What is prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a condition in
which the cells, (the building blocks that
make up a living thing), of the prostate
gland starts growing, independently, on
their own without the body needing or
instructing them to do so.
What causes prostate cancer
No definite cause of prostate
cancer is known but there are some
factors that increase the possibility
that one person will develop it
compared to another. These are:
 Age – it is commoner in older
people
 Sex – it is a disease of men only.
 Family history – it is more likely to
occur in those whose father,
brothers or sons have developed it
What is certain is that the
development of prostate cancer is not
the individual’s fault. It is not directly
related to diet or any infection. It is
not sexually transmitted and you can
not catch it from close contact with
somebody who has it.
How can one recognize prostate
cancer
The picture above shows the normal
prostate gland. It is hidden rather deep
inside the body. If you press your body in
the region above the penis where hair
grows, you will feel a bone there; the
prostate gland is located behind that
bone. Doctors reach it by putting their
finger in your anus in order to touch it.
When prostate cancer begins,
it may not be easily noticed. In order
to detect the disease early, it is
necessary for every man older than 50
years of age to ask his doctor to
examine his prostate at least once a
year. or do a blood test called PSA
once or twice a year.
Apart form these two methods;
there is no other reliable method of
early detection. When the disease has
advanced, one may notice one or more of
the following complaints:
1. Low back pain
2. Frequent passage of urine
3. Waking up at night to pass urine
4. Sudden urge to pass urine such that
at times when the person does not go
to the toilet on time or is not near a
toilet, some urine may drip into the
pants
5. There may also be difficulty with
controlling the act of urinating
6. One may feel like going to pass urine
again soon after just passing it or one
may feel that there is still some urine
remaining in the bladder immediately
after passing urine.
7. Passing bloody urine
8. Wetting ones’ pants with urine
uncontrollably
If the disease is neglected, it
continues to grow and spread to other
parts of the body like the brain, the
lungs, bones and the liver. Such spread
may be recognized by the presence of
cough, difficulty with breathing, swelling
of the tummy, pain in the bones especially
those of the back, leg weakness or
paralysis.
Is early detection possible
Early detection is possible through
regular medical check up and doing the
blood test described earlier.
How is prostate cancer
treated
Early prostate cancer can be treated
by:
 Surgery – which may involve removal
of the entire prostate or a part of it
 Chemotherapy – use of drugs to
destroy cancer cells that may have
spread to other parts of the body.
These drugs attack all rapidly dividing
cells in the body, normal and cancer
cells alike. They therefore have sideeffects. There are many different
drugs used and one will need to
choose.
 Hormone treatment – altering the
rate of growth of the cancer by
adjusting the hormonal composition of
the body. There are several options
here too.
 Radiotherapy – this is the use of high
energy rays to destroy the cancer
cells.
There are so many options available to
the patient with prostate cancer
depending on the stage of the disease,
the desire of the patient, cost, ability to
comply with complex treatment plans and
available facilities.
The treatment of prostate cancer
takes a long period of time and requires
many hospital visits. Treatment is also
expensive and may require significant
amount of time away from work. A
patient must discuss these issues with
his doctor.
It is important for the patient who
has prostate cancer to discuss with
members of his family so that he can
benefit from their support and
encouragement. They too will learn
useful information about the disease
and how to prevent it from the
patient.
What if the patient’s disease is
already advanced? Does that mean
nothing can be done? Where there is
life, there is hope. No doctor can tell
you that this is what will happen in
your individual case, so always expect
the best. Even when the disease is not
responding to treatment, doctors can
still do a lot to make sure that patient
does not suffer or have pain.
What about traditional/alternative
/complementary
treatment?
Everybody who looks after patients
with prostate cancer wishes for quick
cure so that patients will no longer
suffer. Unfortunately, the best
science has to offer is still not good
enough. However it is far better, safer
and surer than any other method of
treatment that anybody can offer you
today. In addition, you can help the
search for better treatment by
participating in research and clinical
trials.
It is therefore advantageous to come
to hospital early and start treatment.
What is the outcome of
treatment
The result of treatment refers to
average results from treating large
numbers of patients. The result in any one
individual may therefore differ.
The outcome of treatment depends on
many factors and these are:
 Stage at diagnosis. The earlier the
stage the better the outcome
 Nature of the cancer in the individual.
This is discerned from laboratory
tests that are done on the tumour
after its removal from the patient
 Compliance with an adequate and well
formulated treatment plan
It is advantageous to go to the
hospital early and start treatment.
Designed and Produced by
Professor Clement A. Adebamowo,
Division of Oncology, Department of
Surgery, University College Hospital,
Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
clement_adebamowo@yahoo.com