Prostate Health Information http://prostatehealthinfo.net Healthy Prostate Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:12:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 What Is The Best Prostate Cancer Treatment http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321066/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/what-is-the-best-prostate-cancer-treatment-2.php/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:12:00 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=114 What is the best prostate cancer treatment? This question has haunted millions of men and their doctors for well over one hundred years. And the thing is there may not be a definitive answer for the question. However, it is the intent of this article to give you food for thought and might help you form some questions to ask your doctor.

First let’s get this out of the way. This article is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. As always with a physical illness you should consult your personal physician right away. Now you can read on for more information.

There are many factors which have to be taken under consideration, by you and your medical team, before locking in the proper treatment for you. What makes this difficult is each individual man diagnosed with prostate cancer is going to be different from the other guy. One guy may be in almost perfect health, except for the beginning stage of the malignancy. The next guy may have other life threatening diseases, which will restrict the type of treatment to be given.

Now here is one thing which may well upset you. Depending on what stage your prostate cancer is in your Doctor may well prescribe not to do anything. That’s right! He may just want you to wait and watch. The reason for this is prostate cancer is so slow growing and the symptoms are so slow developing, he may not know which treatment may be the best for you. However, this period of watching will make sure your team of medical professionals gets your treatment right, the first time around.

Now that you are over your shock here is some more information which may ease your mind.

The truth is the best prostate cancer treatment may well only be one type of treatment or it may be a combination of several. In other words again depending on the stage level of your illness one or more treatments will be recommended. This can be a complex decision so you may want to get a second opinion. Don’t hesitate to get that 2nd opinion if you are uncomfortable with your team’s recommendation. In the next few moments you will read more about some of these treatments or combinations thereof.

Depending on whether your cancer has spread into the close surrounding tissue of the prostrate or has remained localized (remain inside the prostate) radiotherapy by itself may be used. This treatment is administered by a focused x-ray beam directly to the prostate gland. It can also be used if the tumor has masticated and infected the immediate surrounding tissue or lymph’s of the prostate.

Although some of the tumor has broken off and spread to the tissues it still may be considered to be localized. When this does happen the most effective treatment may be a combination of radiotherapy and perhaps hormone therapy. This means the infected areas will receive radioactive waves plus a hormone which will block the male testosterone being release into the prostate.

However, you may also find your medical team will recommend the above treatment combined with a radical prostatectomy. What this means for you is of course removal of the prostate and the radioactive treatment to the surrounding tissues. With the advances made in medical technology, such as laser beams, the prostatectomy can be performed with little or no damage done to the surrounding nerves and nerve endings.

That is really good news for the majority of men now, as it means you will not have anywhere near the problems with erectile dysfunction, as so many did in the past years.

In conclusion common sense tells you that you have many options as for as to the treatment you will receive for prostate cancer. But as stated above it is important for you to consult your medical team before deciding on the best prostate cancer treatment.

]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/what-is-the-best-prostate-cancer-treatment-2.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/what-is-the-best-prostate-cancer-treatment-2.php/ REVIEW OF PROSTATE CANCER PREVENTION STUDY SHOWS NO BENEFIT FOR USE OF SELENIUM AND VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTS http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321067/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/review-of-prostate-cancer-prevention-study-shows-no-benefit-for-use-of-selenium-and-vitamin-e-supplements.php/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:51:20 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=110 Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health shows that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer. The data also showed two concerning trends: a small but not statistically significant increase in the number of prostate cancer cases among the over 35,000 men age 50 and older in the trial taking only vitamin E and a small, but not statistically significant increase in the number of cases of adult onset diabetes in men taking only selenium. Because this is an early analysis of the data from the study, neither of these findings proves an increased risk from the supplements and both may be due to chance.

The Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), an international network of research institutions, coordinates SELECT at more than 400 clinical sites in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

SELECT participants are receiving letters explaining the study review and telling them to stop taking their study supplements. Participants will continue to have their health monitored by study staff, which may include regular digital rectal exams and PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests to detect prostate cancer. Investigators intend to follow the participants for about three years to determine the long-term effects of having taken either supplement or placebo and to complete a biorepository of blood samples that will be used in extensive molecular analyses to give researchers a better understanding of prostate cancer, other cancers, and other diseases of male aging. This additional data collection is a vital part of the study.

