Erectile dysfunction.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer that occurs in the Causes
prostate. The prostate is a small walnut-
shaped gland in males that produces the
seminal fluid that nourishes and transports
sperm.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common
types of cancer. Many prostate cancers
grow slowly and are confined to the
prostate gland, where they may not cause Prostate glandEnlarge image
serious harm. However, while some types of
prostate cancer grow slowly and may need
It's not clear what causes prostate cancer.
minimal or even no treatment, other types
are aggressive and can spread quickly.
Doctors know that prostate cancer begins
when cells in the prostate develop changes
Symptoms
in their DNA. A cell's DNA contains the
instructions that tell a cell what to do. The
Prostate cancer may cause no signs or changes tell the cells to grow and divide
symptoms in its early stages. more rapidly than normal cells do. The
abnormal cells continue living, when other
Prostate cancer that's more advanced may cells would die.
cause signs and symptoms such as:
The accumulating abnormal cells form a
Trouble urinating. tumor that can grow to invade nearby tissue.
In time, some abnormal cells can break
Decreased force in the stream of
away and spread (metastasize) to other
urine.
parts of the body.
Blood in the urine.
Risk factors
Blood in the semen.
Bone pain. Factors that can increase your risk of
prostate cancer include:
Losing weight without trying.
Older age. Your risk of prostate Cancer that spreads
cancer increases as you age. It's most (metastasizes). Prostate cancer can
common after age 50. spread to nearby organs, such as your
bladder, or travel through your
Race. For reasons not yet determined,
bloodstream or lymphatic system to
Black people have a greater risk of
your bones or other organs. Prostate
prostate cancer than do people of
cancer that spreads to the bones can
other races. In Black people, prostate
cause pain and broken bones. Once
cancer is also more likely to be
prostate cancer has spread to other
aggressive or advanced.
areas of the body, it may still respond
Family history. If a blood relative, to treatment and may be controlled,
such as a parent, sibling or child, has but it's unlikely to be cured.
been diagnosed with prostate cancer,
Incontinence. Both prostate cancer
your risk may be increased. Also, if
and its treatment can cause urinary
you have a family history of genes
incontinence. Treatment for
that increase the risk of breast cancer
incontinence depends on the type you
(BRCA1 or BRCA2) or a very strong
have, how severe it is and the
family history of breast cancer, your
likelihood it will improve over time.
risk of prostate cancer may be higher.
Treatment options may include
Obesity. People who are obese may medications, catheters and surgery.
have a higher risk of prostate cancer
Erectile dysfunction. Erectile
compared with people considered to
dysfunction can result from prostate
have a healthy weight, though studies
cancer or its treatment, including
have had mixed results. In obese
surgery, radiation or hormone
people, the cancer is more likely to be
treatments. Medications, vacuum
more aggressive and more likely to
devices that assist in achie
return after initial treatment.
Prevention
Complications
You can reduce your risk of prostate cancer
Complications of prostate cancer and its
if you:
treatments include:
Choose a healthy diet full of fruits If you need to lose weight, add more
and vegetables. Eat a variety of fruits, exercise and reduce the number of
vegetables and whole grains. Fruits calories you eat each day. Ask your
and vegetables contain many vitamins doctor for help creating a plan for
and nutrients that can contribute to healthy weight loss.
your health.
Talk to your doctor about increased
Whether you can prevent prostate risk of prostate cancer. If you have a
cancer through diet has yet to be very high risk of prostate cancer, you
conclusively proved. But eating a and your doctor may consider
healthy diet with a variety of fruits medications or other treatments to
and vegetables can improve your reduce the risk. Some studies suggest
overall health. that taking 5-alpha reductase
inhibitors, including finasteride
Choose healthy foods over
(Propecia, Proscar) and dutasteride
supplements. No studies have shown
(Avodart), may reduce the overall risk
that supplements play a role in
of developing prostate cancer. These
reducing your risk of prostate cancer.
drugs are used to control prostate
Instead, choose foods that are rich in
gland enlargement and hair loss.
vitamins and minerals so that you can
maintain healthy levels of vitamins in However, some evidence indicates
your body. that people taking these medications
may have an increased risk of getting
Exercise most days of the
a more serious form of prostate
week. Exercise improves your overall
cancer (high-grade prostate cancer).
health, helps you maintain your weight
If you're concerned about your risk of
and improves your mood. Try to
developing prostate cancer, talk with
exercise most days of the week. If
your doctor.
you're new to exercise, start slow and
work your way up to more exercise
time each day.
Maintain a healthy weight. If your
current weight is healthy, work to
maintain it by choosing a healthy diet
and exercising most days of the week.
