Genetic Testing For Prostate Cancer
You may hear a lot about genetics or genomics. Both terms are related to genes and cell DNA, but they are different. These tests are being used to learn more about the DNA of cancer cells, and link DNA mutations with treatments. In the future, genetic testing may be the first step doctors take when diagnosing prostate cancer.
How Long Will My Fatigue Last
How long fatigue lasts will vary from person to person. It may get better or worse over time. How long the fatigue lasts will depend on whats causing it.
Fatigue caused by your treatment may improve when you finish treatment. But some men have fatigue that lasts for many months, or sometimes years. And life-long treatment for prostate cancer can cause long-term fatigue. Keeping active during treatment might help your fatigue to improve more quickly.
How long the fatigue lasts will also depend on the type of treatment youve had.
Surgery
Some men who have surgery get fatigue for a few weeks afterwards, but it can last for longer.
Radiotherapy
If youre having radiotherapy to treat your cancer, you may have external beam radiotherapy, or a type of internal radiotherapy called brachytherapy. Both types of radiotherapy can cause similar levels of fatigue. Men on radiotherapy often find that their fatigue gets worse over time, and sometimes doesnt start until after their radiotherapy has finished. Fatigue usually starts to improve several weeks after treatment ends. But it could take up to a year for it get better.
If your cancer has spread from your prostate to other parts of your body , you may be offered a short course of radiotherapy for advanced prostate cancer to treat symptoms such as pain. Your fatigue may be worse for a week or two after your treatment finishes.
Hormone therapy
Chemotherapy
High-intensity focused ultrasound and cryotherapy
What Is The Cause Of Fatigue And Why Do Men With Prostate Cancer In Particular Suffer From It
There are three main components that contribute to fatigue: The first is the disease itself and its progression. The second is the psychological well-being, which understandably is impacted by a cancer diagnosis and the accompanying fears and worries. It is normal that a reactive depression can occur, although it can vary. Thirdly, the type of therapy plays a role chemo-therapy, for example, can further negatively impact the functional well-being.
In the case of prostate cancer, a relevant factor is that part of the basic treatment is aimed at lowering testosterone, as this hormone significantly drives the growth of prostate cancer. But testosterone also promotes the production of red blood cells. Now, when men receive hormone treatment for prostate cancer, the lowering of testosterone, often causes anemia, leading to further tiredness and weakness. On top of this basic treatment, other anti-cancer drugs are usually given and some of them can aggravate this fatigue. The exhaustion can considerably impair the quality of life to such an extent that some of the patients discontinue the therapy because of it. However, there are alternatives that usually allow patients to continue their daily lives without being adversely affected by their therapy.
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Ways To Boost Your Quality Of Life During Prostate Cancer Treatment
A diagnosis of prostate cancer can seem overwhelming, especially when treatment begins. Although its a treatable disease the 5-year survival rate is about 98 percent, according to the American Cancer Society some of the prostate cancer treatments can come with side effects, such as incontinence and erection problems.
Its frightening to think about having a potentially life-threatening disease, says Jack David Marcus, 75, a prostate cancer survivor who volunteers at the New York City chapter of Us Too International, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide knowledge, empowerment, compassion, collaboration, encouragement, and hope to men with prostate cancer and their families. Its tough on the cancer fighter and .
But the important thing to remember is that there are things you can do to help cope with treatment for prostate cancer, Marcus says. Find a good doctor at a good medical center, he says, and youre off to a good start.
Just like you have to sort out the medical problems, you have to deal with the psychological needs, too, says Michael J. Morris, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. That applies to not only the man with cancer but also his family and friends.
Can A Dietitian Help Me Fight Cancer Fatigue
Dietitians can provide suggestions to work around any symptoms that may be interfering with caloric intake. They can help you find ways to take in calories despite an early feeling of fullness, swallowing difficulty or taste changes. Dietitians can also suggest ways of maximizing calories and proteins in smaller amounts of food. They may suggest powdered milk, instant breakfast drinks and other commercial supplements or food additives.
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What You Can Do About Cancer
- be aware of your own warning signs of fatigue, for example, a loss of appetite, low mood, difficulty concentrating
- help others to understand and let them support you
- talk to family/whnau and friends, and dont be afraid to ask for help
- pace yourself, think about your energy levels and balance activity and rest
- if you need time to rest during the day, dont be afraid to say no to visitors
- have lots of nutritious snacks and meals
- regular moderate exercise can help with tiredness and a lack of energy
Elegant New Seafood Cookbook Is From Louisiana Cookin
A New Orleans home cook shared her recipe for Smoked Sweet Potato Soup topped with crab with Louisiana Cookin magazine. Its included in Louisiana de Mer: Seasonal Seafood Recipes cookbook.
