Life after being diagnosed with cancer will be different for everyone. Some people will have minimal disease and it will be a short chapter of their lives, while others will have a diagnosis that will change the course of the rest of their lives. Cancer diagnoses can change relationships, your routines, your work and home life. One thing is certain, no one person’s experience will be exactly the same. There are however, plenty of resources to learn about what life was like for other people, and what they did to achieve balance, maintain their health and personal life, keep peace of mind, and enjoy their lives with or after cancer.
Your experience with cancer will depend on the type of cancer you have, your choices of treatment and the lifestyle you lead. Be sure to speak with your Doctor about the side effects of your disease and the treatments you choose. Your Doctor will be able to consult with you on realistic lifestyle expectations.
Some men with prostate cancer have no symptoms of the disease. For men who do have signs, the common symptoms include:
- Blood. Blood in the urine or semen
- Pain. Frequent pain in the lower back, hips or upper thighs
Urinary problems.
- Not being able to pass urine
- Having a hard time starting or stopping the urine flow
- Needing to urinate often, especially at night
- Weak flow of urine
- Urine flow that starts and stops
- Pain or burning during urination
- Sexual problems. Difficulty having an erection
Most often, though, these symptoms are not due to cancer.
BPH is an infection, for example, or another health problem may cause these symptoms.
If you do have any of these symptoms that don’t go away, talk to your doctor so the problems can be diagnosed and treated.
Every cancer diagnosis is different, just as every person who is diagnosed with cancer is different. Cancer knows no barriers to race, age, or social group. However there is one thing that each and every person who is diagnosed with cancer will have in common: help with fighting and beating the disease.
Life after being diagnosed with cancer will be different for everyone. Some people will have minimal disease and it will be a short chapter of their lives, while others will have a diagnosis that will change the course of the rest of their lives. Cancer diagnoses can change relationships, your routines, your work and home life. One thing is certain, no one person’s experience will be exactly the same. There are however, plenty of resources to learn about what life was like for other people, and what they did to achieve balance, maintain their health and personal life, keep peace of mind, and enjoy their lives with or after cancer.
Clinical Trials
The search for a cure for cancer is an ongoing, constant battle. Clinical trials are the basis upon which new treatments and medications are proven to help the fight against cancer, or if researchers should pursue another tactic. The advancement of medicine depends on willing and able cancer patients to volunteer for experimental treatments so that future generations will have proven and effective cures. Not every patient with cancer will be eligible for a clinical trial, as the scientific method needs specific patients with specific types of cancers. However, patients who are selected for trials may benefit from being at the cutting edge of new research, and gain time they otherwise might not have had.
The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health has a comprehensive database of over 10,000 ongoing clinical trials that both help advance medicine and help patients.
Financial Help
Unfortunately, cancer treatment can be costly, even if a patient has very comprehensive health insurance. For patients who do not have health insurance, the cost of treatment may seem insurmountable. Fortunately many pharmaceutical companies offer cost assistance to help make treatment more affordable. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has compiled a Virtual Reimbursement Room where patients can find information for accessing financial help with their treatment costs.
At the age of 50 – or before if you have a family history – Your doctor may begin screening you for prostate cancer, whether or not you have any symptoms. Your personal and family medical history will be discussed, and you’ll have a physical exam.
You may also have one or both of the following tests.
- Digital rectal exam (DRE). This exam can be uncomfortable, but can be quite accurate. Your goes through the rectum to feel if there are any hard or lumpy areas in your prostate.
- PSA test. This is a blood tests that checks your PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level . The prostate makes PSA and a high level is often caused by BPH or prostatitis – inflammation of the prostate. High PSA levels can also be caused by prostate cancer.
Most doctors recommend having both tests, because you could have a normal PSA level, but a prostate that feels abnormal.
While the DRE and PSA test can indicate a problem in the prostate, they can’t tell whether the problem is cancer or a less serious condition. If you have abnormal test results, your doctor may suggest other tests, such as a urine test to check for blood or infection.
According to the American Cancer Society, some 242,000 men in the United States are expected to learn they have prostate cancer this year. It is the most common cancer found in men.
