Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

The prostate gland is an organ situated at the neck of the urinary bladder. A malignant growth of the prostate is known as prostate cancer, which usually grows very slowly and does not exhibit any major symptoms in the first few years. Advanced prostate cancer spreads to the surrounding tissues and also to other parts of the body such as bones, lungs, and liver. Symptoms of this cancer are therefore more related to an advanced state of this condition.

Advanced prostate cancer is of special significance since it is the most common cancer in American men and is the second leading cause of death after lung cancer. It causes symptoms such as pain in the lower abdomen, slow passage of urine, the presence of blood in the urine, and lower back pain. A spread to the liver can cause pain in the upper right part of the abdomen as well as jaundice, while the spread of the cancer to the lungs can cause symptoms such as cough, breathlessness, and hemoptysis.

Prostate cancer can often be suspected during routine screening because of high PSA levels. Confirmation of the diagnosis of prostate cancer can be done by a digital rectal examination, PSA level testing, ultrasound examination, and biopsy of the prostate gland. Advanced prostate cancer needs further investigations like CT scan of the abdomen, CT scan of the chest, and possibly a PET bone scan. Biopsy examination is graded according to the Gleason scale and reflects the aggressiveness of the tumour, with scores of 7 to 10 indicating a rapidly growing tumour with a very poor prognosis. Gleason scores are also useful in predicting the risk of death from this tumour. Men with Gleason scores of 2 to 4 face a minimal risk (4 to 7%) of death from prostate cancer over the next 15 years, while men with scores of 8 to 10 face a high risk (60 to 87%) of death.

The tumour is also staged according to alphabets A, B, C and D or according to the TNM (tumour, [lymph] node, and metastasis) mode of classification, in order to decide the overall prognosis of the tumour as well as the management and treatment plan. Surgery, cryotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are the treatment modalities useful in the management of prostate cancer. Local tumour, or locally advanced tumour is usually treated with a combination of surgery, cryotherapy, and radiation therapy. In the initial stages, watchful waiting is also considered a part of treatment, because of the slow growth of the tumour. Hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are considered for metastatic tumour, when it has spread to other parts of the body; however, treatment at this stage is considered to be palliative and not curative.

In this scenario, Ayurvedic herbal treatment can prove to be a boon for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer or metastatic tumour. Ayurvedic treatment can also prove to be very useful for patients with recurrent tumour, who have completed the full course of conventional treatment. Advanced or metastatic tumour needs aggressive treatment and therefore, Ayurvedic treatment for this condition needs to be instituted at the earliest, with the herbs being given in high doses. Herbal medicines which are useful in this condition have a specific affinity for the prostate and urinary tract, and also target the cancer cells within the tumour. These medicines are given in combination with other herbal medicines which have an immunomodulatory effect, so that the combined effect serves to treat the tumour at the earliest, prevents its spread to other parts of the body, and also prevents a recurrence of the condition. The added advantage of these medicines is that they do not exhibit any major toxicity even if used for prolonged periods and in high doses.

Some medicines useful in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer include Gokshur (Tribulus terrestris), Varun (Craetea nurvala), Saariva (Hemidesmus indicus), Manjishtha (Rubia cordifolia), Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), Gokshuradi Guggulu, Chandraprabha Vati, Kanchnaar Guggulu, and Maha-Manjishthadi Qadha. The combination of Ayurvedic herbal and herbo-mineral medicines has to be tailor-made according to the presentation of symptoms and the severity of the tumour in each individual. Ayurvedic treatment normally needs to be given for about 9 to12 months in order to bring about significant remission of advanced prostate cancer, as well as prevent or treat metastatic tumour. The judicious use of Ayurvedic medicines can significantly improve quality of life and the overall life span of individuals affected with advanced disease.

Such Ayurvedic herbal and herbo-mineral combinations are equally useful in patients with recurrent prostate cancer; in such individuals, immunomodulatory treatment acquires special significance, since a strong immune system helps to fight against the tumour and prevents spread or recurrence. Needless to say, Ayurvedic treatment can prove to be most useful when started at the earliest possible, and therefore it would be logical to initiate this treatment along with other conventional treatment even for individuals having localised or low-risk prostate cancer.

Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a definite role to play in the management and treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Dr. A. A. Mundewadi is Chief Ayurvedic Physician at Mundewadi Ayurvedic Clinic based at Thane, Maharashtra, India. He is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com/
The online clinic offers Ayurvedic treatment for all chronic and refractory health problems. Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, B.A.M.S., has clinical experience of over 25 years and clinical research experience of 12 years. He has conducted extensive research in HIV infection, Schizophrenia and many other chronic diseases.

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Provenge (sipuleucel-T) manufactured by Dendreon corporation is the new therapeutic immunotherapy for prostate cancer patients with an advance metastatic tumor. The therapy was approved last April 29, 2010 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowing 12 manufacturing facilities in New Jersey to operate. During the annual meeting of the Genitourinary American Society of the Clinical Oncology on 2010, Doctor Philip Kantoff said that the study is considered to be the first large controlled clinical trial that showed an immune system based therapy that extended the lives of cancer patients. Recently, Dendreon's 36 manufacturing facilities in New Jersey were approved by the U.S. FDA allowing the company to increase Provenge production supply supporting the 12 manufacturing facilities that was already been approved last April of 2010.

