What causes Prostate Cancer? The exact cause is unknown, We do know that prostate cancer is a group of cancerous cells (a tumor) that begins most often in the outer part of the prostate.EARLY prostate cancer usually does not cause any symptoms. But as the tumor grows, it may spread from the outer part of the prostate to the inner part of the prostate, eventually putting pressure on areas such as the urethra.This may block the flow of urine from the bladder and cause other urinary problems, which are usually the first symptoms of the prostate cancer.
If untreated, the cancer can spread from the prostate to nearby lymph nodes, bones, or other organs. this spread is called METASTASIS. As a result of Metastasis, many men experience aches and pains in the pelvis, hips,back, and other bones.
Symptoms can be the following.
Frequent urination (especially at night)
weak urinary stream
Inability to urinate
interpretation of urinary stream (stopping and starting)
pain or burning on urination
blood in the urine
When in doubt go see your doctor: And it may be necessary to have a biopsy Gleason reading. If the results of the digital rectal exam (DRE) and/or the Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test suggest a possibility of prostate cancer, a biopsy may be necessary. In a biopsy, a needle is used to remove a small amount of tissue from the prostate.this tissue is examined under a microscope to see if cancer cells are present. Only a biopsy can be performer in the physicians office and usually causes no more discomfort than a visit to the dentist. ( so said my resources).. No anesthetic is required. Keep in mind that it is still possible to have cancer, even if a biopsy is negative, because the cancer cells may not have progressed enough to be detected by a microscope. If the prostate cancer is found, the tumor is graded in the medical lab. The grade indicates how different the cancer cells appear, compared to normal cells, when seen through a microscope.Sometimes you will hear a grade referred to as the GLEASON GRADE.
The Gleason Grade ranges from 1 through 5 and based on how much the arrangement of the cancer cells mimics the way the normal prostate cells form the glands of the prostate. The number 1- indicates that the cancer cells clusters resemble the small, regular, evenly spaced glands of normal prostate tissue. If the cancer cells seem to spread haphazardly throughout the prostate, they receive a Gleason grade of 5..Prostate cancer often have areas with different grades.therefore, a grade is assigned to the two areas that make up the most cancer.These two grades are added together to yield a Gleason Score, between 2 and 10.Scores of 3 through 4 are often grouped together as low, 5-6 are intermediate: and scores of 7-10 are considered high.
STAGING is the assessment of the size and location of prostate cancer (that is,how far the cancer has already spread) Staging is necessary for you and your physician to decided what type of treatment is most appropriate.,Currently , two different systems are used to stage prostate cancer.
The traditional method classifies the disease into 4-clinical categories rated through, A- D.The second is called TNM, which stands for TUMOR-NODES-METASTASES.Although TNM is the more accepted staging system, the A-D is still used. The A-D the tumor is located within the prostate gland and cannot be detected by a digital rectal examination. In B- the tumor is considered to be within the prostate but is lkarge enough to be felt during a digital rectal examination. IN C- the cancer is more advanced, indicating it has spread outside the prostate to some surrounding tissues.And like the above detected. In stage D, the cancer has spread to the nearby organs and usually to distant sites, such as the bones or lymph nodes.
TNM takes into consideration tumor size (T) and whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes (N) pr metastasized to distant sites in the body (M).The tumor size is graded on a scale of 1-4.
T-1 are confined to the prostate gland but are so small that they cannot be felt during the above examination. or detected by ultrasound. T-2 is confined to the prostate, but is large enough to be detected,T-3 and T-4 prostate cancers have spread beyond the prostate into surrounding areas.
Lymph node involvement is graded on a scale of 0-3. No means that cancer has spread into the lymph,ph nodes: the number and size of lymph nodes involved dictates whether the cancer is N1,N2,or N3,
Metastasis is rated 0-1. MO means no metastasis has occurred: M-1 indicates metastasis to a different distant location, such as the spinal column.
More later as I find time to post them.. Miz judy
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