Nearly all men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer will be alive five years after diagnosis (5-year survival rate). The percentage of men who are alive 10 years after the cancer is found, is 98 percent, and after 15 years, 91 percent of the men with prostate cancer are still living.
However, prostate cancer will take the lives of approximately 28,000 American men this year.
The treatment that’s right for you depends mainly on your age, the grade of the tumor (the Gleason score), the number of biopsy tissue samples that contain cancer cells, the stage of the cancer, your symptoms and your general health. Your doctor can describe your treatment choices, the expected results of each, and the possible side effects.
Active Surveillance
You may choose active surveillance if the risks and possible side effects of treatment outweigh the possible benefits. Your doctor may suggest active surveillance if you’re diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer that seems to be growing slowly. Your doctor may also offer this option if you are older or have other serious health problems.
Choosing active surveillance doesn’t mean you’re giving up. It means you’re being careful and delaying treatment until such time as it seems absolutely necessary. Having surgery or radiation therapy can have serious side effects. They are no guarantee that a man will live longer than a man who chooses to put off treatment.
Surgery
Surgery is an option for men with early (Stage I or II) prostate cancer. It’s sometimes an option for men with Stage III or IV prostate cancer. The surgeon may remove the whole prostate or only part of it.
Before the surgeon removes the prostate, the lymph nodes in the pelvis may also be removed. If prostate cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes, the disease may have spread to other parts of the body. If cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the surgeon does not always remove the prostate and may suggest other types of treatment.
There are several types of surgery for prostate cancer. Each type has benefits and risks. You and your doctor can talk about the types of surgery and which may be right for you:
- Open surgery. The surgeon makes a large incision to remove the tumor or the entire prostate. Removal of the prostate is called a prostatectomy.
- Laparoscopic prostatectomy. The surgeon removes the entire prostate through small cuts, rather than a single long cut in the abdomen. A thin, lighted tube called a laparoscope helps the surgeon remove the prostate.
- Robotic laparoscopic surgery: The surgeon removes the entire prostate through small cuts. A laparoscope and a robot are used to help remove the prostate. The surgeon uses handles below a computer display to control the robot’s arms.
- Cryosurgery. The surgeon uses a tool to freeze and kill prostate tissue. Cryosurgery is under study.
- TURP. A man with advanced prostate cancer may choose TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) to relieve symptoms. The surgeon inserts a long, thin scope through the urethra. A cutting tool at the end of the scope removes tissue from the inside of the prostate. TURP may not remove all of the cancer, but it can remove tissue that blocks the flow of urine.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is an option for men with any stage of prostate cancer. Men with early stage prostate cancer may choose radiation therapy instead of surgery. It also may be used after surgery to destroy any cancer cells that remain in the area. In later stages of prostate cancer, radiation treatment may be used to help relieve pain.
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. It affects cells only in the treated area.
Doctors use two types of radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer. Some men receive both types:
- External radiation. The radiation comes from a large machine outside the body. You will go to a hospital or clinic for treatment. Treatments are usually 5 days a week for several weeks. Many men receive 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy. These types of treatment use computers to more closely target the cancer to lessen the damage to healthy tissue near the prostate.
- Internal radiation. Sometimes called brachytherapy, the radiation comes from radioactive seeds that are implanted into the prostate. The seeds give off radiation for months to kill the cancer cells, and they don’t need to be removed once the radiation is gone.
Hormone Therapy
A man with prostate cancer may have hormone therapy before, during or after radiation therapy. Hormone therapy is also used alone for prostate cancer that has returned after treatment. It’s also most commonly used for prostate cancer that has spread.
Male hormones (androgens) can cause prostate cancer to grow. Hormone therapy keeps prostate cancer cells from getting the male hormones they need to grow. The testicles are the body’s main source of the male hormone testosterone. The adrenal gland makes other male hormones, as well as a small amount of testosterone.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy may be used for prostate cancer that has spread and no longer responds to hormone therapy.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs for prostate cancer are usually given through a vein (intravenous). You may receive chemotherapy in a clinic, at the doctor’s office, or at home. Some men need to stay in the hospital during treatment.