Neither the men nor their physicians know which supplements or placebos the men have been taking, a procedure known as blinding or masking. As followup of the SELECT participants continues, the participants will continue to be blinded. A blinded followup may avoid unintentional bias and potentially false conclusions. However, at the request of a participant, they will be informed which supplement, if any, they received.

“SELECT was always designed as a study that would answer more than a single question about prostate cancer,” said Eric Klein, M.D., a study co-chair for SELECT, and a physician at the Cleveland Clinic. “As we continue to monitor the health of these 35,000 men, this information may help us understand why two nutrients that showed strong initial evidence to be able to prevent prostate cancer did not do so.”

SELECT was undertaken to substantiate earlier, separate findings from studies in which prostate cancer was not the primary outcome: a 1998 study of 29,133 male smokers in Finland who took vitamin E to prevent lung cancer surprisingly showed 32 percent fewer prostate cancers in men who took the supplement, and a 1996 study of 1,312 men and women with skin cancer who took selenium for prevention of the disease showed that men who took the supplement had 52 percent fewer prostate cancers than men who did not take the supplement.

Based on these and other earlier findings, in 2001, men were recruited to participate in SELECT. They were randomly assigned to take one of four sets of supplements or placebos, with more than 8,000 men in each group. One group took both selenium and vitamin E; one took selenium and a vitamin E placebo; one took vitamin E and a selenium placebo; and the final group received placebos of both supplements.

It should be noted that in 2003, while SELECT was recruiting men, a different SWOG-sponsored study reported that the drug finasteride reduced the incidence of prostate cancer by 25 percent. When this was discovered, men on SELECT were informed and allowed to take finasteride. Finasteride has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prostate cancer prevention.

Except for skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States. In 2008, there will be an estimated 186,320 new cases of prostate cancer and 28,660 deaths from this disease in the United States. “Finding methods to prevent and treat prostate cancer remains a priority for the NCI, and with the aid of new molecular diagnostic tools and applications, we hope to continue to make headway in reducing deaths and new cases of this disease,” said NCI director John E. Niederhuber, M.D. “The science of cancer prevention is also leading toward individualized, molecular prevention, in which we will calculate risk and design preventive steps based on an individual’s genome.”

SELECT has been funded by NCI for $114 million, with additional monies from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and with substudies funded and conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Aging and the National Eye Institute at NIH. The substudies were evaluating the effects of selenium and vitamin E on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the development of Alzheimer’s disease, and the development of macular degeneration and cataracts, and will continue without participants taking study supplements. An NCI-funded substudy is looking at the effects of the supplements on men who developed colon polyps.

“The SELECT trial owes a tremendous debt to our volunteers, the thousands of men who offered their time and enthusiastic participation, all in the interest of a future when prostate cancer can be prevented,” said Laurence H. Baker, D.O., chairman of the Southwest Oncology Group. SELECT investigators are analyzing the data and will submit the analysis for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

For a Q&A on SELECT, please go to <http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/SELECTQandA>.

The Southwest Oncology Group (www.swog.org) is one of the largest cancer clinical trials cooperative groups in the United States. Funded by research grants from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, the group conducts clinical trials to prevent and treat cancer in adults, and to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. The group’s network of more than 5,000 physician-researchers practice at nearly 550 institutions, including 18 NCI-designated cancer centers. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. (734-998-7130), the group has an operations office in San Antonio, Tex., and a statistical center in Seattle, Wash.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s mission is to explore complementary and alternative medical practices in the context of rigorous science, train CAM researchers, and disseminate authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCAM’s Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCAM Web site at <nccam.nih.gov>.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at <http://www.cancer.gov> or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <www.nih.gov>.

