Prostate Cancer - Important Facts You Must Know!

Cancer has four stages, and the advanced stage is the worst of them all. The signs and symptoms of the final stage of prostate cancer are severe with excruciating pain in the lower back, ribs, pelvic bones, or upper thighs. The health deteriorates making the person fatigued with a feeling of nausea and vomiting. The lower extremities become swollen. Constipation follows paralysis of the lower limbs. The doctor should examine the gland to check if it is enlarged or cancerous.

After the doctor diagnoses the stage of cancer, he sketches the treatment plan. The treatment depends on the stage because there are many issues to be taken into account before you venture further ahead. The stage depends on the size of the tumor, how far it has spread and the probability of recurrence. During the first stage, there might not be any symptoms at all since they are slow-growing tumors. Radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy are the ways in which the first stage can be treated. Choosing the right treatment with the stage can be difficult at times, being patient is important.

In the second stage of cancer, the tumor is much larger compared to Stage I but, cancer does not spread outside the gland. Though the PSA levels and Gleason scores remain high in this stage, cancer does not spread. Active surveillance is a treatment done on older men at the second stage. Surgery or radiation is necessary to prevent further spreading.

In the final stage of prostate cancer, it spreads to the bladder, lymph nodes, rectum, organs, and bones. It is rarely cured at such an advanced stage. However, treatments can ease the pain and extend your life. However, if cancer continues to grow with no effect of reducing the symptoms, chemotherapy is done that helps to shrink the cancer cells and slow the growth. Hormone therapy is often combined with chemotherapy to treat prostate cancer.