Prostate cancer develops when cells present in the prostate gland grow uncontrollably. Those cells can circulate to other parts of the body and start affecting healthy tissue....CONTINUE READING
According to “Web MD” below are some reasons why prostate cancer spreads.
1. Early Treatment Failure
When prostate cancer is detected at its early stage, treatment normally works. Most male individuals are capable to live cancer-free for many years.
But periodically, treatment doesn’t work and prostate cancer can start growing slowly. This can transpire after surgery (known as radical prostatectomy) or radiation therapy.
Chemical recurrence is a situation where cancer survives inside the prostate or reappears after treatment and spreads to different tissues and organs. The cancer is normally microscopic and grows incredibly slowly.
2. Active Surveillance
Because prostate cancer cells normally develop extremely slowly, some male individuals might not require therapy right away.
Your health care team might recommend something often known as active surveillance. That implies instead of undergoing surgery or radiation right away, your health care team will track your cancer for some time to see if it gets more severe.
You’ll undergo regular tests, such as PSA levels, and probably biopsies and MRI. And if your cancer gets more contentious, you and your health care team will figure out the next steps.
This plan is normally for male individuals who don’t experience symptoms and whose cancer is anticipated to grow slowly. It’s also an alternative when surgery or radiation could be harmful.
3. Watchful Waiting
Another possible strategy is watchful waiting. Like active surveillance, this averts surgery and radiation, your health care team will monitor the growth of your cancer. But with watchful waiting, you don’t undergo regular testing.
Generally, this is the best alternative for individuals who don’t want or can’t undergo other cancer therapies, or those who are suffering from another severe medical ailment. The risk factor with this strategy is that cancer might develop and spread between checkups. If it does, this could restrict the treatment you can receive and the possibility of your cancer can be cured.
4. Treatment Issues
When you undergo a cancer diagnosis, with any medical problem, you must follow your treatment strategy. That can include going for regular checkups or, if radiation therapy is among your treatment plan, ensure you attend all scheduled radiation visits.
If you skip some, you may result in a greater possibility that your cancer will spread.
5. Late Diagnosis
Medical professionals disagree on whether all male individuals should get tested for prostate cancer and at what age screenings and the discussions about them should commence.
Exams including a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can help in detecting cancer early. But there are some concerns about if the advantages of screening tests always overpower the risks.
Several groups indicate that male individuals who are at a common risk of developing prostate cancer should undergo prostate screening tests when they are at the age of 50. Some male individuals might prefer to get tests earlier if they possess numerous risk factors that make them more plausible to develop prostate cancer.
