As men age, prostate problems increase resulting in the need for prostate treatment and often prostate surgery. Surprisingly many men who have prostate problems do not have prostate cancer but need screening to determine if prostate cancer treatment is needed. Looking at the prostate and the diseases which affect it will explain why.
The prostate gland is a walnut size gland which surrounds the male urethra or tube from the bladder to the outside just below its junction to the base of the bladder. As a man ages, the prostate can increase in size due to a condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH. Only a doctor can determine from an examination and blood tests if the enlargement is due to BPH and not prostate cancer. All men forty years and older should undergo yearly prostate examination.
Since BPH can decrease and even completely cut off the flow of urine, prostate treatments are often needed to increase urine flow and decrease prostate size. Medical therapy can accomplish this in many cases. In some cases of BPH, prostate surgery is needed to reduce the size of the prostate and increase urine flow.
If prostate cancer is suspected, prostate biopsies are preformed either through the rectum or through a type of minimally invasive prostate treatment known as a transurethral prostatectomy. If any of the tissue removed reveals prostate cancer, prostate cancer treatment can be undertaken. Prostate cancer treatment includes the total removal of the prostate and surrounding tissues and/or radiation therapy.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and thought that prostate cancer treatment was the only option
Nobody wants to hear the one of the scariest words come out of their physicians mouth, “cancer”. The mere thought of having cancer itself can be one of the scariest prospects you will face but if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer take a breath as there are many treatments available.
After you have allowed yourself to allow the thought of having a cancer sink in, start to educate yourself on treatments as there are choices with great success. What prostate cancer treatment is in sight for you can only be decided by you, your family and your physician. Prostate surgery is one choice and includes treatments; such as, a radial protatectomy or radioactive seed implantation, which is not as scary as it sounds. Removing the prostate completely or using the iodine “seeds” placed in the prostate may be right for you.
If prostate surgery isn’t the answer, another prostate cancer treatment are injections. Some of these injections are Eligard, Lupron and Zoladex. These injections can be given on a three to six month basis and it is a hormone based injection as prostate cancer feeds off of the testosterone. There are also implant devices which can be put in during an office visit which goes under the first layer of the skin and are left there for a year. This is a great option if you do not wish to have surgery but can not make quarterly or biannual injection visits.
