What should you do if your husband, your father, your son, your brother, or even your friend begins to complain to you about changes in urination habits, trouble in the bedroom or lower back pain?
The best advice you could give him is to go get his symptoms checked out by his doctor. While they could be related to a number of medical issues, they could also be signs of prostate cancer.
The worst advice you could give him is to tell him to man-up or grit through the pain. Another thing to avoid doing is telling him these symptoms are just the aging process. While they may be part of the aging process, you are always, “better safe than sorry,” as the old saying goes.
And loving the men in your life means having an honest conversation with them about taking their health and their prostate health seriously.
Prostate Cancer Symptoms
Early stages of prostate cancer may not have any symptoms because the tumor may not push on anything to cause pain. So it may lurk silently in the prostate for years without detection, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
However, prostate cancer symptoms can be subtle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can include:
- Frequent urination, especially during the night
- Pain or burning while using the bathroom
- Changes to bathroom habits
- Pressure or pain in the rectum
- A weak or interrupted flow of urine
- Difficulty when you first start to urinate
- Trouble emptying the bladder
- Pain in the back, hip or pelvis that is persistent
- Weakness or numbness in the legs or feet
- Blood or urine in the semen
- Painful ejaculation
- Erectile dysfunction
Other symptoms according to the Urology Care Foundation include:
- Weight loss
- Appetite loss
- Bone pain
Keep in mind, while these issues may be caused by other medical problems, you don’t want to ignore any of them. After all, “symptoms are symptoms,” the Prostate Cancer Foundation says.
Prostate Cancer Screening
You may also want to encourage the men you love to get regular prostate health checkups. These may include traditional screenings like digital rectal exam or a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test, measuring the levels of PSA, a substance made by the prostate.
Generally, the higher the PSA level the more likely a prostate issue may be present.
Prostate Cancer Treatment
If you or someone you love is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and you encouraged him to get checked out, you may have helped to save his life as well. The earlier prostate cancer is caught, the better the chance of beating the disease.
While there are different treatment options depending on the type and stage of cancer, your age and your overall health. Treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, other drug therapies and radiation.
In fact, more than 60,000 American men choose radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer each year, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
The cure rate for prostate cancer with radiation is well-documented, and there is a proven safety track record. But not all radiation treatments are created equal.
CyberKnife Miami for Prostate Cancer Care
CyberKnife, which uses a state-of-the-art form of radiation called stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT, has a 98% cure rate for prostate cancer. That’s just one reason more than 20,000 men have been treated with CyberKnife according to Accuray, the company that makes CyberKnife.
The experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami, who see prostate cancer patients on a regular basis, agree. Here are some distinct advantages of CyberKnife:
- It’s noninvasive.
- There is no anesthesia or cutting.
- It doesn’t come with the risks of surgery like infection and long periods of downtime.
- CyberKnife’s treatments can be done in five therapy sessions over 10 days instead of 42 over three months with other types of radiation treatments.
- The CyberKnife radiation beams, which target and destroy the tumor, are exceedingly precise. That means there are less risks of side effects including impotence and incontinence. That’s a relief to most men who are looking for alternative treatment options for prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Near Me
If you want to learn more about CyberKnife for prostate cancer, contact the experts at CyberKnife Miami for a consultation. We treat patients from across South Florida, the United States and even around the world.
If you would like to find out more about prostate cancer treatment with CyberKnife, call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our prostate cancer website now for more information.