Prostate Health » cancerous growth

What is Proctitis and How is it Related to Prostate Pain?

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:58:56 +0000

Proctitis is a side effect of some medical treatments. People who engage in anal sex more commonly contract proctitis, particularly if they have multiple sexual partners.

Proctitis typically affects male adults

Proctitis can be a one-time ailment or a chronic condition. It can be cleared up with a simple treatment plan. The treatment plan for Proctitis is dependent on what has caused it in the first place.

Symptoms of Proctitis include:

- Frequent or continuous urge to have a bowel movement

- Rectal bleeding

- Passing mucous through the rectum

- Anal and rectal pain

- Pain in the lower left abdomen

- A constant feeling of rectal fullness

- Diarrhea, typically frequent, but in small amounts

- Pain with bowel movements

Proctitis is most commonly contracted with sexually transmitted diseases. Anal or oral-anal intercourse is the most common cause. Gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, anal warts and Chlamydia are common causes of Proctitis.

Sometimes, a patient will contract Proctitis from a non-sexually transmitted bacterial infection. It is a rare occurrence in children, but it can occur from the same organism that causes strep throat. Food born illnesses and other bacteria may cause Proctitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease, also referred to as IBD, as associated with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, may also contribute to Proctitis. Chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide enemas, medications or placing objects inside of the rectum may also cause Proctitis.

Other causes include:

- Trauma to the anal-rectal area

- Radiation therapy directed at or near the rectum, as with rectal cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer or uterine cancer

- Antibiotic use, such as can destroy protective bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

People with the following are at a higher risk factor for Proctitis:

- Being the recipient of anal or oral-anal sex

- Having multiple sexual partners

- Having anal sex with a partner who has an STD

- Having anal sex without a condom

- Having inflammatory bowel disease

- Antibiotic use, as for another health condition or ailment

- Radiation therapy directed near the rectum or anus

If you engage in high-risk sexual behavior or are experiencing symptoms of Proctitis, contact your doctor immediately for a medical evaluation. Severe bleeding, anemia from blood loss and dehydration from diarrhea require immediate medical attention.

What is Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis?

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:46:23 +0000

The bacteria can be acquired as a sexually transmitted disease and the infection can spread to the prostate. It can affect the prostate through the blood stream.

Patients who are diagnosed with CBP typically show signs of infection

Signs of infection may include:

Fever
Chills
The shakes

Patients also typically experience difficulties with frequent urination as well as painful urination. Chronic bacterial Prostatitis is not very common. It’s when the patient experiences an ongoing bacterial infection in the prostate.

It causes a low-grade infection, however, there are typically no noticeable symptoms.

Sometimes people suffer from chronic Prostatitis, but without the infection. This is also known as chronic pelvic syndrome and is a condition in which there is recurrent pelvic, testicle or rectal pain, but without evidence of a bladder infection. Men may experience painful urination or painful ejaculation and may have erectile dysfunction. Causes for these ailments are not clearly understood by experts as of now.

With CBP, there are typically no symptoms, however, there is an infection within the prostate. Typically speaking, CBP is not a very common condition. It occurs in less than 5 % of all patients. Patients may experience symptoms similar to a UTI. The infection itself is usually diagnosed with a routine urinary culture as well as a routine rectal examination.

During the routine rectal examination, the prostate is massaged and fluid is removed. If no fluid is removed during the massage, a post massage urine will be obtained and should contain prostatic bacteria.

Treatment typically takes approximately four to eight weeks and the patient is given antibiotics. The antibiotics penetrate the prostate. For patients who experience persistent infections may be prescribed alpha blockers or long-term dose antibiotic therapy.

The chance for relapse can be as high as 50 %. The likeliness of getting a CBP infection are not very high, but if you think you present with some of the symptoms, schedule an appointment with your doctor to verify that you do indeed suffer from CBP and to discuss treatment options.

What are the Stages of Prostate Cancer?

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:58:16 +0000

PSA tests and a biopsy are common ways of determining which stage the prostate cancer has entered into. TNM Staging is another method to determine which stage the cancer has entered.

Prostate cancer

An Oncologist specializes in cancer treatment and can help determine how far along the cancer has progressed to

Stage A

This is the earliest stage of prostate cancer. It’s typically determined by PSA tests or a biopsy. At this point in time, a prognosis cannot be made until the doctors recognize how far the cancer has spread.

