What To Avoid And List Of Helpful Foods
As diet has to play major role for prostate cancer pain relief so it is better to collect huge information about what is good to eat and what should be avoided during prostate pain.
Medical professionals suggest avoiding red meats if you are facing prostate pain due to cancer. However, patient can eat other lean meats such as fish and fowl. Also, it is good to avoid fatty food items and the biggest harm can be caused by processed or fast food items so it is good to take them away from your diet.
The list of helpful food items includes grains prefer to add whole grains and rice etc into your routine diet. Other than this, it is essential to include green leafy vegetables, acidic fruits, berries and beans into routine diet to improve overall health of your body.
What Is An Enlarged Prostate
The prostate is a small gland, usually about the size of a walnut, that is situated just below the bladder and above the penis. The urethra passes through the prostate, which produces fluid that is mixed with sperm to create semen. When the prostate enlarges, it places pressure on the bladder and the urethra, which can cause urinary problems.
The prostate is made up of four zones:
- Peripheral zone. The area most easily felt during the standard digital rectal exam and the zone from which prostate cancer tends to develop.
- Transition zone. This surrounds the part of the urethra that passes through the prostate. It enlarges as men age, causing benign prostatic hyperplasia and consequent urinary symptoms.
- Central zone
- Anterior fibromuscular stroma
The prostate can become enlarged for a variety of reasons. The most common are:
Treatments To Help Manage Symptoms
Treatments to help manage symptoms caused by advanced prostate cancer include:
- pain-relieving drugs
- complementary therapies
Pain-relieving drugs
There are lots of different types of pain-relieving drugs, such as tablets, patches and injections. Your doctor or palliative care nurse will help you find whats best for you.
Some men worry about becoming addicted to pain-relieving drugs. But this is uncommon in men with prostate cancer. Read more about managing pain in advanced prostate cancer.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy can help control symptoms by slowing down the growth of the cancer. Radiotherapy to help control symptoms is sometimes called palliative radiotherapy.
The most common type of radiotherapy used to reduce symptoms is external beam radiotherapy. This is high-energy X-ray beams targeted at the area being treated from outside the body. It can help to manage symptoms such as pain, blood in your urine or discomfort from swollen lymph nodes. Its also used to treat metastatic spinal cord compression.
You might have slightly more pain during treatment, and for a few days afterwards, but this should soon get better. It can take a few weeks for radiotherapy to have its full effect.
If your prostate cancer is causing bone pain, you may be offered radium-223 to help reduce the pain and delay some other symptoms.
Read more about radiotherapy for advanced prostate cancer.
Bisphosphonates
Complementary therapies
You May Like: Hormone Replacement Therapy For Prostate Cancer
Losing Control Of Your Bladder
Urinary incontinence can range from uncontrolled release of a full bladder to slower leakage. Leaking urine can also present in varying ways, from leaking a few drops after coughing, exercising, or bending, to leaking large quantities or leaking during sex. This usually improves over time if its a result of prostate cancer treatment, however, it can be longer-lasting if its from spinal cord compression. The good news is, there are some ways to manage losing control of your bladder, if needed, including:
- Absorbent pads or pants
- Bed protectors
- Urinary sheaths
If urine incontinence continues for longer periods of time, or becomes a serious impairment to quality of life, there are other additional options including:
- Artificial urinary sphincter
- Internal male sling
- Anti-cholinergic medications
All of these options for serious impairment require surgery with the exception of medications. Your doctor will help you determine the side effects and potential benefits for your specific case. Additional lifestyle changes may also be beneficial to help fight urinary incontinence, including eating a well-balanced diet with fiber , exercising , avoiding alcoholic, fizzy, or caffeinated drinks, quitting smoking, and retraining your bladder by creating and maintaining a urination schedule.1-4
Can Sciatic Nerve Affect Prostate
SciaticaprostatenervesSciatica canaffected
. Beside this, can prostate problems cause leg pain?
Urinary symptoms also can be caused by an infection of the bladder or other conditions. If cancer has spread outside of the prostate gland, a man may experience: Pain in the back, hips, thighs, shoulders, or other bones. Swelling or fluid buildup in the legs or feet.
Also Know, can enlarged prostate cause back and leg pain? Enlargement of the prostate gland can cause symptoms, for example: Dribbling urine. Blood in the semen or urine. Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, pelvic or rectal area, or the upper thighs.
Regarding this, can your prostate cause back pain?
Chronic prostatitis, also called chronic pelvic pain syndrome, is a common prostate problem. It can cause pain in the lower back, in the groin, or at the tip of the penis. Treatment may require a combination of medicines, surgery, and lifestyle changes.
What causes a sciatic nerve to flare up?
