Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men in the United States.
About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Edmund Folefac, from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, says many Americans are not aware of the symptoms and those warning signs often come when the disease is in later stages and is harder to treat, but if it is caught early, it is highly treatable.
“If somebody is diagnosed with prostate cancer when it’s still confined to the prostate, then the chances of you being alive at five years is 100% from prostate cancer,” said Folefac.
Folefac says later stage symptoms of the disease may include:
- Frequent urination
- Trouble emptying the bladder
- Blood in urine
- Pelvic pain
- Sexual dysfunction
“Thankfully, a majority of the prostate cancer here in the US are picked up when they don’t have any when patients don’t have any symptoms through screening,” said Folefac.
Since there are often so symptoms in early stages of the disease, Folefac says those at high risk should talk to their doctor about being screened.
That includes anyone with a family history of prostate cancer, people with medical conditions that may make disease hard to treat if it is found and African American men who are at increased risk of not only getting the disease but dying from it.
Folefac says the prostate specific antigen or PSA test, tests the blood. High levels may mean cancer, but there are also other causes, like an infection.
PSA level also generally rise with age.
“Your doctor can then tell you how what that PSA signifies and if you would undergo for that testing or not,” said Folefac.
The Center for Disease Control says the potential benefits and harms of screening, diagnosis and treatment should also be considered.
The goal of prostate cancer screening is to find cancer early.
The agency also warns that treatment for the slow-growing disease may not be necessary for all men who have it and some may have complications from the treatment.
For more information about prostate cancer from the American Cancer Society, click on this link.
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