My uncle just undergone the prostate surgery...it's painful (nope during the surgery) at Pantai Hospital in Ipoh. He is 74 years old. Typical age of having this illness. As a human being so called homo sapiens, we are a humble servants to the Great God; whether you're sportsman or farmer or a doctor or administrator...you'll never know. May Allah prevent me and you from having this illness. TakeCare!
Signs and symptoms
Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. Often it is diagnosed during the workup for an elevated PSA - Prostate-specific antigen noticed during a routine checkup.
Sometimes, however, prostate cancer does cause symptoms, often similar to those of diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia. These include frequent urination, nocturia (increased urination at night), difficulty starting and maintaining a steady stream of urine, hematuria (blood in the urine), and dysuria (painful urination).
Prostate cancer is associated with urinary dysfunction as the prostate gland surrounds the prostatic urethra. Changes within the gland, therefore, directly affect urinary function. Because the vas deferens deposits seminal fluid into the prostatic urethra, and secretions from the prostate gland itself are included in semen content, prostate cancer may also cause problems with sexual function and performance, such as difficulty achieving erection or painful ejaculation.
Advanced prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body, possibly causing additional symptoms. The most common symptom is bone pain, often in the vertebrae (bones of the spine), pelvis, or ribs. Spread of cancer into other bones such as the femur is usually to the proximal part of the bone. Prostate cancer in the spine can also compress the spinal cord, causing leg weakness and urinary and fecal incontinence.
Causes
The specific causes of prostate cancer remain unknown. The primary risk factors are age and family history. Prostate cancer is very uncommon in men younger than 45, but becomes more common with advancing age. The average age at the time of diagnosis is 70. However, many men never know they have prostate cancer. Autopsy studies of Chinese, German, Israeli, Jamaican, Swedish, and Ugandan men who died of other causes have found prostate cancer in thirty percent of men in their 50s, and in eighty percent of men in their 70s. Men who have first-degree family members with prostate cancer appear to have double the risk of getting the disease compared to men without prostate cancer in the family. This risk appears to be greater for men with an affected brother than for men with an affected father. In the United States in 2005, there were an estimated 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer and 30,000 deaths due to prostate cancer. Men with high blood pressure are more likely to develop prostate cancer. A 2010 study found that prostate *basal cells were the most common site of origin for prostate cancers.
*The cells of the basal layer, called basal cells
Dietary
While a number of dietary factors have been linked to prostate cancer the evidence is still tentative. Evidence supports little role for dietary fruits and vegetables in prostate cancer occurrence. Red meat and processed meat also appear to have little effect. Lower blood levels of vitamin D may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. This may be linked to lower exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, since UV light exposure can increase vitamin D in the body.
Green tea may be protective (due to its catechins content), although the most comprehensive clinical study indicates that it has no protective effect. Other holistic methods are also studied.
Taking multivitamins more than seven times a week may increase the risks of contracting the disease. This research was unable to highlight the exact vitamins responsible for this increase (almost double), although they suggest that vitamin A, vitamin E and beta-carotene may lie at its heart. It is advised that those taking multivitamins never exceed the stated daily dose on the label.
Folic acid supplements have recently been linked to an increase in risk of developing prostate cancer. A ten-year research study led by University of Southern California researchers showed that men who took daily folic acid supplements of 1 mg were three times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than men who took a placebo.
High alcohol intake may increase the risk of prostate cancer and interfere with folate metabolism. Low folate intake and high alcohol intake may increase the risk of prostate cancer to a greater extent than the sole effect of either one by itself. A case control study consisting of 137 veterans addressed this hypothesis and the results were that high folate intake was related to a 79% lower risk of developing prostate cancer and there was no association between alcohol consumption by itself and prostate cancer risk. Folate's effect however was only significant when coupled with low alcohol intake. There is a significant decrease in risk of prostate cancer with increasing dietary folate intake but this association only remains in individuals with low levels of alcohol consumption. There was no association found in this study between folic acid supplements and risk of prostate cancer.
Cancer incidence, Perak 2011
- The age-standardised incidence rates (ASR) were 38.5 /100,000 for males and 38.5/100,000 population for females.
- The cumulative risk which represent the risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 in absence of other causes of death was 4.4 for males and 4.1 for females. (percent)
Number of new cancer cases by major ethnic and
gender, Perak 2011
Male Female
Chinese 277 274
Malay 114 144
Indian 41 57
432 475