]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/review-of-prostate-cancer-prevention-study-shows-no-benefit-for-use-of-selenium-and-vitamin-e-supplements.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/review-of-prostate-cancer-prevention-study-shows-no-benefit-for-use-of-selenium-and-vitamin-e-supplements.php/ Three Common Prostate Disorders http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321068/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/three-common-prostate-disorders.php/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:11:21 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=103 There are three prostate problems that are commonly found in men after the age of 40.  These three disorders have different symptoms and you may not experience any symptoms.  Prostatitis means an inflamed prostate.  Any times there is fever or you just feel tired your body could be fighting an infection in the body.  Other symptoms and signs may be a burning feeling when you urinate, a frequent need to urinate, and your prostate may feel swollen and warm.  Inflammation anywhere in your body means it is fighting germs, bacteria, or trying to repair an injury.

Bacteria caused prostatitis can be detected by a microscopic examination of a urine sample.  If is determined you have bacteria prostatitis your doctor will give you a prescription for an antibiotic.  If you continue to get infections, you may have a defect in your prostate gland that allows bacteria to grow freely.  If you have a defect in your prostate gland, it can be corrected by surgery.  Many times if you have a problem in urinating the doctor won’t find bacteria and could be caused by kidney stones or cancer.
The doctor may decide you don’t have any other reasons for an inflamed prostate so could give you a diagnosis of nonbacterial prostatitis.  Unfortunately, antibiotics will not help a nonbacterial prostatitis.  Your doctor may advise you to change your diet or try taking warm baths to ease your symptoms.  An alpha-blocker may be prescribed to help relax the muscle tissue in the prostate.  Treatment may vary for each person.

BPH or enlarged prostate normally appears in men over 50.  The first signs of an enlarged prostate are a problem with starting urination.  A man’s prostate can grow and as it does it squeezes the urethra.  The urethra passes through the prostate gland and as it grows it puts pressure on the urethra causing problems with urination.  The following are common symptoms of BPH or enlarged prostate:
Getting up several times at night to urinate.
Feeling the frequent need to urinate.
Trouble starting a stream of urine even if you had to rush to a bathroom
The stream of urine is weak
Leaking or dribbling
Feeling the urge to urinate again after you have finished urinating
A small amount of blood seen in the urine

BPH is not serious by itself.  The symptoms of BPH and prostate cancer are the same.  If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of BPH you should see your doctor to be sure you are not in the early stages of prostate cancer. 

If the symptoms are making your life miserable it can be treated with medication prescribed by your doctor.  If you are not able to urinate at all, see your doctor immediately.  Being unable to urinate can occur after taking an over-the counter cold or allergy medicine.  BPH can lead to serious problems such as urinary tract infections and occasionally BPH can lead to kidney damage.  A doctor will be able to perform tests to see if you are suffering from BPH or something more serious such as prostate cancer.

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/three-common-prostate-disorders.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/three-common-prostate-disorders.php/ Treatments for prostate cancer http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321069/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatments-for-prostate-cancer.php/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:03:44 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=97 Prostate cancer is the second biggest cancer related killer in males over sixty, yet many men do not look after themselves well enough and seek help when it is needed. Luckily there are many treatments available for those suffering with prostate cancer, a lot of which can totally eradicate the condition.

To show how invasive each treatment is we will go through each treatment from least invasive to most invasive.

Watchful waiting

Watchful waiting, also known as active surveillance, is a treatment where the doctors just keep and active eye on the illness to see how it is progressing and is normally chosen for only one of two reasons.

Reason one  The cancer is in its infancy and the tumor is small, confined and expected to grow very slowly

Reason two  The patient has a separate medical condition that means surgery would be worse for the patient than the current suffering.

Hormonal Therapy

Testosterone drives the male sex drive and it also stimulates prostate cancer cells, as they are hormone dependant. If the testosterone hormone can be blocked it will reduce the speed the cancerous cells can grow.

These therapies can work in three ways, one is through an oral tablet, which reduces the testosterone production in the testes, two is antiandrogen therapy to block the effects of testosterone and number three is to totally remove the testes completely.

Radiation

Using Gamma rays, the medical professionals try to kill every possible cancerous cell; this is completed in one of two ways.

One-way is to have small-radiated rod inserted into the prostate and left for a period of time to kill the cancerous cells.

The second way is to use an external radiation beam to concentrate on the area from outside the body.

Prostectomy

The procedure for prostectomy is a surgical one and involves totally removing the prostate gland; this is normally carried out early on in the cancer lifecycle, as the surgery cannot be completed if the cancer has moved to other areas of the body.

