Understanding cancer
Prostate cancer
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The prostate is a gland that men have just below their bladder. It's about the size and shape of a walnut and produces the fluid that carries sperm in semen.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men, but it often causes no problems letting many men live out their lives with no need for intervention. However, aggressive forms of the disease require treatment to stop it spreading to other parts of the body. It is therefore important to watch out for the symptoms of prostate cancer, especially as you get older because the risk increases with age.
Signs and symptoms
- Need to urinate often especially during the night
- Urgent need to urinate
- Pain or difficulty passing urine
- Blood in the semen or urine
- Pain in the back, hips or pelvis (can indicate the cancer has spread to the bones)
A tumour needs to be quite large to affect urine function, so you should not to wait before seeing your doctor if you do have any symptoms. Sometimes the first symptoms are those of a secondary cancer such as bone cancer, which means it has already spread. If you are worried about prostate cancer and are over 50, it may be worth having an annual health check that will identify risk factors or early signs of prostate cancer before any symptoms are apparent.
Diagnosis
Your GP can perform a number of tests to find out what is causing your symptoms. These include:
Blood tests for levels of PSA (prostate specific antigen) - these will be raised if you have a prostate problem.
Urine tests - to check there is no infection causing your symptoms.
A digital rectal examination - the doctor uses his finger to feel the size and shape of the prostate through the wall of your back passage.
Very often an enlarged prostate or tumour in the prostate is benign (non-cancerous). But if your doctor finds any problems following these initial tests, you may be referred for other investigations such as liver function tests, MRI scanning, isotope bone scanning or a chest x-ray.
Treatment
Treatment will depend on whether the cancer is contained in the prostate, if it has spread, and how far it has spread.
If the cancer is contained in the prostate, surgery can be used to remove it completely. However there are risks and side affects associated with removal of the prostate gland. Most oncologists in the UK recommend radical radiotherapy as the best way to treat prostate cancer. Radical means that the radiotherapy aims to destroy the tumour completely. New precision techniques such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) enable very effective treatment through pinpoint accuracy.
If the cancer has spread, treatment aims to control the cancer and manage symptoms. This often involves hormone therapy or chemotherapy.
Cancer Partners UK offers cancer treatment for a wide range of cancers using external beam radiotherapy. We use the uses the latest advancements in radiotherapy technology to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce side effects.
Find out more about the cancers we can treat using intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image guided radiotherapy (IGRT).