Shrimp Ya-Ya from the Louisiana de Mer: Seasonal Seafood Recipes cookbook.
Louisiana Cookin editor Daniel Schumacher edited the Hoffman Publishing cookbook Louisiana de Mer: Seasonal Seafood Recipes.
Cover image
One of Daniel Schumachers favorite recipes in the new Louisiana de Mer: Seasonal Seafood Recipes cookbook is Shrimp Ya-Ya, because its a heartwarming, crowd-pleasing dish, he says. Its from chef Chris Hayes of New Orleans.
Its one of the many recipes contributed by chefs and home cooks to the book. And each of the 75 recipes in this elegant new cookbook came from Louisiana Cookin, the national magazine of statewide food that Schumacher has edited for the past four years.
Schumacher also edited the cookbook, the magazines first. Both are published by Hoffman Media, based in Birmingham, Ala., which owns the magazine and several other titles, including Taste of the South, Cooking with Paula Deen, Southern Lady and Cottage Journal.
The fact that the recipes came from the magazine also explains the gorgeous photos that accompany each dish. The photos are the work of Louisiana Cookin photographers John OHagan, Marcy Black Simpson, Jim Bathie, William Dickey and Stephanie Welbourne.
Makes 4 servings
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
SHRIMP YA-YA
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How Is Cancer Fatigue Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will assess your symptoms. You may be asked to complete a questionnaire or rate your fatigue level. Your provider may ask you to keep a journal to track your level of fatigue and factors that might contribute to fatigue.
Blood tests can check for anemia, signs of infection or other problems that cause fatigue.
How Do I Know If I Have Fatigue Or Tiredness
Some signs of fatigue are:
- Feeling like you have no energy
- Sleeping more than you normally do
- Not wanting to or being able to do your normal daily activities
- Paying less attention to the way you look
- Feeling tired even after you sleep
- Having trouble thinking or concentrating
- Having trouble finding words and speaking
If you have any of these signs talk to your doctor or health care team. There can be physical causes for your fatigue, like an infection or pain that they can help you manage. It is important that you talk to your doctor or health care team about any side effects you may have during or after your treatment. Your health care team can help treat these problems.
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Causes Of Cancer Fatigue
Many things can cause fatigue in people with cancer. This includes the cancer itself and the type of treatment you might have.
Doctors don’t fully understand what causes cancer related fatigue. But we know that a number of things can make it worse. Fatigue is often worse in people who:
- are having a combination of treatments
- have advanced cancer
It’s important that you know you may be more likely to suffer from fatigue if you fall into one of these groups.
How Long Will The Fatigue Last
Cancer-related fatigue may begin to ease when treatment ends, but many people will continue to feel fatigued for some time after treatment is finished.
It is not uncommon for fatigue to go away, only to return. You may be frustrated if your recovery takes longer than you expected. Try to be patient with yourself.
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Is Fatigue A Sign Of Cancer
Fatigue may develop as a symptom of blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, because these cancers start in the bone marrow, which produces red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body.
Fatigue may also be a symptom of undiagnosed metastatic cancer . This is more common in cancers that arent typically caught early, such as lung cancer or ovarian cancer.
Its uncommon for fatigue to be the only symptom of undiagnosed cancer. A more concerning scenario develops when patients experience both fatigue and pain in one area thats getting progressively worse, along with unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite.
However, these symptoms may also be caused by an infection or another medical condition, such as anemia, depression, thyroid dysfunction, vitamin deficiency or sleep apnea, to name a few possibilities.
If a patient came to me complaining primarily of fatigue, my first thoughteven as an oncologistprobably wouldnt be cancer.
There may not be a simple answer behind whats causing your fatigue, and discovering the root cause often takes some digging, along with some trial and error with various therapeutic approaches.
Chronic Fatigue In Adult Cancer Survivors
National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment
Oslo University Hospital
Kristin Valborg Reinertsen , specialist in oncology and senior consultant. She completed her PhD in 2011 on long-term effects after treatment for breast cancer.
The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports no conflicts of interest.
Regional Advisory Unit for Palliative Care
Oslo University Hospital
Jon Håvard Loge , specialist in psychiatry and in child and adolescent psychiatry. He heads the Regional Advisory Unit for Palliative Care, South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. He is professor II at the Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine. He was head of the National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment from 2011 to 2014. He has worked with late effects after cancer treatment since the mid 1990s with particular focus on chronic fatigue in cancer survivors.
The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports no conflicts of interest.
Department of General Practice/Family Medicine
Institute of Health and Society
University of Oslo
Mette Brekke , specialist in general practice and professor. She also works as a GP at the Kurbadet group practice, Oslo.
The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports no conflicts of interest.
National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment
Oslo University Hospital
Cecilie E. Kiserud , PhD and senior consultant in oncology. She heads the National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment.
