As men age, prostate problems increase resulting in the need for
prostate treatment and often prostate surgery. Surprisingly many men who have
prostate problems do not have prostate cancer but need screening to determine
if prostate cancer treatment is needed. Looking at the prostate and the
diseases which affect it will explain why.
The prostate gland is a walnut size gland which surrounds
the male urethra or tube from the bladder to the outside just below its
junction to the base of the bladder. As a man ages, the prostate can increase
in size due to a condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH. Only a
doctor can determine from an examination and blood tests if the enlargement is
due to BPH and not prostate cancer. All men forty years and older should
undergo yearly prostate examination.
Since BPH can decrease and even completely cut off the flow
of urine, prostate treatments are often needed to increase urine flow and
decrease prostate size. Medical therapy can accomplish this in many cases. In
some cases of BPH, prostate surgery is needed to reduce the size of the
prostate and increase urine flow.
If prostate cancer is suspected, prostate biopsies are
preformed either through the rectum or through a type of minimally invasive
prostate treatment known as a transurethral prostatectomy. If any of the tissue
removed reveals prostate cancer, prostate cancer treatment can be undertaken.
Prostate cancer treatment includes the total removal of the prostate and
surrounding tissues and/or radiation therapy.
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