Prostate problems in different age groups
The prostatic diseases can be grouped into infection and enlargement which can also be cancerous. Although infections of the prostate occur in the younger age group the enlargement typically starts after the age of 45 years.
Common symptoms of prostatic diseases are :
- Frequent urination, stop and start type of urination
- Poor flow of urine, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder
- Getting up several times in the night to pass urine
- Burning in urine
- Painful ejaculation
- Blood in urine
- Decreased sexual drive
Diagnosis
Prostatic problems can be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, Ultrasound and Physical examination.
Prostate Diseases
- Prostate Cancer
- Prostate enlargement
- Prostatitis ( Acute and chronic)
Investigatons
- Ultrasound
- Urine analysis
- A simple blood test like Prostatic specific antigen can detect prostate cancer
Treatment
Treatment of prostatic problem depends upon its cause
Prostate Cancer
Are there prostate cancer screening tests available?
Although checking PSA levels is not an ideal screening test, many cases of prostate cancer are discovered during routine blood work that reveals an elevated PSA level. In addition, a digital rectal exam can help detect irregularities in the prostate that signal the possibility of cancer. In both cases, physicians will recommend a biopsy to complete the diagnosis.
The Biopsy
During a biopsy, needles are inserted through the rectum into the prostate to take tiny specimens of tissue. The biopsy procedure may cause some discomfort or pain, but the procedure is short, and can usually be done as an outpatient.
What is prostate cancer?
The prostate gland is found only in men. It is about the size of a walnut, and sits just below the bladder in front of the rectum. The urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder) runs through the prostate. The role of the prostate gland is to manufacture a fluid that is part of the semen (the fluid that contains sperm).
Prostate cancer is typically a slow-growing cancer. Many patients with prostate cancer live much longer than five years after diagnosis. In fact, almost 90 percent of men with prostate cancer live at least five years, and 63 percent survive more than 10 years. If the cancer is detected before it has spread to other organs, the five-year relative survival rate is 100 percent. However, if the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, the five-year survival rate drops to 31 percent.
What are the causes of prostate cancer?
Scientists have estimated that lifestyle factors account for about 75 percent of advanced prostate cancer cases, and of all the environmental variables, diet appears to be the most influential. Like breast cancer, prostate cancer is particularly sensitive to factors that influence hormone levels.
Concern that vasectomy may increase the risk of prostate cancer stems from the conflicting results of a number of studies. The studies that started the controversy were published in 1993, and reported that men who underwent vasectomy had a very small – 1.5 percent – increase in risk. More recently, another large study compared 753 men with prostate cancer to 703 men who didn’t have the disease. After adjusting for age, race (African Americans have twice the risk of whites) and family history of the disease, they found that among those with prostate cancer 39.4 had vasectomies compared with 37.7 percent of those who didn’t have cancer. Such a small difference suggests that there really is no direct association between vasectomy and prostate cancer.