Chemotherapy

The most dangerous of all the therapies, chemotherapy, needs to be administered carefully as the drugs damage and destroy the cancerous cells, and if given in the wrong doses can kill healthy cells too.

The end product

A lot of these treatments are quite invasive and dangerous in their own way, in some cases the side affects to having these treatments can be quite drastic. It has been known for people to suffer with impotence, erectile dysfunction and loss of sexual appetite from having these different treatments.

The after affects of this can be quite devastating on an emotional level as the male takes time to get used to the after affects the treatment caused, in some cases this requires counseling to alleviate any stress, depression or anger.

What is important though is that the cancer is eradicated, once it has gone the person suffering can sleep easily knowing they have managed to escape one of the biggest killers that men have to face alone.

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatments-for-prostate-cancer.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatments-for-prostate-cancer.php/ Prostate Cancer Treatment http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321070/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/prostate-cancer-treatment.php/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:23:14 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=93 Prostate exams are a simple and straightforward procedure and can be conducted in a doctor’s office without any need for medical equipment or urine or blood testing. Since every year an average of two-hundred and fifty thousand men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is very important that all men receive regular prostate exams. The necessity of receiving prostate exams also increases as one ages.
“Active Surveillance” is the medical term for watching a patient’s cancer, but not taking action until the condition worsens or expands. Active Surveillance is used when a patient may not be able to undergo treatment because of complications from other conditions, or is otherwise unable to receive cancer treatment.
The most direct route to end prostate problems is to remove the entire prostate, a procedure known as a prostatectomy. An incision is made behind the pubic bone and a portion of the prostate or the entire gland itself is removed. The urethra is then connected directly to the bladder, but a catheter is often necessary in order to allow the patient’s body time to adapt to the new setup of its urinary system.
Without resorting to invasive surgery, radiation therapy can treat prostate cancer from the outside. An MRI or CAT scan is used to plot the exact location of the tumor or affected cells, and intense bursts of x-rays are used to destroy these cells. Intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, is a form of radiation that can be used to full effect on the majority of the cancer cells, but can be toned back to lessen the danger to cells in proximity to the bladder or rectum.
Brachytherapy is another form of radiation therapy, albeit one that involves actually inserting objects into the body. Radioactive pellets are injected into the prostate, and the radiation that they emit kills the cancer-infected cells. After a period of time, the radioactivity of these “seeds” fades, and the leftover pellets are completely harmless.
Another technique is called hormone therapy, and involves restricting the amount of testosterone that the body produces or that is directed to help the prostate gland grow. The most extreme version of this procedure is called orchiectomy, and involves actually removing the testicles. Since they produce ninety-percent of the body’s testosterone, this method is very effective, but considering that the testicles must be removed, most men opt for another procedure. There are also drugs that halt production of testosterone derivatives, but these are not as effective as an orchiectomy, and some may have to be administered in frequent injections.
As with other forms of cancer, chemotherapy is also an option. However, up until fairly recently, chemotherapy was considered only as an option for men who have stopped responding to other prostate cancer treatments. New studies are being conducted using chemotherapy drugs that have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in a new capacity specifically to fight prostate cancer.
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer is by no means a small matter, but with modern surgery and medicine, there are many different options, and one’s chances for survival are extremely high.

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/prostate-cancer-treatment.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/prostate-cancer-treatment.php/ Understanding Staging and Grades of Prostate Cancer http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321071/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/understanding-staging-and-grades-of-prostate-cancer.php/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:40:59 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=86 A biopsy is needed to confirm that prostate cancer is present in your body. After the diagnosis is confirmed, it is classified into grades. All of this grading, staging, and PSA level can be confusing. We will try to help you make sense of the information you are being bombarded with.

First, PSA is a substance made in the prostate gland. The PSA level is usually low unless the patient has a higher count. A higher PSA level often signals a problem with the prostate and possibly cancer.

