The Shocking Truths Doctors Don’t Tell You About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the cancer of a small gland in men that sits just behind the bladder. The purpose of the prostate is to produce sperm, but when cancer occurs, the prostate can enlarge and cause pain. If it is left untreated, it can eventually metastasize and spread throughout the rest of the body. That’s why if you spot blood in your urine the safe thing to do is to go to the doctor.
Doctors, however, are sometimes economical with the truth. Here are some of the things that they won’t tell you about prostate cancer that you really need to know.
It’s Incredibly Common
We tend to think of all cancers as diseases: things that occasionally affect our bodies and cause them harm. But the truth is that cancers are far more common than people realize. In fact, you can have cancer but not have a disease. There are likely thousands of cancerous cells in your body right now, but they are being kept in check by the tissues around them. It’s only when the growth becomes uncontrolled that these cells become a problem.
Most men over the age of 65 have cancerous cells in their prostate. The trick is to keep them benign. Studies of Asian men eating mainly plant foods show that they have fewer cancerous cells, and the ones that do are less likely to develop disease.
The Science Of Prostate Cancer Is Still In Development
Thanks to the rise of orthotopic models, the ability to model the disease is improving. But that doesn’t mean that the technology is perfect. There are still many ways that scientists need to improve the way they do the science of prostate cancer research. Having said that, things are moving in the right direction, and the therapies being developed today are more boost than those of several years ago.
PSA Tests Are Not Conclusive
Most men who believed that they might have prostate cancer took something called a PSA test up until 2012. The test is designed to find antigens in the blood which could be an indicator of prostate cancer. But in 2012, the US Preventive Services Task Force, changed its opinion of PSA tests, suggesting that they could do more harm than good. They said this because their evidence indicated that too many men were receiving unnecessary treatment.
In other words, men were being treated for prostate cancer, even if their tumors were benign. Overdiagnosis in men ran at a rate of 27 to 56 per cent, depending on their age.
You Should Receive A Long Consultation
Doctors are busy people. But according to the rules, they should have a long chat with you about your prostate cancer and how you should treat it. As a patient, you need to know the pros and cons of any medical care.
But there’s a problem: most doctors don’t do this. Because of the high success rate in treating prostate cancer, and the relatively routine procedure for doing so, researchers from Brown found that only a third of doctors talked through the issues that might arise from treatment.