Treating Prostate Cancer

Dear Readers,

Because this is such a hot topic, I’ve asked my friend Rick G. to talk today about his experiences with being diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.  Please join me in giving him a warm welcome today!

From Rick G:

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was 55. The prostate had not enlarged significantly but I was experiencing many problems with urination. I had to wake up several times during the night for urinating and every time I could pass only a little urine. But I got the jitters the day I got some blood in the urine.

Treating prostate cancer is quite embarrassing. Firstly, the doctor tested the size of my prostate by inserting a gloved finger up my rectum. Then he got a PSA test done which showed positive signs of prostate cancer. To confirm those results, the doctor performed a biopsy and that showed that there was malignant cell growth.

There are many ways of treating prostate cancer and the doctor explained me each of them. The surest way of curing the prostate cancer is to remove the whole gland with surgery. This will also ensure that the cancer does not spread to the rest of the body. However, in my case, the cancer was only in the initial stages and the doctor said that there was no need to remove the complete prostate.

Other ways of treating prostate cancer involve inserting a thin tube through the penis hole and using one of several ways to widen the opening at the base of the bladder. It is possible to use laser to cut through the prostate and kill the cancer cells. This was the treatment that I was supposed to take.

In cases where the prostate is enlarged to a great extent, the doctors might decide to use open surgery to remove it. They will make a cut in the region between the anus and the scrotum and remove the cancerous prostate. This is the last resort when other procedures are ruled out.

I was hospitalized for a week and the surgery was performed under general anesthesia. The doctor warned me that the surgery might affect normal sexual activity for some duration. Now I have done my yearly PSA tests for the last three years and luckily there is no sign of the cancer.

Tagged with: Prostate cancer • Prostate cancer screening • Prostate specific antigen • treating prostate cancer

Filed under: Prostate cancer

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!