A small step of awareness every day is worth more than a hundred pounds of cure. It’s true that we ever understand some illness like cancer, and we may never be able to cure it.
But what we must know is that, every small step of awareness counts and it can help us to avoid the health risk. Yes! We are going to talk about the early signs of prostate cancer as it is the second most common cancer found in men.
But due to lack of proper awareness, our nearest and dearest ones often get too late to diagnose it. So being little aware of the symptoms in early stages, is the only way that can save their life as there is a high chance of survival if they are diagnosed with prostate cancer at the first stage.
What is Prostate Gland?The prostate gland is a segment of the male reproductive system. It looks like an apricot and situated at the neck of the bladder and in front of the rectum. To a secret, a specific type of fluid that protects the sperm is one of the major tasks of the prostate gland.
Therefore we can say that it has a direct part in reproduction as far as male fertility is a concern. Prostate gland used to squeezes the fluid into the urethra at the time of ejaculation, and it comes out with sperm in the form of semen.
Types of Prostate Cancer:Adenocarcinoma or prostate cancer is a type of cancerous growth that occurs in the tissues of the prostate gland. Depending on the growth rate, there are two types of prostate cancer—
1. Aggressive or fast-growing prostate cancer:
In this type the tumour tends to grow and spread to the nearby areas very fast
2. Slow growing or Non-aggressive:
In this type the tumour grows slowly, so the disease spread rather
What causes prostate cancer?What are the possible causes of prostate cancer? Although there is no certain reason that causes prostate cancer. May be prostate cancer is the result of multiple reasons—
• Prostate cancer develops when some tissues in the prostate gland become abnormal.
• Mutation or cell division in this abnormal cells DNA helps it to grow in number faster than normal cells.
• These cells accumulate and form a tumour which attacks the nearest tissue-cell.
• This abnormal cell continues their mutation, whereas; normal cells usually die after the growth to a specific limit.
Therefore, whatever the factors work behind, it leads the cell mutation and to grow abundantly in the prostate area
Factors that Increase the Risk of Developing Prostate Cancer:
What increases your risk of prostate cancer?A): Family History: –Those men are at high risk of developing prostate cancer those have father or brother with prostate cancer
B): Old Age: –With growing age the chance of prostate cancer increases. In most the cases the disease occurs after 65.
C): Genetics: –Gene is an essential factor that contributes to prostate cancer. Though the reason is not prominent, but the black men of United States have twice the risk of prostate cancer than the whites.
D): Lower level of Vitamin D increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Early Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer That Men Should Know:What are the first signs of prostate problems?
1. Urge To Urinate Frequently:Feeling the urge to pee over and over again, especially during night is considered as a significant early warning signs of developing prostate cancer.
This happen because the prostate gland situated at the lower portion of the bladder that holds the urine and the growing tumour create a pressure on the urethra.There are also other indications that appear with the urinary problem, such as heaviness of bladder or burning sensation during urination.
2. Difficulty in Peeing:This is most common and usual starting sign of developing prostate cancer is facing trouble at the time of peeing. We can call it a primary warning symptom, though maximum number of male does not notice it at first.
This happens because of the tumour growths that create a pressure to the bladder. As a result, the normal flow of urine disrupted, and it also causes pain in some cases. As a result, individual face trouble in starting and stopping the urine flow. These symptoms are called “irritated urinary signs”.
3. Retention of Urine:Is urinary retention a symptom of prostate cancer? When any tumour develops inside the prostate or bladder, the increased pressure put an obstruction in normal urine flow. This is one of the primary warning sign of developing a prostate tumour.
The urine stream becomes week, and there is always a need to urinate frequently. This sign appears at the first stage of tumour growth, and due to this, the affected person still feels that his bladder is full due to the obstacle. In medical terms, these symptoms are known as “obstructive urinary signs”.
4. Blood In Urine:What causes blood in urine without pain? Discharge of blood with urine is a serious health issue as it may indicate prostate or bladder cancer, kidney stone, or benign kidney disease. Although it’s not necessary to that blood will discharge every time you are peeing, it may happen once or twice in a week. But whatever, the sign is one of the alarming symptoms of developing prostate cancer.
5. Loss of Weight without Any Reason:Unexplained weight loss is a sign that something wrong is going on inside your body. If we are on a diet or during exercise, then we are losing weight is quite reasonable. But it is the indication of health problem when you are on your regular diet. But it is also important to keep in mind that weight loss may indicate thyroid, diabetes and cancer.
So, medical check-up and testing is necessary if this is happening to you right now. This symptom indicates the advance stage in prostate cancer.
If you are feeling extremely tired, and you can’t get rid of your bone-deep fatigue in spite of adequate rest, then it needs a medical investigation.
Unexpected fatigue is the warning sign of serious illness including prostate cancer or any type of cancer, thyroid, diabetes etc.
But it is important to watch whether your fatigue is only for some time due to work pressure or not. These symptoms only appear when cancer spread and attracts the adjacent bones.
7. Erectile Dysfunction:At the early stage of prostate cancer, the sexual problem may arise, and this can lead to temporary impotence or erectile dysfunction. If you are experiencing such thing from time to time then it’s not a serious issue, but if this persists for a few weeks, then it may indicate something critical.
This condition makes an individual unable to keep an erection, and that’s why sexual relation suffers a lot. Moreover, blood in the semen is also an alarming sign of prostate cancer.
8. Insensibility of Nerves and Pain:Though it happened at the advance stage of prostate cancer when it started to spread in the nearby tissues and organs. Prostate cancer has been classified as metastatic cancer as it spread in the nearby bones from its origin.
Due to these properties when prostate cancer affects the spinal cord, it causes numbness in leg and bladder and pain in the chest lower back or in the pelvic area.
9. Infection in Urinary Tract:When cancer reached to the more advanced stage, it affects the bladder and the patience become prone to develop urinary tract infection.
Important Facts about Prostate Cancer:There are some important facts about prostate cancer that every male over 60 should know.
• Prostate cancer starts almost silently and so it does not show any indication at the first stage. There is no pain or feeling of obstruction in the beginning.
• The symptom only comes out when the growth of the tumour cause blockage at the urethra.
• The symptoms that we discussed here are not enough to confirm prostate cancer as all these signs are quite similar in men if there are any non-cancerous growth in the prostate or benign enlargement of the prostate gland. Therefore a proper medical screening is must under an expert medical advisor.
What is the Right Time to Seek Medical Assistance?Medical assistance is an important factor that can save your life if you call your doctor at the right time. So, if you notice such signs or indications for a long time it’s time to investigate properly.
a):- Frequent need to pass urine.
b):- trouble in initiating or stopping the urine flow.
c): Week flow of urine.
d): Pain during urination.
e): Unexplained weight loss and fatigue.
f): blood in urine or semen.
G):- Pain to ejaculate.
h): Discomfort and pain in the lower back and pelvic area.
i): swelling of the leg.
Steps To Prevent Prostate Cancer:
How can prostate problems be prevented?• After 40 choose a healthy diet which is full of fruits, green vegetables and fibre.
• Try to maintain a controlled lifestyle.
• Exercise regularly.
• Control your weight.
• After 55 years of age, go for a regular prostate screening.
To conclude, we can say that a little awareness from your side is the most important fact to avoid health complication, whether it is prostate cancer or any other disease.
Therefore if you are a male and have crossed half century, have a family history of prostate cancer, be cautious and take the necessary steps.
Source: Right Home Remedies