate Self Test

Prostate cancer is one of the deadliest diseases among men, and yet many men are unaware that they have the disease until it's too late. Next to heart attacks, prostate cancer is the leading cause of death for men. Though frequent prostate testing can be less than pleasant (as are many exams such as colon testing or heart stress tests), it's pertinent in the fight of cancer through early detection and treatment. Early detection through a prostate examination can help you and your doctor determine a course of action to help your prostate potentially heal itself or to surgically remove the prostate gland in time before the disease becomes fatal.

Watchful Waiting As a Treatment Options For Prostate Cancer

If, like a growing number of men, you have been having regular prostate screening which has picked up the possibility of prostate cancer, and this has subsequently been confirmed with a biopsy, then you are probably lucky enough to have caught the cancer early when it is still confined to the prostate gland and in what is called Stage I or Stage II. If this is the case then one possible course of treatment might be 'watchful waiting'. Some people feel that it is slightly odd to call watchful waiting a form of treatment because, as the name suggests, you simply watch the cancer and wait to see what happens.

What Does Surgery For Localized Prostate Cancer Involve?

The normal approach for surgery in the case of localized prostate cancer is to remove the entire prostate gland and surrounding tissue in an operation known as a radical prostatectomy. The operation is usually performed as a retropubic prostatectomy, in which access is achieved through the lower abdomen, or a perineal prostatectomy, in which access is gained through the perineum which lies between the scrotum and the anus. During a radical prostatectomy the prostate gland is removed, together with the seminal vesicles, the ampullae (the lower sections of the tubes which carry sperm from the testicles to the prostate gland) and some other adjoining tissue.

Testing For the Presence of Prostate Cancer

About one in every six men will develop prostate cancer which, apart from skin cancer, is the number one cause of cancer deaths in men. For this reason it is vitally important for men to monitor the health of their prostate with regular testing. Some of the prostate health tests available today include: The Digital Rectal Exam (DRE). The digital rectal exam has been the benchmark of testing for both benign prostate enlargement and prostate cancer for many years and is a simple examination in which your physician can feel the prostate gland with a gloved finger to assess its size and condition.

A Biopsy is the Only Certain Way to Diagnose Prostate Cancer

Although there are a number of excellent tests to indicate the possible presence of prostate cancer, such as the digital rectal examination and the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test, the only certain way to diagnose the presence of prostate cancer is to carry out a prostate biopsy. A biopsy will normally be conducted by a urologist and can be done as an 'office' procedure. There are various different ways in which a biopsy can be taken but it is common to start by taking a transrectal ultrasound. Here an instrument is inserted through the rectum and sound waves are used to produce a computer image of the prostate gland.

It Might Be Small But the Prostate Gland Can Be Deadly

The vast majority of men will suffer from prostate problems at some stage during their lives and all too many men will die from prostate cancer. Indeed, with the sole exception of skin cancer, prostate cancer kills more men than any other form of cancer. It may come as something of a surprise to learn therefore that, although things are beginning to change slowly, most men have little or no idea about just what this very important part of our anatomy does. The prostate gland is located in the lower abdomen and sits just below the bladder and between the pubic bone and the rectum. A healthy prostate is roughly the size of a walnut and weighs about one ounce in a fully grown man.

Spotting Developing Prostate Problems

For most men passing the age of forty-five is not only a sign of the dreaded 'middle' age but is also the point at which they might well expect to see the arrival of prostate problems at any day. Enlargement of the prostate (also referred to as benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH) is a normal part of the ageing process and, as its name suggests, it is not a life-threatening condition. In the vast majority of cases the symptoms of an enlarged prostate will be relatively mild and, although most men are aware of them, they simply choose to live with them as something of a nuisance and merely a sign of getting old.

Is Prostate Specific Antigen PSA Testing For Prostate Cancer Worthwhile?

Many people will have heard of the prostate specific antigen test (or more commonly PSA test) for prostate cancer, but do you know just what it is and whether or not it is something which you should consider having? The PSA test was considered a major breakthrough when it was approved for use by the FDA in the mid 1980s and today it remains one of the best tests available for detecting the possible presence of prostate cancer. PSA testing is quick and easy as it is a simple blood test looking for the presence in the blood of a specific protein produced by the prostate gland. In a normal prostate gland the quantity of this protein produces a level in the blood of about 4 nanograms per milliliter and this is assigned a normal PSA score of 4.

Diet, Herbs, and Prostate Cancer

There are multiple problems that can develop in the prostate in older men. These include benign enlargement of the prostate (BPH) and prostate cancer (CaP). Some writers would suggest that BPH and prostate cancer are inevitable problems that occur in any man who lives long enough, but this is not true. There are many dietary and herbal interventions that can help prevent these problems. BPH or enlargement of the prostate causes a weak stream, nighttime urination, frequent urination and retention of urine in the bladder. It is commonly treated with two types of prescribed medicines; finasteride (Proscar) and alpha-adrenergic blockers such as terazosin.

The Word Try

What does it mean to try to do something? According to Merriam Webster it can mean to examine or investigate judicially or to make an attempt at -often used with an infinitive like try to fix the car. Can you try to fix the car or is it better stated you can fix the car or not fix the car? Can you try to lift a chair? It is a funny word if you think about it. How can you try to do something? If you try to run you will either run or not run. It is one of those words that can drive you a bit crazy trying to figure it out. So, can you figure it out or not figure it out or can you just try? It is one of those words that is interesting, like the word practice for those orthopedic doctors in Chicago south suburbs who have a practice.