What Happens When You Get Prostate Cancer

What Should I Do If I Have Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Understanding Prostate Cancer

If you are displaying one or more signs of prostate cancer, be sure to promptly consult with a physician. Even benign prostate conditions like prostate enlargement warrant timely medical attention, so dont delay seeking treatment. And, like most other malignancies, prostate cancer is usually more easily treated when it is detected at an early stage.

After Prostatectomy: What To Expect

At the hospital : You should expect to be in the hospital for one night. At Johns Hopkins, all rooms on the urology floor are private. Here, nurses help patients get moving shortly after surgery to prevent blood clots and other postoperative risks.

First few days at home : After youre sent home, you might find that regular ibuprofen or acetaminophen will be sufficient pain management for the first few days. If over-the-counter medications arent enough, your doctor can help you with alternatives.

One week after surgery : After your surgery site heals, your catheter will be removed. This is usually seven to 10 days after surgery. This can easily be done at your doctors office. Some people decide to take out their catheter at home. If thats the case, ask your doctor for instructions first.

This is also about the time your surgeon will call you with the final pathology results. He or she will discuss what you should know and whether further treatment is necessary.

One month after surgery : Doctors recommend no strenuous activity or heavy lifting for at least one month after surgery. Most people take off work for three to four weeks. If you work from home, you could return to work sooner.

Urinary incontinence
Erectile dysfunction

Recovery from surgery takes time. These side effects are often temporary. However, if they are affecting your quality of life, ask your doctor about options that can help.

Radical Prostatectomy To Remove The Prostate

Making decisions about surgeryTalk to your surgeon about what types of surgery are available to you. Ask about the advantages and disadvantages of each option. There may be extra costs involved for some procedures and they are not all available at every hospital. You may want to consider getting a second opinion about the most suitable type of surgery.The surgeons experience and skill is more important than the type of surgery offered.Compared to open surgery, both standard laparoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted surgery usually mean a shorter hospital stay, less bleeding, a smaller scar and a faster recovery. Current evidence suggests that the different approaches have a similar risk of side effects and no difference in outcomes.Whichever surgical approach is used, a radical prostatectomy is major surgery and youll need time to recover.

View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.

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What About Trans People

People assigned male at birth can develop prostate cancer whether they remain male or not.

Trans women who use hormone therapy such as estrogen may have a lower risk, but the risk is still present.

Anyone assigned male at birth should speak to their doctor about screening for prostate cancer.

Knowing the stage of prostate cancer can help a person understand what to expect, and it will inform decisions about treatment. We list the stages below:

Stage 0: Precancerous cells are present, but they only affect a small area and are slow growing.

Localized : Cancer is only present in the prostate gland. Effective treatment is possible at this stage.

Regional : Cancer has spread to nearby tissues.

Distant : Cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bones.

If a male has symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer, the doctor will likely:

ask about symptoms
ask about personal and medical history
conduct a blood test to assess PSA levels
carry out a urine test to look for other biomarkers
carry out a physical examination, which may include a digital rectal exam

During a DRE, the doctor will check manually for any abnormalities of the prostate with their finger.

Learn more about prostate exams here.

What Is The Source Of The Information

Researchers funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a Federal Government research agency, reviewed studies on treatments for localized prostate cancer published between January 1, 2007, and March 7, 2014. The report included 52 studies and was reviewed by health care professionals, researchers, experts, and the public.

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What Is Prostate Cancer

Cancer can start any place in the body. Prostate cancer starts in the prostate gland. It starts when cells in the prostate grow out of control.

Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells in the prostate can sometimes travel to the bones or other organs and grow there. When cancer cells do this, its called metastasis. To doctors, the cancer cells in the new place look just like the ones from the prostate.

Cancer is always named for the place where it starts. So when prostate cancer spreads to the bones , its still called prostate cancer. Its not called bone cancer unless it starts from cells in the bone.

Ask your doctor to use this picture to show you where your cancer is.

The prostate

The prostate is a gland found only in men, so only men can get prostate cancer.

The prostate is just below the bladder and in front of the rectum . The tube that carries pee goes through the prostate. The prostate makes some of the fluid that helps keep the sperm alive and healthy.

There are a few types of prostate cancer. Some are very rare. Most prostate cancers are a type called adenocarcinoma. This cancer starts from gland cells. Your doctor can tell you more about the type you have.

How Does Prostate Cancer Kill You In The End

How Does Prostate Cancer Kill You in the End? Center

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer after skin cancer in men in the US and the second leading cause of cancer death. Prostate-specific antigen testing has made the detection of prostate cancer easier in its early stages. Ninety-two out of 100 men get diagnosed when the cancer is limited to the prostate.

