Prostate Cancer Awareness

    Dr. J. Dudley Atkinson, Urologist at Ochsner Baton Rouge, shares helpful information and signs and symptoms to look for regarding prostate health.  
What Is Prostate Cancer?
    Cancer is when cells in the body change and grow out of control. Cancer cells can form lumps of tissue inside or organs or can spread to areas outside of the place they started. Cancer that starts in the prostate is called prostate cancer.  Cancer that spreads is harder to treat and is considered “metastatic”.
Understanding the prostate
    The prostate is a gland in men about the size and shape of a walnut. It sits right under the bladder and the urine passes through the middle of it.  It also is part of the system that makes semen, and closes off the bladder when a man climaxes.  It’s the gateway that controls urination and ejaculation.
When prostate cancer forms
    As a man ages, the cells of his prostate may change to form tumors or other growths. The types of growths include:
• Noncancerous growths. As a man ages, the prostate may grow larger. This is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). With BPH, extra prostate tissue often squeezes the urethra, causing symptoms such as trouble urinating. But BPH is not cancer and does not lead to cancer.
• Atypical cells. These are also called prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, or PIN. Some cells don’t look like normal (typical) prostate cells. Although they are not cancer cells, they may be a sign that cancer is likely to form.
• Cancer. When abnormal prostate cells grow out of control and start to invade other tissues, they are called cancer cells. These cells may or may not lead to symptoms. Some tumors can be felt during a physical exam, and some can’t.  Most prostate cancers worsen without any symptoms at all.
• Metastatic cancer. Prostate cancer may grow into nearby organs or spread to nearby lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small organs around the body that are part of the immune system. In some cases, the cancer spreads to bones or organs in distant parts of the body. This is called metastasis.
Diagnosing prostate cancer
    Prostate cancer may not cause symptoms at first. Urinary problems are often not a sign of cancer, but of another condition, such as BPH. To find out if you have prostate cancer, your health care provider must examine you and order tests. Tests help confirm a diagnosis of cancer. They also help give more information about a cancerous tumor. Tests might include:
• Prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing. PSA is a chemical made by prostate tissue. The amount of PSA in the blood (PSA level) is tested to assess a man’s risk for prostate cancer. In general, a high or rising PSA level may mean an increased cancer risk. PSA testing is also used to assess the success of cancer treatments.
• Core needle biopsy. This test uses a hollow needle to take small pieces of tissue from the prostate. This helps give more information about the cells. Before the test, pain medicine is used to prevent pain. During the test, a small probe is inserted into the rectum. The probe sends an image of the prostate to a video monitor. With this image as a guide, the health care provider uses a thin, hollow needle to remove tiny tissue samples from the prostate.
• MRI. Also called Magnetic Resonance Imaging, it can help decide if a prostate cancer is likely to have spread, or in some cases can help to find a small amount of cancer when other methods have failed to show it
• CT Scans and Bone Scans.  Once prostate cancer is diagnosed, these scans can help determine if prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate.