What is Prostate Cancer? Symptoms, Treatment, Stages & Survival Rate

The prostate gland lies below the bladder and surrounds the urethra tube. Cancer cells in prostate glands cause inflammation, and when this occurs, the patient has problems urinating. An essential part of a male’s fertility is the prostate gland, which creates a lubricating fluid for sperms to bathe in. In men with prostate cancer, the chances of fertilization decrease because less lubrication is present in the semen. Cancer develops in the body due to the breakdown of a prostate tumor, which spreads the cancer cells to the blood vessels and lymph nodes.

Cancer cells spread from the prostate to the normal tissues and blood vessels attached to other healthy organs, causing cancer to spread throughout the body. By attaching to healthy tissues and forming tumors, prostate cancer cells can affect other healthy organs. It may spread to bones, liver, lungs, and kidney in advanced stages. The spread of prostatic cancerous cells to adjacent and remote parts of the body is referred to as metastatic prostate cancer.

1Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Carcinogens can develop in either benign or malignant prostate glands. A benign tumor growth is one in which the cancerous cells do not spread to other parts of the body. The type of cancer caused by non-cancerous cell growth is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, and it is not usually life-threatening. It is also very successful to perform surgery on this type of benign growth, since it does not damage the prostate gland’s surrounding tissues.

Malignant cancerous cell growth is quite dreadful and can be fatal to the patient. Cancer of the prostate spreads rapidly to tissues and organs surrounding the prostate gland, mostly in the rectum and bladder. Malignant prostate cancer can also spread to other body parts, such as the bones or lymph nodes. Surgical removal of cancer does not prevent malignant cancer from returning.

Prostate cancer isn’t accompanied by obvious symptoms in its early stages. However, as the cancer progresses in the glands, specific symptoms appear, such as enlargement of the prostate gland, which are clear indications of prostate cancer. Men who complain of problems with urination and the urinary system are more likely to have prostate cancer. Here are some symptoms of prostate cancer:

Pain in the pelvis

Cancer is not observable in the early stages of prostate cancer, so it advances towards the late stages. During the advanced stages of prostate cancer, most commonly known as metastatic prostate cancer, the cancer cells start invading nearby tissues and organs. Lower back, upper thighs, and hip pain are caused by prostate cancer spreading in the pelvic area. The patient also suffers from numbness in the spinal cord when malignant prostate cancer invades the spinal cord. There is a dull pain that is similar to the toothache in the pelvic area known as the groin. Some people also feel pain advancing towards their ribs, which is quite different from the pain you feel after exercising.

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