Most men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in their senior years and only 1 out of 36 men die from it. Death from prostate cancer most often happens when cancer has spread to other organs in the body. This is known as the advanced stage of prostate cancer.

The chances of survival decrease as cancer spreads beyond the prostate. If cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body, only three out of 10 men will survive for five years after the diagnosis.

Advanced stage prostate cancer or metastasized prostate cancer

Cancerous cells may spread to organs other than the site of origin. In the case of prostate cancer, this tendency is decreased, but it can happen. Advanced stage prostate cancer is defined based on the Gleason score, which is based on the TNM staging of cancer. T stands for tumor size, N stands for lymph node involvement and M stands for metastasis.

Prostate cancer can kill in the end through metastases that can develop in

Lungs

Metastasis to the liver can affect the livers ability to filter out toxins from the body. This can eventually lead to jaundice, nausea, loss of appetite and weight loss.

What Happens If Your Psa Scores Double In 3 Years

Therefore it may signify the aggressiveness of any prostate abnormalities, whether its an enlarged prostate, prostatitis, or prostate cancer. If your average PSA readings double in less than three years your doctor will most likely order a biopsy, to look in to the problem further and discuss possible prostate cancer treatment options.

Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer

What Happens If I’m Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer?

Though early warning signs of prostate cancer are rare, sometimes men experience symptoms before they are diagnosed. The severity of symptoms may depend on where the cancer is located in the prostate and how advanced it has become. However, having any of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer or that the disease has progressed beyond its early stages.

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Does Prostate Cancer Have Any Symptoms

Most men with early prostate cancer dont have any signs or symptoms.

One reason for this is the way the cancer grows. Youll usually only get early symptoms if the cancer grows near the tube you urinate through and presses against it, changing the way you urinate . But because prostate cancer usually starts to grow in a different part of the prostate, early prostate cancer doesnt often press on the urethra and cause symptoms.

If you do notice changes in the way you urinate, this is more likely to be a sign of a very common non-cancerous problem called an enlarged prostate, or another health problem. But its still a good idea to get it checked out. Possible changes include:

difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasnt emptied properly
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
a sudden need to urinate you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.

If prostate cancer breaks out of the prostate or spreads to other parts of the body , it can cause other symptoms, including:

back pain, hip pain or pelvis pain
problems getting or keeping an erection
blood in the urine or semen
unexplained weight loss.

These symptoms can all be caused by other health problems. But its still a good idea to tell your GP about any symptoms so they can find out whats causing them and make sure you get the right treatment, if you need it.

Definitions Of Disease Categories

ICD codes used in the disease categories were the following : myocardial infarction , other coronary heart disease , cerebrovascular accident , arterial disease , heart failure , pneumonia , chronic lower respiratory disease , external causes , complications of diagnostic or surgical procedures , complications of therapeutic drug or vaccine usage , suicide , traffic accident , falls , other heart disease , gastrointestinal disease , dementia , diabetes , complications of heart disease , urinary system disease , symptoms , pulmonary circulation , nervous system disease , hypertensive disease , other bacterial disease , psychic disease , anemia , tumors other than prostate cancer , and prostate cancer .

What Are The Signs Of Prostate Cancer

Most early prostate cancers are detected with PSA tests or digital rectal exams before they cause any symptoms. However, more advanced prostate cancers can cause a variety of symptoms including:

Trouble starting to urinate .
Urinating much more often than usual.
The feeling that you can’t release all of your urine.
Pain with urination or ejaculation.
Blood in your urine or semen.
Impotence/erectile dysfunction.
Numbness in the lower extremities.
Loss of bladder or bowel control.

All of these symptoms can be caused by things other than prostate cancer, so experiencing them doesn’t necessarily mean you have prostate cancer. When older men have problems urinating, it is usually caused by a problem called benign prostatic hyperplasia , which is not prostate cancer. If you have any of these symptoms, you need to see your provider for testing.

Symptoms Of Advanced Prostate Cancer

The symptoms of advanced prostate cancer depend on where the cancer has spread to. Find out about the possible symptoms and when to see your doctor.

Advanced prostate cancer means that a cancer that began in the prostate gland has spread to another part of the body. If your cancer has spread you might:

have bone pain

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How Long Does Urinary Incontinence After Prostate Surgery Last

Its impossible to say exactly how long it lasts. The chances of you having urinary problems may be influenced by your age, weight and the physical characteristics of your urethra .

However, a majority of men are eventually continent after a radical prostatectomy. In many cases, men are able to go safely without any kind of incontinence product after about three months. This is especially true of men who are healthy overall and fall into the age range of 40 to 60 years. If you are having persistent problems, its important to know that there are ways to treat urinary incontinence after prostate surgery.

