There's a good chance prostate cancer can be controlled if it's caught early, so know the facts about symptoms and getting tested.
Myth 1: I haven’t got any symptoms so I can’t have cancer.Truth: Early stages of prostate cancer often don’t cause symptoms. As the disease progresses you may experience problems with urinating or get new pain in the hips or pelvis. But these symptoms can also be caused by non-cancerous prostate problems. If you think you may be at increased risk of prostate cancer or you have any symptoms, visit your GP. You can find a list of possible symptoms on The Prostate Cancer Charity website (see Useful links).
Myth 2: The prostate specific antigen test (PSA) is a test for prostate cancer.
Truth: The PSA test can pick up problems affecting the prostate gland, but PSA isn't specific to prostate cancer. All men have some PSA in their blood and the level can be affected by various things, such as age, infection and some medicines. Other non-cancerous prostate problems can also cause the PSA level to rise. Similarly, a low PSA test result does not guarantee that prostate cancer isn't present, as early cancers may not affect the level of PSA in the blood.
Myth 3: I might pass prostate cancer to my partner.
Truth: You can't ‘catch’ prostate cancer from (or pass it on to) another person, whether male or female. Women don't have a prostate gland so can't get prostate cancer.
FactsProstate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Every year nearly 35,000 men are diagnosed with the disease and 10,000 men die from it.
If prostate cancer is diagnosed early, there's a good chance that treatment will successfully control the disease.
Prostate cancers can be described as either ‘pussycats’ or ‘tigers’. Those that behave like pussycats are small, slow growing and unlikely to cause you any problems in your lifetime. This type of cancer may not need immediate treatment. The cancers that behave like tigers are more aggressive and may spread beyond the prostate gland. Researchers are trying to find a way of distinguishing between tiger cancers and pussycat cancers when men are first diagnosed so that they receive the best treatment option for them.
PSA test
The PSA test detects whether levels of prostate specific antigen in the blood are raised, which can indicate prostate cancer.
Advantages of the PSA test:It may indicate prostate cancer before you get any symptoms.
It may indicate cancer at an early stage when treatment can prevent the cancer from becoming more advanced.
A normal test result may reassure you.
Disadvantages of the PSA test:
It won't pick up some early cancers.
If your PSA is raised, you may need further tests and treatment that carry their own risks and side effects. Around two-thirds of men with a raised PSA don't have prostate cancer.
It can't tell you whether a prostate cancer is likely to be fast or slow growing. It may, therefore, pick up a slow-growing cancer that wouldn't have caused any symptoms or shortened your life span.
Source for the abovehttp://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/cancer/Pages/Prostatecancermyths.aspx