 

Cancers are graded which is a mark of the differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. These cells are inspected through a microscope and graded on a “Gleason” grade. The Gleason grading system uses a range from 1 to 5. If your cancer is graded as 1, it means the cancer cells that are clustered together look like normal prostate tissue. If the cancer cells do not resemble normal cells at all, the grade could be a 5. Doctors will examine the two areas of the prostate that has cancer cells and grade them individually. Those grades are then added together and will be on a scale from 2 to 10. A low Gleason score means that your cancer is a slow growing cancer. If it is a high-grade, your number is high on the grading scale; it means the cancer could be more aggressive in its growth. 

Staging is another measurement that your doctor will talk to you about. Staging is rating the size of the cancer and where it is found. It also will tell you if the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the bones, or other organs in the body. Staging is necessary so you and your doctor can decide how aggressive your treatment should be and which treatment is best for you. 

There are two methods used to stage prostate cancer. There is a traditional method that classifies into four categories, A through D, and the second is TNM. This acronym stands for Tumor-Nodes-Metastases. The staging for the A-D method is:

  • A is early cancer. It means the cancer is only found within the prostate gland and cannot be felt by a rectal exam.

  • B is the stage when the tumor is found in the prostate gland and can be felt during a rectal exam.

  • In Stage C, the cancer is more advanced and has spread outside the prostate to surrounding tissue. Stage C cancer has not spread to lymph nodes or other organs.

  • Stage D is the most serious stage. It means the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and other sites in the body. That can include the ribs, spine, or other bones or organs. 

TNM staging is a little simpler method. It looks at the tumor stage (T), if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes (N) and if the cancer has metastasized (M) to other sites of the body. Tumor stages are ranked as 1-4, lymph node involvement is graded N for zero, or 0-3. Metastasis is rated O or 1. MO means there has not been any metastasis and M1 means it has traveled to another location in the body

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/understanding-staging-and-grades-of-prostate-cancer.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/understanding-staging-and-grades-of-prostate-cancer.php/ Surgical Treatment for an Enlarged Prostate http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321072/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/surgical-treatment-for-an-enlarged-prostate.php/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:55:34 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=80 Patients with BPH may need removal of the enlarged part of the prostate by surgical methods. It is normally the best long-term solution for some patients with BPH. This surgery only removes the portion of the prostate gland that is pressing against the urethra tube. The rest of the gland is left intact as well as the outside capsule. There are different forms of surgery that are used in treating enlarged prostate glands.

Transurethral surgery is a type that does not need an external cut. After anesthesia is given the surgeon can reach the prostate by inserting the surgical instrument through the urethra tube. Another form of surgery is the transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP. This method is used for 90 percent of all surgeries to correct BPH. An instrument called a resetoscope is inserted through the penis and uses a light and valves for controlling irrigating fluid, and a small electric loop to cut the tissue and seal blood vessels. The instrument is about 12 inches long and ½ inch in diameter. This method of surgery takes about 90 minutes and the excess tissue from the gland is taken to the bladder then flushed after surgery. Most doctors prefer this method because it causes fewer traumas to the body and has a shorter recovery time.

 A third form of surgery is called transurethral incision of the prostate or TUIP. It is another minimally invasive form of surgery. Instead of removing excess prostate tissue it widens the urethra by making a few small cuts in the neck of the bladder. The cuts are made where the urethra joins the bladder and in the prostate gland. This form of surgery is still not been proved to give the same relief as TURP or to cause fewer side effects. Doctors believe that it reduces the chance of backward ejaculation where the semen flows backward into the bladder during climax instead of out the urethra.

 When the three above methods of surgery cannot be used, the doctor or specialist may recommend using a surgery that requires an incision. If the prostate gland is extremely enlarged, open surgery may be the only way to correct the problem. Open surgery may be needed if the bladder needs repaired or there are other complications. The place of the enlargement and the patients healthy will be deciding factors to which surgical method is chosen by your surgeon.