Will Treatment Cause Erectile Dysfunction

When youre sexually excited, nerves cause tissues in your penis to relax, allowing blood to flow into the organ. The nerves that control erection are very delicate. Surgery or radiation for prostate cancer may damage them enough to cause ED. When you have ED, you cant get or keep an erection.

Radical prostatectomy is a surgery to remove the prostate gland. When your surgeon removes the gland, they may damage the nerves and blood vessels that run along it. If theyre damaged enough, you wont be able to get an erection following the procedure.

Today, doctors can do nerve-sparing surgery, which helps prevent permanent ED. Your surgeon can still touch those nerves and blood vessels, causing ED as a temporary side effect. Many men have trouble getting an erection for a few weeks, months, or even years after their procedure.

Radiation therapy also damages blood vessels and the nerves that control erection. Up to half of men who have radiation for prostate cancer experience ED afterward. In some men, this symptom will improve with time. Sometimes radiation side effects dont appear until a few months after the treatment. If ED starts late, it may not be as likely to go away.

A few treatments can help with ED until youre able to have erections on your own again.

Additional treatments include the following:

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How Do Doctors Perform Prostate Removal

During prostate removal the prostate gland and some tissue around the gland, including the seminal vesicles, are removed. A prostatectomy takes about two hours and is performed under general anesthesia.

There are two approaches used for a prostatectomy:

Robotic surgery
Minimally invasive procedure with faster recovery time
Uses smaller incisions and robotic technology

Open surgery

Uses traditional incisions and tools

May be used for more complex cases

The surgical process is as follows:

The doctor will make a small incision to gain access to the prostate
The prostate is removed
The bladder is reconnected to the urethra
A catheter is connected to the bladder to allow urine to drain while the area heals

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Is It Normal To Have Elevated Psa Levels

How to find out if you are at risk of prostate cancer

These higher levels of PSA can be normal for an older man but a doctor will most likely want to do some other testing just to be sure there is nothing more serious developing. BPH is an enlargement of the prostate gland but is not cancerous or considered to be prostate cancer. More cells are producing PSA making the number increase.

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Early Stage Prostate Cancer

If the cancer is small and localized, a doctor may recommend:

Watchful waiting or monitoring

The doctor may check PSA blood levels regularly but take no immediate action.

Prostate cancer grows slowly, and the risk of side effects may outweigh the need for immediate treatment.

Surgery

A surgeon may carry out a prostatectomy. They can remove the prostate gland using either laparoscopic or open surgery.

Radiation therapy

Options include:

Brachytherapy: A doctor will implant radioactive seeds into the prostate to deliver targeted radiation treatment.

Conformal radiation therapy: This targets a specific area, minimizing the risk to healthy tissue. Another type, called intensity modulated radiation therapy, uses beams with variable intensity.

Treatment will depend on various factors. A doctor will discuss the best option for the individual.

How Is Advanced Prostate Cancer Treated

The primary treatment of prostate cancer is prostatectomy, which is a surgery to remove a part of the prostate gland or the entire prostate gland in younger patients.

Androgen deprivation therapy is usually the choice of treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Also known as hormone therapy, it is also used for treating patients who are unfit or unwilling to undergo surgery or/and radiation therapy.

Examples of hormone therapies for advanced prostate cancer include

Abiraterone

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How Soon After Prostate Cancer Treatment Can I Be Sexually Active Again

This will depend on what type of treatment you have had and how you feel. It could be several weeks, for others it may be a lot longer for erections to return. Some men will never be able to keep an erection without the help of artificial methods like medicines or medical devices . If you were having problems having erections before treatment, this will not get better after treatment.

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What Changes Can You Expect

5 Signs of Prostate Cancer Men Should Look For

Ejaculation will cease:Without a prostate gland or seminal vesicles, you will no longer experience ejaculation. Even though your orgasm may feel different, it will still be pleasurable.
Leaking urine during sex:This is possible but does not happen to all men. Its harmless and temporary.
Performance anxiety:Dont underestimate the emotional roller coaster of prostate cancer surgery and recovery. Its normal to worry about sex after prostate cancer. Being open and honest with your partner will help.

Keep in mind that your overall health, age, and present ED status are all factors in your recovery to sex after prostate surgery.

Less commonly, the prostate cancer tumor may bulge to one or both sides of the prostate gland, making nerve-sparing surgery extremely difficult or impossible.

Dr. Samadi will help you understand your exact prostate cancer status and the position and size of your tumor. In some cases, a nerve graft can be performed to regenerate the penile nerves for sex after prostate surgery.

Changes in mood and libido:The psychological impact of surgery can be significant this will leave you tired and irritable, not in the mood for sex so you will need to move towards intimacy slowly and your desire will return back to normal.