Provenge is an autologous type of cellular immunotherapy that halts and delays prostatic tumor growth by targeting prostatic tumor antigens. This type of immunotherapy is designed to improve the prognosis and quality life of patients with advance and recurrent prostate cancer who are resistant to hormone therapy as well as to other treatment modalities. This therapy is believed to prolong the survival rates of metastatic prostate cancer patients. According to Dr. Daniel George, director of the Genitourinary Oncology, Provenge has the largest reported survival benefits in patients with asymptomatic (no symptoms) or the minimally symptomatic metastatic prostate cancer.

Provenge therapy works by collecting the patient's white blood cells and expose them with a prostate specific antigen known as prostatic acid phosphatase. These cells are incubated with the antigen that is designed to attack the prostate cancer when injected back to the patient. As it is inside the body of the patient, the antigen instructs the immune system to attack and destroy the cancer cells. This therapy is designed to induce an immune response against prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP); an antigen expressed in most prostate cancers. Provenge therapy is the first among the new class of therapeutic therapies that belong to an autologous cellular immunotherapy; it is a personalized type of immunotherapy treatment that makes use of the white blood cells of each patient. According to the Dana Farber cancer institute investigators, Provenge therapy marks the beginning of the new era in which patient's own immune systems become part of the therapeutic arsenal against cancer.

Men who are not responding to hormonal therapies and who have metastatic prostate cancer as well as the patients who experience little or no cancer-related pain having efficient organ functioning are candidates for the therapy. Provenge is administered thru infusion via the intravenous veins of a person. It is given at three doses having two weeks range of interval. 512 patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer as well as the patients who were resistant to hormone therapy were enrolled to the clinical study of phase 3 trial conducted at the cancer treatment centers. Randomly, patients were given with Provenge and an inactive placebo. Compared to the patients who received the placebo pills, Provenge extended the patient's median survival by 4.1 months and has reduced the overall death rate by 22.5 percent. According to Dr. Mitchell Gold the president of Dendreon Corporation, the significant 4.1 month median survival benefit Provenge demonstrated a representation of a major milestone in the treatment of the metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.

The common adverse reactions reported during the safety evaluation of 601 patients who underwent the Provenge treatment or the leukapheresis (extraction and incubation of white blood cells) procedure were fatigue, chills, fever, back pain, nausea, headache and joint ache. Critical adverse reactions that were reported in patients receiving Provenge include acute infusion reactions and cerebrovascular events e.g. stroke. Indications of infusion reactions include chills, difficulty of breathing, dizziness, hypertension and vomiting. The majority of the adverse reactions were mild to moderate in severity.

According to Dr. David Penson, a professor of the Urologic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the approval of Provenge represents significant advancement in the care of men with advanced prostate cancer. Provenge now offers new treatment of choice among the few treatment options available. "The approval of Provenge, as the first autologous cellular immunotherapy, represents a new significant scientific and clinical advancement for the treatment of prostate cancer," said Philip Kantoff, Medical Doctor and Chief of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Chief of Clinical Research Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Urieash Ul is a prostate cancer health expert who has been providing people relevant information about prostate cancer. You can visit his site to learn more about prostate cancer.

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Prostate cancer is actually a treatable kind of the disease. Many patients diagnosed with this kind of cancer survive their ordeal because of two things: the early detection of the malignant cells in their prostate and the combination of the treatments that are used.

The early detection of prostate cancer is important because it is in the early stages that the malignant cells are still controllable. They are still low in number and the damage they have done is still minimal. Performing surgery and chemotherapy may still guarantee complete elimination of the cells. On the other hand, if the disease is detected on its advanced stage, recovery is slimmer. Hence, there is a need to employ more aggressive treatment options.

There are several advanced prostate cancer treatment options that a patient can use. These treatments may be more like the ones administered to prostate cancer in its early stages. It can consist of surgery, chemotherapy and even radiation treatment.

However, with advancement of the cancer, one treatment is not enough to lessen the increasing number of cancer cells that come with it. There is a need to combine two or more treatments in order fight the cancer cells aggressively and more effectively. This is also to avoid metastasizing of the cancer cells and affecting other surrounding parts.

The treatments available for advanced form of this cancer include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and hormone therapy. While these treatments all work to eliminate the cells, prevent its spread and are actually treatments alone, advanced prostate cancer treatment options are combination of these methods. The combinations are known to be more aggressive and more effective. For example, the patient can go for surgical removal of the tumor. As maintenance, chemotherapy can be added as treatment in order to ensure that no more cells will be left to inflict further damage.

As another option, alternative treatments are also used in prostate cancer. These are all natural methods such as diet protocols and concoctions known to possess anti-cancer properties.

Of course, before trying out these treatments available, it is best to consult the doctor first. The doctor will provide a thorough evaluation on the condition of the patient as well as the state the patient is already in. He may advise doing extensive procedures or take several medications both for the extermination of the cancerous cells as well as the other symptoms that come with the disease.

Discover more of the advanced prostate cancer treatment options and pick out which ones will work more effectively.

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