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What Is Fatigue Or Tiredness
During your chemotherapy treatment, you may start to feel very tired. You may feel tired all the time or you may get tired more easily when you do daily activities. This is known as fatigue or tiredness. Fatigue is the most common side effect or unwanted change in your body reported by patients on chemotherapy treatment.
It Is Not Clear How Cancer Treatments Cause Fatigue
It is unclear how cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy cause fatigue.
When cancer treatment begins, many patients are already tired from medical tests, surgery, and the emotional stress of coping with the cancer diagnosis. Fatigue may get worse during treatment.
Different cancer treatments have different effects on a patients energy level. The type and schedule of treatments can affect the amount of fatigue caused by cancer treatment. Some patients have more fatigue after cancer treatments than others do.
Fatigue related to surgery
Fatigue is often a side effect of surgery, but patients usually feel better with time. However, fatigue related to surgery can be worse when the surgery is combined with other cancer treatments.
Fatigue caused by chemotherapy
Patients treated with chemotherapy usually feel the most fatigue in the days right after each treatment. Then the fatigue decreases until the next treatment. Some studies have shown that patients have the most severe fatigue about mid-way through all the cycles of chemotherapy. Fatigue decreases after chemotherapy is finished, but patients may not feel back to normal until a month or more after the last treatment.
Fatigue during chemotherapy may be increased by the following:
- Lack of sleep caused by some anticancer drugs.
Fatigue caused by radiation therapy
Fatigue caused by hormone therapy
Fatigue caused by immunotherapy
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What To Look For
- You feel tired and it doesnt get better with rest or sleep, it keeps coming back, or it becomes severe.
- Youre more tired than usual during or after an activity.
- Youre feeling tired and its not related to an activity.
- Youre too tired to do the things you normally do.
- Your arms and legs feel heavy and hard to move.
- You have no energy.
- You spend more time in bed and/or sleep more. Or, you may have trouble sleeping.
- You stay in bed for more than 24 hours.
- You become confused or cant concentrate or focus your thoughts.
- Your tiredness disrupts your work, social life, or daily routine.
It may be hard for you to talk about it, but tell your cancer care team about your fatigue. Tell them how its affecting your life. Someone on your team should be able to help you if they know youre having this problem. Managing fatigue is part of good cancer care. Work with your cancer care team to find and treat the causes of your fatigue.
Can Sleep Be Improved To Reduce Cancer Fatigue
Sleep is an important part of wellness. Good sleep can improve your mental and physical health. Several factors contribute to how well you sleep, and there are things you can do to improve your sleep, including:
- Doing relaxation exercises, meditation or relaxation yoga before going to sleep.
- Avoiding long afternoon naps.
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Find A Therapist Or Support Group
For Marcus, finding a support group changed his thinking entirely. It was like manna from heaven, he says. Id never met anyone diagnosed with prostate cancer before. And I was frightened. He went to a hospital support group and then discovered Us Too. This made dealing with prostate cancer much easier for me.
Large metropolitan medical centers are likely to have social workers, therapists, and psychiatrists on staff or nearby. In less populated areas, you might need to seek out this help on your own and it may not be covered by your insurance. Us Too, which has chapters around the country, offers monthly meetings with expert speakers on different aspects of prostate cancer.
Other helpful groups include CancerCare, a national organization that offers free support and information for people with cancer. CancerCare provides professional support services including counseling, support groups, educational workshops, publications, and financial assistance to people affected by cancer. All of the services are provided by oncology social workers and leading cancer experts.
Another organization, devoted exclusively to prostate cancer, is Zero The End of Prostate Cancer, a nonprofit with a mission to end prostate cancer. It aims to create what it calls Generation Zero, the first generation of men free from prostate cancer.
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Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms in its early stages. Signs and symptoms often appear as the tumour grows and causes changes in the body such as changes in bladder habits. Other health conditions can cause the same symptoms as prostate cancer.
The signs or symptoms of prostate cancer include:
- more frequent urination , especially at night
- a strong or sudden urge to urinate
- difficulty starting the flow of urine
- weak or slow urine stream
- interrupted urine stream
- being unable to empty the bladder completely
- having difficulty controlling the bladder , which can cause urine to leak and dribble
- burning or pain during urination
- discomfort or pain when sitting, caused by an enlarged prostate
- pain or stiffness in back, hips or pelvis that doesnt go away
In rare cases, prostate cancer can cause paraneoplastic syndrome. This is a group of symptoms including high blood pressure, fatigue and weight loss that may happen when substances released by cancer cells disrupt the normal function of nearby or distant organs or tissues.
In some cases, prostate cancer can cause serious problems. These cancer-related emergencies are uncommon but need to be treated right away and are usually a sign of advanced cancer: