What Is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is one of the types of cancer that is most frequently seen in men and whose incidence is increasing every year. In addition, prostate cancer, which ranks second among the causes of cancer-related death, is defined as the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the prostate tissue and formation of tumors.

Who Can Get Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is seen in men over the age of 65. This cancer type may not cause any complaints at an early stage. For this reason, it is recommended that people with risk factors should not disrupt their routine controls. In untreated prostate cancer, pressure can be applied to the prostate gland, and this may cause various complaints in the patient.

Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer

Symptoms of prostate cancer  are as follows:

• Burning sensation during urination
• Feeling of pain during discharge
• Feeling of pain in the groin
• Erectile problems
• Straining and bleeding during urination
• blood in semen
• Bone pain and osseous fractures

An experienced urologist should be consulted when one or more of the above symptoms are experienced. As in all types of cancer, early diagnosis is very important for the success of treatment in prostate cancer.

Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer

The main risk factors for prostate cancer are genetic history and age. As age progresses, the risk of prostate cancer increases. Generally, the risk of prostate cancer in men under the age of 50 is minimal, but there is a 50% risk in those aged 70 years. In addition, people with a family history of prostate cancer have a higher risk of prostate cancer.

Stages Of Prostate Cancer

In prostate cancer, staging is done according to the size of the tumor, the rate of spread of the tumor, whether it has spread to the lymph nodes and whether metastasis has occurred. Stages of prostate cancer  are as follows:

• The tumor formed in the first stage is in the prostate and is small enough to be unnoticeable by rectal examination. There is no spread to other regions in this lower stage.
• In the second stage, the tumor progressed in the prostate, but it did not spread around the prostate. At this stage, the diagnosis can be made with MRI.
• In the third stage, the disease has spread to the surrounding tissues such as the sperm sac as well as the prostate, but no spread to the lymph nodes is observed.
• In the fourth stage, cancer cells spread to lymph nodes and surrounding tissues, and metastasis may occur.

Accurate staging in prostate cancer provides qualified and correct treatment of the disease.