Vilka är tecknen på prostatacancer?

Vad är prostatacancer?

If you're a man, your chances of developing prostatacancer at some point in your life are around one in eight. Unfortunately, statistics show that men are also less likely than women to seek and receive healthcare.

Prostate cancer exclusively affects men because only those born male have the prostate gland.

Dr Tariq Mahmood, Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologists, explains: "The prostate, a gland underneath the bladder which helps produce semen, continues to grow as you get older. When your prostate cells grow in an uncontrollable way, it can result in prostate cancer."

Vad orsakar prostatacancer?

Forskare är osäkra på den exakta orsaken, men det finns kända riskfaktorer som gör det mer sannolikt att du utvecklar prostatacancer.

Är prostatacancer ärftlig?

Family history is also a significant factor. Around 10% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer develop it due to hereditary prostate cancer syndrome. Family members pass down their genes to relatives, which instruct all the cells in the body what to do. If members of your family have a gene mutation - a random change in these instructions - then this can make cancer more likely.

Vilka är tecknen på prostatacancer?

Så hur kan du veta om du har prostatacancer? Sanningen är att i de flesta fall kan du inte det. Många män har inga symtom och visar inga märkbara tecken på prostatacancer alls.

"Both the symptoms and treatment of prostate cancer can vary on a case-by-case basis," explains Mahmood. "Some people have no symptoms, and others don't require treatment if they do have prostate cancer. However, prostate cancer can also spread very quickly with serious effects."

Vilka är symtomen på prostatacancer?

Ibland kan du upptäcka tecken på prostatacancer. Dessa tecken varierar beroende på var cancern växer.

"Again, these symptoms can be caused by other health issues, but if you notice a combination of these symptoms then you should contact a healthcare professional," cautions Mahmood.

If your doctor suspects prostate cancer, they may ask you to have a blood test to see if it is more likely. This is known as a prostate specific antigen test (PSA test). Another possible option is having a prostatabiopsi, en procedur där nålar används för att ta små vävnadsprover från din prostata som sedan analyseras. Detta kan också indikera hur sannolikt det är att cancern sprider sig. Biopsin skulle utföras på sjukhus av en specialisturolog.

Är prostatacancer botbar?

On a positive note, this common cancer has a 78.9% survival rate for 10 years or more from diagnosis. In many cases, prostate cancer grows slowly, doesn't reduce your life expectancy, and requires no treatment.

However, sometimes cancers grow more aggressively and spread quickly to other parts of the body. This can be life-threatening, and healthcare experts use stages to determine how much the cancer cells have spread in order to determine the most appropriate behandlingsalternativ för prostatacancer.

Early-stage prostate cancer - which hasn't spread beyond the prostate - can be cured through treatment, although in some cases cancer returns months or years later. In the case of later stages, treatments may aim to slow or limit its growth, or to ease symptoms.