Healthy Living explores prostate cancer
Last week Healthy Living and discussed cervical cancer and this week it deals with Prostrate cancer, a cancer that causes many deaths when left untreated. According to available information from the experts, there is a degree of ignorance on this cancer.
Marleni Cuellar, Reporting
Prostate cancer is the cause of death some twenty-five men each year in Belize. If detected early, however, it does not have to be fatal. Unfortunately, according to urologist, Dr. Marcus Rugama, in his five years at the K.H.M.H., he’s encountered many patients who don’t even know what the prostate is much less the conditions that may be associated with it.
Dr. Marcus Rugama, Urologist, K.H.M.H.
“Many patients, although they listen what is prostate. They don’t even know what the prostate is. The prostate is a gland that is in the pelvic area behind the pubis over the perineal muscle. It’s a gland that produce the liquid for the sperm to survive so that it can produce fertilization. The prostate really can be affected by three different areas: benign the hyperplasia, inflammatory conditions and cancer.”
Marleni Cuellar
“What are some of the symptoms associated with problems of the prostate or prostate cancer?”
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“The problem sometimes, all these conditions that affect prostate they would have similar symptoms. They would have obstruction; difficulty to pass urine, urine stream is weak. They feel like when they finish pass the urine its incomplete, burning of the penis. They wake up at night three, four, five times that’s usually when they have symptoms.”
It is recommended that any male who experiences these symptoms, who is over fifty years or who has a family history of prostate cancer, should be screened.
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“There are different methods of screening. The most of common that exist is a test in blood the name is P.S.A. that is Prostate Specific Antigen. This is a glycoprotein that is detected in the blood when this protein is high then that means there could exist a cancer.”
Similarly, the digital rectal exam is also conducted to examine the state of the prostate.
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“The prostate will be reached through the anus because of the natural position. This is a test that has to be done because really the problem is that people think that because exist PSA it means that it will tell you if you have an enlarged process or you no have an enlarged prostate. It will tell you if you have probably cancer but if you have a prostatic enlargement it will never tell you. This is like the initial method of screening but then we have to get an ultrasound to help us to decide if we would get a biopsy and then the final diagnosis would be done with a biopsy.”
This screening process may allow for the early diagnosis of the different prostate conditions. Early diagnosis equates to earlier treatment and less problems.
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“This condition cancer, prostate enlargement, benign can finally produce also a damage in the kidney and also renal failure because they produce an obstruction in the urine flow, they can develop chronic urinary tract infections, they can develop bleeding and sometimes you can have an associated inflammatory process.”
Marleni Cuellar
“Why is it important to get early screening of your prostate?”
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“The importance is the treatment. The treatment, there are a lot of possibilities of treatment but a treatment to heal will only be possible if you are in stage one or two. If it is more advanced, the option will decrease. For example, here in the hospital most of the patients will come usually with very advance stage. Really here I’ve seen two patients who were candidates or surgery.”
If prostate cancer is detected too late and has spread to other parts of the body it cannot be cured. It is important to remember that just like any other screening process; the results are not yet defined.
Dr. Marcus Rugama
“It doesn’t mean that just because you get a test you have cancer the important thing is if you discover that you have a cancer then you can do something early because if pass there’s nothing to do and at the end person with prostate cancer they suffer a lot the pain is terrible, they bleed a lot and sometimes the same family it is a problem for everybody because they feel really uncomfortable for everybody.”
The prostate is such a little gland that can cause such large problems. Be sure to talk to your doctor about getting screened.