 The FDA approved laser surgery in 1996. It uses side-firing lasers to destroy any prostate tissue that is obstructing the urethra. The bursts of energy are delivered by using a cystoscope and each burst lasts between 30 and 60 seconds. The laser causes shrinkage and destroys prostate tissue. There is an advantage of using laser surgery. Very little blood is lost during this surgery and it allows for a quicker recovery time. Doctors are concerned that laser surgery may not be effective on larger prostates. New procedures involving lasers are being used and results have been good

]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/surgical-treatment-for-an-enlarged-prostate.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/surgical-treatment-for-an-enlarged-prostate.php/ Treatment for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321073/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatment-for-benign-prostatic-hyperplasia.php/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:17:56 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=73 Men with symptoms of BPH will normally need treatment at some point in their life.There are researchers who question early treatment and believe if the prostate is only slightly enlarged you should take a wait and see attitude.  They believe some symptoms of BPH may clear up without treatment.  If you are taking a wait and see attitude, be sure you have regular checkups to watch for any serious problems.  Treatment can be started if the disease becomes uncomfortable or causing inconveniences in his life and career.

BPH can also cause urinary tract infections but these can be treated with an antibiotic.  Most doctors will recommend treatment if the enlarged prostate causes health concerns for the patient. 

Researchers and scientists have been looking for ways to shrink the prostate gland or at least stop its growth without using surgery.  There are drugs available approved by the Federal Drug Administration.  At least six have been approved since 1992.  Four of these drugs belong in the alpha-blocker class and were first approved to treat high blood pressure. They all act by relaxing the smooth muscle of the prostate and bladder neck.  Relaxation will help improve the flow of urine and reduce bladder obstacles.  Often treatment will include a two-drug therapy because a combination of two drugs has been found effective in treating BPH.

Another form of treatment may be effective if the medications did not help the problem.  Doctors have found a less invasive way of reducing symptoms other than conventional surgery.  In 1996 the FDA approved the use of microwaves to destroy excess prostate tissue using heat.  Thermo therapy uses a device that sends microwaves through a catheter to heat portions of the prostate.  The temperature reaches 111 degrees Fahrenheit and is focused on preselected parts of the prostate gland.  A cooling system is used to protect the urinary tract while the procedure is being done.  This procedure usually takes about one hour and is performed as an outpatient surgery without general anesthesia.  This procedure causes few if any sexual side effects.  This procedure will not cure BPH but will help urinating often and intermittent flow.  It will not fix the problem of the bladder not emptying  Long-term results have not yet been determined and research will decide who is a candidate for this procedure.

Another noninvasive treatment uses a needle to send radio frequency energy through the needles to burn away portions of the enlarged prostate.  The method is known as trans- urethral needle ablation (TUNA) relieves symptoms with few side effects or problems with having an erection.

Therapy using heated water also helps destroy excess tissue in the prostate gland.  A catheter with multiple shafts is positioned in the urethra and a treatment balloon rests in the middle of the prostate.  The water temperature is controlled by a computer and heats the tissue surrounding the balloon.  Any tissue that is destroyed is passed through urination or is absorbed into the body.  These are noninvasive treatments for BPH.

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatment-for-benign-prostatic-hyperplasia.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/treatment-for-benign-prostatic-hyperplasia.php/ Tips About Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321074/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/tips-about-prostate-cancer-radiation-treatment.php/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:24:52 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=45 Astonishingly enough prostate cancer radiation treatment (also referred to as Radiotherapy) may not be the best treatment for you if you have prostate cancer. In fact, depending on your age and health it may be years before radiation treatment becomes necessary. Radiation therapy is only one of the therapies you and your doctor will have to decide on. These tips will give you an idea of which type of therapy or combination of therapy you should ask your doctor about.

First a note of caution:

This article is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. As always with a physical illness you should consult your personal physician right away. Please read on.

One of the first things you need to know is a prostate malignancy is perhaps one of the slowest growing tumors of all the other cancers. Because it is so slow growing years may pass with out any noticeable growth of the tumor. When this happens your doctor will generally tell you that you are in Stage One of the disease.

This means your attending physician may well take a “wait and see” attitude. Before, he or she, decide what course of action is to be taken. You may even think the doctor is being somewhat cavalier about the whole thing. Rest assured though your doctor is not being cavalier. He or she is doing what most practicing physicians will do when you are first diagnosed with prostrate cancer and making the decision if prostate cancer radiation treatment is needed.

During this “wait and see” period your doctor will monitor you closely. There are several tests your physician will use to do this. Actually there is no one test which can determine on its own if you have prostate cancer. Perhaps the most common one is a test known as the Digital Rectal Examination.

