Prostate Cancer Chemotherapy

Posted by in Prostat Chemotherapy Cancer on November 28, 2011

By Kate Savage

Chemotherapy is a treatment used to treat cancer by using drugs. Usually, it is used after surgery to control growth or reappearance of cancer cells. It is very systematic method in which drugs are entered through the blood stream and travels throughout the body to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is also used in combination that gives better results. You can go through chemotherapy at home, clinic or hospital. Duration of chemotherapy depends on the type, stage and current health of patient that it can be given as daily, weekly, monthly or an on-off schedule.

There are various types of cancers and prostate cancer is one of them, which is caused by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells that creates a tumor in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer begins mostly in the outer part of the prostate. It is common cancer and caused in men older than age 50. Prostate cancer chemotherapy is generally used as salvage treatment during hormone refractory prostate and for advanced prostate cancer. This treatment helps to extend the life and qualities of life.

It is salvage treatment and used when treatments like cryotherapy or prostate surgery fail. It is hormone therapy and once the patient begins it, the disease can be effectively controlled or even can be stopped for a period of time. Actual chemotherapy starts after this hormone therapy. Sometimes the disease may metastasize to the bone and is called as advanced prostate cancer with bone metastasis that can occur during hormone therapy treatment. Chemotherapy is used to treat the cells in the bones. Using chemotherapy drugs, we can relieve the pain associated with bone metastasis. Sometimes the radiation therapy is also used with chemotherapy.

There are some chemotherapy drugs that are used in advanced prostate cancer such as Mitozantrone, Doxorubicin, Vinblastine, Paclitaxel, Estramustine Phosphate and Etoposide. Draw back of chemotherapy is that it cannot be focused to any particular part of the body. Because this, the cells that divides quickly are getting affected, including hair follicles, bone marrow and skin gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes, chemotherapy gives side effects that may be severe and sometimes dangerous.

Chemotherapy causes side effects such as nausea, mouth sores, weight loss, hair loss, sensation to sun, omitting, menopause etc. However, chemotherapy can beneficial for patients having advance disease chemotherapy.

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Prostate Biopsy Procedure

Posted by in Prostate Cancer Treatment on November 28, 2011

By Lorelei L De Jesus

Are you one of the thousands of male patients who are experiencing the symptoms of prostate illness or have high PSA scores? Have you been recommended by your physician for biopsy yet still undecided whether or not you would go for it?

Well, this dilemma will always haunt you and the best way to work on it is to get to know more about the prostate biopsy procedure, and what goes with it. Your possible questions and their respective answers may be:

What is prostate biopsy? It is a test done to establish whether cancerous cells are present in the prostate.

How is it done? It is basically done by inserting a device into the rectum and a needle is shot through the thin lining that separates the colon and the prostate. The prostate is perforated or cut to obtain sample tissue for examination by the pathologist for possible presence of cancer cells.

Is it a painful procedure? Definitely it is. It is common for biopsies to involve 20 or more shots, each of whom is very painful. Local anesthesia may be inadequate to put off the pain so general or regional anesthesia is commonly used to maximize pain tolerance.

Are there potential risks associated with prostate biopsy?Yes, it being an invasive test, there are. One is the risk of spreading cancer cells. The tumor may need to be cut several times to get the adequate amount of tissue for screening. This repeated penetration is believed to cause cancer cells to spread into the path formed by the needle, or spill cancerous cells directly into the bloodstream. Second is it may lead to extremely painful and long-lasting infection which results from the damage done to prostate ducts every time the needle goes in. This can inflame an existing infection causing more damage to the prostate.

Side effects? Those who have had biopsy claim of decreased ejaculation, rising PSA scores, or even difficulty with erections or impotency. Even if they got a zero PSA readings after the biopsy, patients are still at risk of having these complications.

What if you decide against biopsy, are there alternatives to it? Yes, instead of going through this invasive, painful, and damaging procedure, you can start improving the health of your prostate by changing your diet to a most appropriate one (cutting on food with much of animal fats), changing your lifestyle to a prostate-healthy one, and taking on appropriate natural supplements available for shrinking the prostate.

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3 Medical Options for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Posted by in Prostate Cancer Treatment on November 28, 2011

By Andrew Bicknell

The treatment of prostate cancer is complex and depends on a multitude of issues that includes the grade and stage of the cancer along with the age, overall health and the type of treatment that the patient is comfortable with. For elderly men who may have a slow growing tumor or a low life expectancy the treatment may just be watching and waiting, along with keeping the man comfortable. There are three type of treatment for prostate cancer that includes surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone manipulation.

Surgery:

Surgery for prostate cancer includes several types of prostatectomies. For men in the early stages of the disease the cure may be as easy as having a prostatectomy. There are four types of prostatectomies.

• A radical prostatectomy involves removal of the prostate, prostatic capsule, seminal vesicles, and a portion of the bladder neck. Many men experience varying degrees of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

• A retropubic prostatectomy is most often performed because it allows adequate control of bleeding, visualization of the prostate bed and bladder neck, and access to pelvic lymph nodes.

• A perineal prostatectomy is often the preferred choice for older men or men who might be poor surgical risks. This approach takes less time and there is less bleeding.

• A suprapubic prostatectomy is used if problems with the bladder are expected, but otherwise is seldom used. It is more difficult to control any bleeding because the surgical approach is through the bladder.

Radiation:

If the cancer is stage 3, or locally advanced beyond the prostatic capsule, treatment by surgery becomes somewhat controversial because of the likelihood of hidden lymph node metastasis and relapse. A prostatectomy, if performed, is used to help relieve urinary obstruction, but not to treat the cancer.

Radiation therapy may be used as a primary treatment for prostate cancer. Long term problems of impotence and urinary incontinence may be avoided and survival rates are comparable to that of surgical treatment.

Radiation may be delivered either by an external beam or interstitial implants of radioactive seeds of iodine, gold, palladium, or iridium. Interstitial radiation has a lower risk of impotence and rectal damage than external beam radiation.

Radiation has a palliative role for men with metastatic prostate cancer, reducing the size of bone metastasis, controlling pain, and restoring function, such as continence.

Hormonal Therapy:

Androgen depravation therapy is used to treat advanced prostate cancer. Many cells in the growing tumor are androgen dependent and either stop growing or die if deprived of androgens. Other cancer cells, unfortunately, thrive without androgen and are unaffected by therapy to reduce circulating androgens. The effects of hormone therapy can vary from complete but temporary regression of the tumor to no response at all.

The key to successful prostate cancer treatment is early detection and treatment. This is why it is so important for men in their 40s and older to go to their doctor for regular prostate exams. Cancer of the prostate can be successfully treated if caught in its early stages of development.

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