Most men are ignoring these early signs of prostate cancer. Know the symptoms now

1 in 8 men develop prostate cancer in their lifetime but the problem is that most of the symptoms are subtle. Here are early signs that men should not ignore

Prostate cancer is a cancer which develops in the prostate gland that is found in men and the incidence of it in India has been gradually rising, with incidences now between 5 to 9 per one lakh population globally where 1 in 8 men develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. The problem with prostate cancer is that most of the symptoms are subtle hence, most patients prostate cancer are seen coming to doctors with complaints of backache, which means they already have cancer that has spread to the bones of the spine.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Anil Heroor, HOD and Senior Consultant -Surgical Oncology at Fortis Hospital in Mulund, revealed, “A lot of these patients first go to an orthopaedic due to backache until they realise it is a symptom of cancer. In retrospect, they do have symptoms, which can connect to prostate cancer but unfortunately, those were ignored.”

Diagnosing Prostate Cancer:

Dr Anil Heroor shared, “Early prostate cancer does have symptoms like the frequency of urination increases. There may or may not be pain in the lower part of the abdomen, blood can pass in urine, there can be dribbling after passing of urine, and one may even find it difficult to pass urine. All these symptoms are related to the enlargement of the prostate gland. Hence, whenever one witness these symptoms, they should be prompt in consulting a doctor and getting themselves checked. This is because the benign enlargement of the prostate is the most common cause of these symptoms and there is a high percentage of cases in which there might be suffering from prostate cancer.”

Steps to take after symptoms arise:

Dr Anil Heroor suggested, “First, one should not delay and consult an Uro-Oncologist or a Surgical Oncologist because the best options can be given by these specialists. Secondly, a lot of patients will have what is called as a ‘benign prostatic hyperplasia’, which is a condition of just a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate but the chances of that happening are nearly 50 per cent in men over the age of 50 years, and can increase to almost 70 per cent in individuals over the age of 60 years. However, the incidence of prostate cancer is around one in eight, and hence if there is benign prostatic hyperplasia then one must rule out the chances of the prostate cancer.”

He added, “There are two ways in which one can rule out cancer, by doing test blood called as PSA which is Prostrate-Specific Antigen. This is a blood test which indicates quite significantly in prostate cancers, which are a little advanced. The second test is by undergoing a biopsy. While many people are afraid that biopsy may cause spread of the cancer, however, it is a myth. The biopsy involves putting a small needle into the prostate gland and taking a bit of tissue for testing. This will tell determine whether it is a benign prostatic hyperplasia or is a prostate cancer.”

Treatments:

According to Dr Anil Heroor, the treatment of prostate cancer is now advanced and there are of three kinds - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, including hormonal therapy. He elaborated:

• Surgery now is done with a robot hence, the morbidity and recovery are much better than before.
• Chemotherapy is given for stage 4 prostate cancer, especially when it’s not responding to hormonal therapy. It has evolved significantly and has fewer side effects.
• Radiation for prostate cancer can also be given with good cure rates.
• In patients who have advanced prostate cancer, hormonal manipulation is done which means suppression of the male hormone testosterone is done by giving injections or by removing the testes, which will result in control of the disease.

He concluded, “Overall, prostate cancer is something that is treated very well when it is diagnosed in early stages. The cure rate, if treated early, is of 90 percent. Hence, men must pay attention to the early symptoms of prostate cancer, get diagnosed early and get treated properly so that they can have complete cure from the disease.”