Stress Some researchers believe that various forms of back pain including sciatica can be triggered by emotional anxiety. Their explanation is that in times of stress, the brain deprives the nerves in the lower back of oxygen, resulting in symptoms such as leg pain, weakness, and other electrical sensation.
Don’t Miss: What Is Sbrt For Prostate Cancer
When To Seek Medical Care
A person may have urinary symptoms unrelated to prostatitis that are caused by bladder problems, UTIs, or benign prostatic hyperplasia. Symptoms of prostatitis also can signal more serious conditions, including prostate cancer.
Men with symptoms of prostatitis should see a health care provider.
Men with the following symptoms should seek immediate medical care:
- complete inability to urinate
- great discomfort or pain in the lower abdomen and urinary tract
What Are Clinical Trials And Are They Right For You
Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you.
Recommended Reading: Is Asparagus Good For Prostate Cancer
What Other Problems Might An Enlarged Prostate Cause
A small number of men may find it difficult to empty their bladder properly this is called urine retention. If youve been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate, your doctor will look at your test results to see if youre at risk of urine retention. You may be more likely to get urine retention if:
- youre aged 70 or over
- your prostate is very large
- you have a raised prostate specific antigen level
- you have severe urinary symptoms and a very slow flow.
Chronic urine retention
This is where you cant empty your bladder fully, but can still urinate a little. It usually develops slowly over time. Chronic means long-lasting. The first signs often include a weak flow when you urinate, or leaking urine at night. You may feel that your abdomen is swollen, or that youre not emptying your bladder fully.
Chronic urine retention is usually painless. But the pressure of the urine can slowly stretch your bladder muscle and make it weaker. This can cause urine to be left behind in the bladder when you urinate. If you dont empty your bladder fully, you might get a urine infection, need to urinate more often, leak urine at night, or get painful bladder stones. You might also see some blood in your urine. Chronic urine retention can damage your bladder and kidneys if it isnt treated.
There are treatments for chronic urine retention, including:
- passing a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to drain urine from your bladder
- surgery to widen the urethra.
Acute urine retention
Do Prostate Problems Cause Other Problems
Yes, a prostate problem may cause other problems, such as
- problems having sex
- feeling stressed due to chronic pain
- inflammation in areas near your prostate
- bladder stones
- kidney failure
Which problem you may get depends on the type of prostate problem you have. Other problems may vary from man to man for each type of prostate problem.
Also Check: What Happens To The Prostate Later In Life
Don’t Miss: Rapid Rise In Psa May Signal Prostatitis
Dealing With Pain And Prostate Cancer
Until your pain is under control it may be very difficult to think clearly or believe that the pain will go away. Coping with any type of pain, whether it is constant or comes and goes, can be tiring and frightening. Pain can affect your daily activities, your relationships with other people, your sleep, and your ability to enjoy life.
Pain can also affect your thoughts and feelings. Theres no right way that youre supposed to feel and everyone reacts in their own way. You might feel scared, worried, stressed, helpless or even angry. Some people with pain say they feel angry or depressed. And some men worry that their pain is a sign that their cancer is getting worse.
Your feelings can also affect your pain anxiety can make it worse, and feeling low can make you more aware of your pain. It might be useful to get some extra help if youre feeling down, for example by talking to a counsellor.
Tiredness can also be a big problem if youre living with pain. If youre feeling very tired, speak to your GP or your doctor or nurse at the hospital. They can give you advice and support. Read more about extreme tiredness or find out about our fatigue support service.
There are things you can do to help yourself and people who can help.
Who can help?
Your medical team
Getting help at night or at the weekend , or in an emergency
Support from hospices
What Are The Symptoms Of An Enlarged Prostate
Most men with prostatitis will have a persistent form of the disease, where symptoms come and go for at least three months.
Possible symptoms of chronic prostatitis are:
- pain in the pelvis, genitals, lower back and buttocks
- pain when urinating
- difficulty urinating, such as problems starting or ‘stop-start’ urination
- pain when ejaculating, which may contribute to erectile dysfunction
- discomfort in the perineal area
The symptoms may vary from day to day: some days they may be particularly troublesome, on other days they may be mild or almost non-existent.
Sometimes you may also experience tiredness, joint pain, muscle pain and a high temperature.
You May Like: Does Eating Meat Cause Prostate Cancer
How Common Is Prostatitis
Prostatitis is the most common urinary tract problem for men younger than age 50 and the third most common urinary tract problem for men older than age 50.1 Prostatitis accounts for about two million visits to health care providers in the United States each year.2
Chronic prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome is
- the most common and least understood form of prostatitis.
- can occur in men of any age group.