Stage B

In Stage B, it is known that the cancer has spread to various parts of the prostate.

Stage C

In Stage C, the cancer has spread throughout the prostate and may have spread to other tissues nearby the prostate. It may also have spread to the bladder by now.

Stage D

In Stage D, the cancer has spread throughout the prostate and beyond. It’s in the nearby tissue. If is still concentrated to the pelvic area, the stage is referred to as D1. If the cancer has spread to the bone, it’s referred to as D2.

Gleason Score

The Gleason Score is based on the arrangement of cancer cells in tumors under a microscope. This is looked at by a pathologist. The lower the score the patient has, the better. The lowest possible Gleason Score is 2. A typical Gleason Score is between 5 and 7 and if the score is between 7 and 10, it is considered to be rather high.

Some physicians use TNM Staging, which is a universal scoring system. It looks at how far the cancer has spread. To determine the TNM Staging, the Oncologist looks at the tumor size, referred to as T staging, the lymph node involvement, referred to as N staging, and the presence of cancer in other parts of the body, or its metastasis, referred to as M staging.

T Staging

This staging goes from T1 to T4 and has some sub-stages. In the T1 stage, the cancer can’t be seen or felt. A biopsy has confirmed the presence of cancer. T1a means the cancer is present in 5 % or less of the prostate tissue which has been examined. T1b means that cancer is present in more than 5 % of the prostate tissue.

T2 means that the cancer is concentrated only to the prostate. T2a means that the cancer is only on one side of the prostate, and T2b means that the cancer is on both sides of the prostate.

T3 means that the cancer has spread beyond the prostate to nearby tissues and organs. T3a means that the cancer is not found in the seminal glands and T3b means that it has spread to the seminal glands. T4 tumors have spread to other organs, like the bladder or rectum.

There is N0 to N1 staging. N0 staging means that the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes and N1 staging means that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.

M staging also goes from M0 to M1. M0 means that the cancer has not spread to distant tissues and M1 means that the cancer has been found in distant tissues. M1a means it has been found in the lymph nodes beyond the pelvic area. M1b means it’s been found in the bone and M1c means it’s been found in other sites.

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer: Things to be on the lookout for

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:09:22 +0000

Prostate cancer is more common than one might think. It affects 1 in every 6 men. Men are 35 % more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer.

An estimated 2 million men have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States

Prostate cancer, MRI scans

As with most cancers, if prostate cancer is caught in the early stages, it can be dealt with a lot better. Many men do no experience symptoms in the early stages, however, here are some things that some men do experience:

- The need to urinate frequently, particularly during the night

- Difficulty to begin urinating or holding urination back

- Weak or interrupted flow of urine

- Painful or burning urination

- Difficulty with getting an erection

- Painful ejaculation

- Blood in the urine or the semen

- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips and/or upper thighs

Prostate is typically diagnosed during a routine physical examination. Many men do not experience noticeable symptoms or they do not understand what the symptoms they are experiencing mean. Many prostate cancer cases are not discovered until the cancer has spread beyond the prostate.

Prostate cancer is often diagnosed with the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test or a digital rectal exam (DRE).

The symptoms in which the patient experiences will vary depending on how far the cancer has spread. Urinary problems are typically experienced because of tumors pressing against the bladder.

In advanced prostate cancer, there are a few symptoms which may be experienced:

- Bone pain that doesn’t go away

- Bone fractures

- Compression of the spine

Prostate cancer behaves differently for different people depending on the type of prostate cancer it is. It is still unknown as to what exactly causes prostate cancer. Research suggests that it may vary depending on a combination of factors, including heredity, ethnicity, hormones, diet and the environment.

There are many different factors, which put some people at a higher risk. Some risk factors include age, race, family history, diet and testosterone levels. A high-fat diet and obesity may play a bigger role in the development of prostate cancer than experts once thought.

Testosterone naturally stimulates the growth of the prostate gland, so men who use testosterone therapy are at a higher risk for developing prostate cancer.

Prostate Health » cancerous growth

What is Proctitis and How is it Related to Prostate Pain?

Suggested Reading

What is Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis?

Suggested Reading

What are the Stages of Prostate Cancer?

Suggested Reading

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer: Things to be on the lookout for

Suggested Reading