More than likely this is the test your doctor may have used to decide you may have a problem with your prostate. This test is quite simple, but uncomfortable, requires the doctor to insert a gloved finger up the rectum. Doing so enables, he or she, to feel the prostate and tumors, thus enabling them to tell if there has been a change in the size of the tumor or additional tumors have formed. There are other tests such as the PSA blood test.

The PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a protein which is produced by (you guest it) the prostate gland. Small amounts of the protein pass into the body through the blood.
A normal PSA count, in the blood, is between zero and four.

However, depending on your age it could be higher. Once it reaches a level of 10 or more it can indicate the possibility of prostate cancer. But the truth is other physical conditions could also have the level that high, that is why a PSA test is not the only test used to detect the malignancy. Additional blood test and other test or used to finalize the diagnoses and form a plan of attack on the disease.

One form of attack may be the use of prostate cancer radiation treatment. The Radiotherapy is when your doctor will use a high intensity x-ray to beam radiation directly onto the prostate. This is done in small doses of a few minutes duration at a time. In most cases you will be able to return home the same day. Normally this therapy will be recommended if the disease is localized instead of surgery.

As you have read, there are many tests and other factors, which your doctor must consider, before deciding if prostate cancer radiation treatment should be your plan of attack.

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]]> http://prostatehealthinfo.net/tips-about-prostate-cancer-radiation-treatment.php/feed/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/tips-about-prostate-cancer-radiation-treatment.php/ Tips About Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ProstateHealthInformation/~3/482321075/ http://prostatehealthinfo.net/tips-about-prostate-cancer-hormone-therapy-2.php/#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:18:33 +0000 admin http://prostatehealthinfo.net/?p=43 What is the truth about prostate cancer hormone therapy? As a man between the age of 50 and 100 plus you may well have to ask yourself that question? Because the fact is if you live in North America you may be the 1 out of 6 men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

These tips will give you some free information and a question or two to ask your doctor if it should happen to you.

This article is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. As always with a physical illness you should consult your personal physician right away. Please read on for more information.

It is important for you to understand what hormonal therapy is and what it can do. The primary purpose of course is to treat prostate cancer. It does this by blocking androgens (male hormones). One such hormone is testosterone and it is one of the culprits which feed the cancer and causes the prostrate cancer to grow.

Normally what can happen when the hormonal treatment works is it will cause the tumors to shrink and slow down the spread of the malignancy. One of the questions you need to ask your doctor is to fully explain what prostate cancer hormonal therapy is and what it can do for you. More than likely he will tell you there is more than one option for the hormonal treatment.

One of the primary types of hormonal treatment is the removal of the testacies. The testes produce more than 95% of the male’s testosterone. Ironically, because the testes produce the majority of the testosterone, this treatment is classified, by the medical professionals, as hormonal treatment instead of a surgical operation.

However, the formal name of this procedure is called Orchidectomy (you know it as surgical castration). Your doctor will explain the operating team will remove your testicles through a small incision in your scrotum. The next question you need to ask the doctor is “What are the side effects of this type of hormonal therapy?”

Unfortunately your medical practitioner will explain, your natural desire for sex will be gone and you will be impotent. Also you may well experience hot flashes as this is a very common side effect of sexual castration.

However don’t give up on hormonal therapy yet. You will find when talking to your physicians there are other options or rather a different type of hormonal treatment. This treatment is called Medical Castration.

This treatment will use injections of LHRH Agonists which will turn off production of the male hormones in the testes. The good news about this procedure is it is can be effective without the surgical removal of the testicles. However, it will also reduce your sexual drive, cause impotence and the dreaded hot flashes.

But it is believed by many medical professionals the Medical Castration treatment may be reversed. This is done by discontinuing the injections. Once that has occurred the body will start producing testosterone again. Depending on what your Doctor tells you this may be a good thing or not. Especially since the testosterone is what feeds the cancer and speeds up the spread of the malignancy.

As you have read there are many things you need to talk to your Doctor about. You need a full explanation which type of prostate cancer hormonal treatment will be best for you. Once you have all the information then you will be able to make an informed decision.

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