- affects 10 to 15 percent of the U.S. male population.3
Symptoms For Acute Bacterial Prostatitis
If you have acute bacterial prostatitis the symptoms usually develop very quickly. They include:
- a high temperature , feeling feverish, sweating, chills and shivering
- pain in the area between your testicles and back passage , the skin around your testicles , your penis, lower back, muscles or joints in your pelvic area, inner thighs, and sometimes in your back passage
- needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- a sudden urge to urinate
- pain when urinating
- difficulty urinating.
About 1 in 10 men with this type of prostatitis find they suddenly and painfully cant urinate. This is called acute urine retention. It needs treating straight away, usually at a hospital. The doctor or nurse will pass a thin, flexible tube called a catheter up your penis into your bladder to drain the urine. Or they might pass the catheter through the wall of your stomach area . This will help drain urine from your bladder.
Dont wait
It is very important to seek medical advice immediately if you think you might have acute bacterial prostatitis and have a high temperature. It needs treating straight away.
You May Like: Does An Enlarged Prostate Affect A Man Sexually
Read Also: Best Treatment For Gleason 7 Prostate Cancer
Radiotherapy To The Prostate
Some men who have just been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer may be offered external beam radiotherapy as part of their first treatment. This is where high-energy X-ray beams are directed at the prostate from outside the body. The X-ray beams damage the cancer cells and stop them from dividing and growing. Read more about radiotherapy for advanced prostate cancer.
Radiotherapy to the prostate isnt suitable for all men with advanced prostate cancer. If it isnt suitable for you, you might be offered a type of radiotherapy to help manage symptoms instead.
Urinating Frequently During The Day
It may be more difficult to notice a change in frequency during the day than at night. Most of us dont go around counting how many times we use the washroom in a given day!
Besides, whats normal, anyway?
Normal urination during the day is considered to be within a range offour to seven times for most healthy adult men. If youre going more often than this, it could indicate a prostate issue.
It can be easy to miss this sign. Drinking more water or caffeinated beverages than usual can be an easy explanation for a few extra trips.
Even a night out for dinner with a few more glasses of beer than usual can cause several extra trips to the bathroom because alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it triggers anincrease in urine production.
Diuretics cause your kidneys to process more salt and water out into your urine, resulting in increased volume that makes you need to go more often.Source:WonderWhizKids.com
But like your nighttime routine, if you notice an ongoing pattern of having to go more often during the day, ask your doctor about it. A simple blood test and rectal examination is often the first diagnostic step, which is quick and painless.
Also Check: Ablation Treatment For Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer Can Cause Pain In Many Areas And Not Just Because Of Bone Spread But Also Due To Other Features Of The Disease
It can feel different ways depending on the nature of the cause.
Curable early stage prostate cancer usually does not cause pain, says Sean Cavanaugh, MD, Chief of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
That is the most important message do not use pain as a primary screening mechanism for prostate cancer.
Most pain associated with prostate cancer is from bone metastases in stage IV disease.
For example, men with bone metastases to their spine may have pain in their back.
Prostate cancer can spread to the ribs , pelvis and femur .
Even shoulder and arm pain are possible when a metastatic tumor is pressing against the spine.
Bone metastases occur in approximately 80% of patients with advanced prostate cancer, says the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it almost always goes first to the bones.
Bone pain from prostate cancer can feel like a dull ache or feel like a toothache in the bones, or you may feel a sharper sensation.
Can worsen with movement
May come and go or be constant
Prostatitis: Inflamed Prostate Can Be A Vexing Health Problem
- By Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Health
When it comes to prostate trouble, the lions share of attention goes to prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate. A third condition, prostatitis, flies under the radar even though it affects up to one in six men at some point in their lifetimes. It triggers more than two million visits to doctors and untold agony each year.
Prostatitis, which means inflammation of the prostate gland, is an equal opportunity disorder. Unlike prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia , which predominantly affect older men, prostatitis affects men of all ages.
Prostatitis refers to a loose assemblage of syndromes characterized by urinary problems such as burning or painful urination, the urgent need to urinate, trouble voiding, difficult or painful ejaculation, and pain in the area between the scrotum and rectum or lower back. Although it causes some of the same symptoms as BPH and can occur at the same time, prostatitis is a separate condition.
Some types of prostatitis are caused by bacterial infection. These cases are often accompanied by the classic symptoms of infection, such as fever, chills, and muscle pain along with urinary problems. As a result, they are relatively easy to diagnose and treat, and they usually respond well to antibiotics. Unfortunately, such straightforward forms of prostatitis are the minority.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Recovery Time From Prostate Cancer Surgery
Warning Disclaimer Use For Publication
WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.
DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.
If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.