Gleason Scores for Prostate Cancer
If you’re a man who has ever gotten a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, you know it’s a must have test for guys over 50. While an elevated PSA reading may indicate a life threatening cancer, it may also detect slower-moving tumors that would never cause death. Since high levels of PSA can be associated with prostate cancer, most doctors rely on this test, combined with a rectal exam, to screen their patients for prostate cancer.
Many men suffer from prostate cancer. If cancer is detected, it must be determined whether the cancer is contained inside the prostate or has spread. A surgical procedure called a radical prostatectomy removes the prostate gland and the nearby lymph nodes. Subsequent to surgery a 2 -03 day stay in the hospital is generally required. Early determination of prostate cancer is vital in both the success of surgery and the resultant post surgical complications.
The prostate is a gland that only males have. It can be detected early, though, by a digital rectal exam combined with a Prostate Specific Antigen test (PSA test). But of course, even engaging in the right acts and eating the right kinds of foods (whether fruits and vegetables or not) can’t guarantee you won’t be affected by prostate cancer, but it somewhat increases the chances that you will keep it at bay. For our purposes, we’ll assume that it hasn’t. In one, x-rays are focused on the prostate from a machine that closely resembles a classic x-ray unit.
Prostate cancer can only develop in men since they only possess a prostate gland. Other predispositions include genetics, diet and lifestyle. Because of this, the symptoms are also slow to become evident. They could have it for many years and eventually die of something totally unrelated. Prostate cancer is far more prevalent in men who have had a father or brother with the condition.
Knowledge consists of both an awareness of the disease itself and an awareness of the diagnostic tools used by doctors. But, when is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month? In the US, September has been named as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by most of the states, the Senate, and by Presidential Proclamation. This makes September the most likely time for information about this particular disease to be disseminated in bulk and advertisements recommending that men over age 50 be tested annually for the possible presence of cancer. A doctor must insert his finger into the anus of the man being tested to feel the prostate and determine if it is swollen or enlarged.