Warning signs for prostate cancer

The disease often comes with erectile dysfunction, blood in the urine or semen, bone pain, feeling weak or numb in the legs or feet .

Associate Professor Vu Le Chuyen from Binh Dan Hospital said that the cause of prostate cancer is still unknown. The risk of disease increases as men age. Men who have immediate family members like a father or brother who have had prostate cancer are more likely to get sick. The probability is higher if the loved one becomes ill at a young age.

Prostate cancer usually develops slowly over many years. Most patients with early illness have no signs or symptoms. Symptoms usually appear later, when the disease has progressed.

Prostate cancer usually develops slowly over many years.

Some signs of severity:

1. Difficult to erect or hard to keep erection (impotent).
2. Blood in the urine or semen.
3. Pain in the back, hip, ribs or other types of bone (due to bone metastatic cancer).
4. Feeling weakness or numbness in the legs or feet.
5. Loss of control when bowel or urine.

Most of these symptoms may be caused by another disease, not cancer. So if you have any of these problems, you should see your doctor right away to find out the cause and treatment.

There are two main ways to find prostate cancer: quantify PSA in the blood and rectal examination. PSA is a substance produced by the prostate gland. Prostate cancer can increase blood PSA levels. Blood levels of PSA may tell the doctor that the prostate is having problems, more testing is needed to determine whether it is cancer or something else. If abnormal PSA test results (> 4 ng / ml), your doctor may recommend a prostate biopsy to determine if you have cancer.

It takes about 15 minutes for each biopsy, done at the surgery room, without anesthesia. For a few days after the biopsy may feel burning, hematuria, rectal bleeding, ejaculation with blood, lasting several weeks. Taking many biopsy samples may still miss the cancer, so the doctor will ask for a biopsy if still in doubt.

There are many ways to treat prostate cancer such as active monitoring, surgery, irradiation, hormonal therapy, chemical treatment. The choice of treatment depends on age, co-morbidity, stage and level of cancer, degree of tolerance to side effects . Prostate cancer usually progresses very slowly, so maybe some The patient does not need treatment, the doctor will recommend monitoring the cancer.

In the past, prostate cancer surgery was often open surgery and laparoscopic surgery. Currently, robot surgery with high magnification, deep manipulation helps to remove the tumor more thoroughly, quickly recover. After treatment, the patient was tested for PSA every 6 months for the first 5 years after treatment and at least once every year after that period.