Know About Prostate Cancer In Elderly Men

The thought of writing something about eldercare today made me think it was appropriate to write prostate cancer that is very common among Americans and African American men. Early detection helps in successfully treating this type of cancer.

It is significant to note that early stages of prostate cancer does not show any symptoms; the elder would soon have trouble and pain in urinating,  frequent urination even at night, burning sensation while urinating,  blood in urine or semen and pain in the back, hips, or pelvis, and painful ejaculation.

In the presence of these symptoms the doctor may ask the elder questions about his past medical history and do a rectum examination of the prostrate; hard and lumpy areas could be a sign of cancer. He may also check the prostate-specific antigen level in the elder’s blood; a high level indicates an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer. An ultrasound and a biopsy may also be done to diagnose prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer may be treated by various ways that depends on whether the cancer has affected a part or whole of the prostate or spread to other parts of the body also. Also the treatment will depend on the health and age of the elder and about his own outlook of different types of treatments.

The following are the standard treatments for cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate:

a) An elder and his caretaker could wait and watch if the cancer is growing slowly and not causing problems. The doctor would regularly check for changes in the condition; elders with other medical problems could choose this option.

 

b) Surgery with removal of the prostate and nearby tissues or radical prostatectomy could be done. The immediate side-effects of it could be loss of sexual function (impotence) or incontinence. If incontinence continues for some time the elder will be required to wear a pad. Another similar surgery is nerve-sparing surgery that gives some men a better chance of keeping their sexual function.

c) The next treatment is radiation therapy that uses high energy x-ray to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation could be external radiation therapy where it is beamed on the prostate externally and internal radiation therapy where radioactive "seeds" that are placed in the prostate, into or near the tumor itself. Radiation therapy could cause problems of incontinence and rectal problems like pain, soreness, urgency and trouble controlling bowel movements.

d) Some men are also given hormone therapy after radiation therapy when it is suspected than the cancer will come back or the cancer has spread beyond the prostate. An elder who has undergone hormone therapy may experience side effects like hot flashes, loss of sexual function, and loss of desire for sex.

So do not overlook consulting a doctor if you or an elderly man experiences signs like frequent urge to urinate, painful or burning urination, blood in urine or semen, not able to urinate, painful ejaculation, dribbling of urine and frequent pain and stiffness of the lower back, hips or upper thighs.