Like many cancers, no one knows the exact cause of prostate cancer. It’s impossible to say why one man develops the disease and another doesn’t.
That said, research has shown that a man’s chances of developing prostate cancer increase when he has certain risk factors.
Here are the most common risk factors for prostate cancer.
- Age. As you age, your risk of prostate cancer increases. In the United States, most men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are over the age of 65. It’s rare to see the disease in men under 45.
- Family history. Your risk is higher if your father, brother or son has had prostate cancer.
- Race. Prostate cancer is more common among black men than white or Hispanic/Latino men. It’s less common among Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native men.
- Certain prostate changes. Men with abnormal cells called high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) may be more likely to develop prostate cancer.
- Certain genetic changes. Researchers have found specific regions on certain chromosomes that are linked to the risk of prostate cancer. If a man has genetic changes in one or more of these regions, the risk of prostate cancer may be increased. The risk increases with the number of genetic changes that are found. Also, other studies have shown an elevated risk of prostate cancer among men with changes in certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 – the two genes, interestingly, that increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
- Many other possible risk factors are also under study, including: tobacco and alcohol use, BPH, sexually transmitted disease, obesity, physical inactivity and diets high in animal fat, especially processed and red meats.
Most recently, researchers have found a possible link between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer.
Having one or more of these risk factors doesn’t mean that you will develop prostate cancer.
Each year in the United States, over 200,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Unfortunately, 32,000 of them will succumb to the disease, making it the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and the most common cause of death from cancer in men over age 75. However, due to improved detection and treatment, there are over 2 million men in the United States who are currently prostate cancer survivors.
The prostate is a small, walnut sized organ in men that sits below the bladder and is responsible for making seminal fluid, which is necessary for ejaculation and fertility. Symptoms of prostate cancer closely resemble those of benign prostatic hypertrophy, with delayed or slowed initiation of urination, dribbling and leaking of urine, a slow urinary stream, and incomplete emptying of the bladder. Blood may be present in the urine or semen as well. Pain in the bones of the lower back and pelvis may be a sign that prostate cancer has spread.
The biggest risk factors for prostate cancer are advancing age and prostate cancer in a first degree relative, such as a father or brother. African-American men are at greater risk as well. Other risk factors include alcohol abuse, a diet high in animal fat, and environmental exposures to Agent Orange, cadmium, paint fumes, farm work.
Because most of the symptoms of prostate cancer are clinically indistinguishable from BPH, further testing is often needed. In some cases, during a rectal exam, a doctor may be able to feel a hard, easily identifiable tumor through the rectum which aids diagnosis. In other cases, a rectal exam may not be able to differentiate between cancer and BPH. Concrete diagnosis is made by prostate biopsy, and the tissue is graded by a Gleason grade (1-5) to determine how abnormal the cancer is. Two different grades are often present in one biopsy, and the two samples are added together for a Gleason score (2-10) which further classifies how aggressive the cancer is. Prostate specific antigen (PSA), a protein found in the blood, may be elevated in some men that would prompt a doctor to check for prostate cancer, but it is usually not used as a sole screening method. It is better utilized as a marker of the return of cancer after treatment. The best thing a man can do to detect prostate cancer when it’s in early stages and highly treatable is to have yearly rectal exams beginning at age 50, and age 40 if they have a diagnosed first degree relative.
Treatment methods are variable depending on how aggressive the cancer is and if it has spread. Early cancer contained within the walls of the prostate will usually be surgically removed by a radical prostatectomy. There is some risk of incontinence and erectile dysfunction as a result. Radiation therapy is also available for early stage cancer, in the form of implanted radioactive seeds or a focused beam. When prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate, there is a wide array of chemotherapeutic and hormone therapy options. Prostate cancer is fueled by testosterone, so many hormonal treatments block the release of or prevent the action of it. Hormone therapy is mainly used when cancer has spread to help relieve symptoms, and there are two types. Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormones (LH-RH) agonists block the body from making testosterone. They are injected usually every 3 – 6 months and include leuprolide, goserelin, nafarelin, triptorelin, histrelin, buserelin, and degarelix. androgen-blocking drugs are often given along with the above drugs and include flutamide, bicalutamide, and nilutamide.