Prostate Cancer - Treatment

Surviving Prostate Cancer – What you need to know

On being diagnosed Several questions come to mind when diagnosed with prostate Cancer First of all we would ask the doctor how serious is the Cancer. It affects the walnut-size gland that sits beneath the bladder. The three most widely used indicators of severity in men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer are total prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, whether the cancer can be felt on digital rectal exam (DRE) and an estimate of the cancer volume and the appearance of the cancer cells obtained by biopsy (Gleason score)

What is your PSA So called Prostate Specific Antigen is a protein produced by cells in the prostate and in very small amounts, by cells elsewhere in the body. PSA was discovered in 1979 and became widely used as a measure of prostate disease in the late 1980’s. Orgasm and Ejaculation may increase PSA so for this reason men are advised not to ejaculate for two days prior to having a PSA test. Many Urologists use age-corrected limits for normal PSA levels, recognizing that age increases or decreases the PSA. The following have been recommended: Age 40-49 limit of 2.5 and so on and so forth keep increasing by 1 with an increase in age by 10 years.

Surgical Treatment the surgical removal of prostate cancer has for many years been the most common treatment. It is the only real hope that surgery is the permanent cure. It can be done either between the back of the scrotum and the anus or the abdominal incision and it takes 2 to 3 hours for the operation.

Things to do prior to surgery

• Check your insurance limit
• Discuss anesthesia options with your surgeon
• Stop medications related to aspirin at least ten days prior to surgery