Prostate cancer comes with plenty of assumptions. Maybe you’ve heard it’s an “old man’s disease” or that every prostate cancer needs immediate treatment.
At Greater Houston Radiation Oncology, we know misinformation can make an already stressful topic even harder to navigate. Understanding your risk, knowing when to talk about screening, and learning what a diagnosis really means can help you make more informed decisions about your health.
Actually, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men in the United States. About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed during their lifetime.
Age is an important risk factor, but it isn’t the only one. Black men have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer, and family history and certain inherited genetic changes can also increase risk.
Early prostate cancer often causes no symptoms at all.
When symptoms do occur, they may include difficulty urinating, a weak urine stream, blood in the urine or semen, or persistent pain in the back, hips, or pelvis. But these symptoms can also have noncancerous causes.
That’s why symptoms alone can’t tell you whether you have prostate cancer — and why screening conversations happen before symptoms appear.
A growing prostate doesn’t necessarily mean a growing tumor.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate that becomes more common with age. It can cause urinary symptoms that overlap with those associated with prostate cancer, but BPH itself isn’t cancer.
If you notice changes in urination, talk with your healthcare provider rather than assuming you know the cause.
PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein produced by prostate cells. A PSA blood test can help identify men who may need further evaluation, but it can’t diagnose prostate cancer on its own.
PSA levels can also rise because of BPH, inflammation, infection, and other factors. If your PSA is elevated, your healthcare provider may recommend additional evaluation to better understand why.
No single screening schedule fits every man.
When you should begin discussing PSA screening depends on factors such as your age, overall health, family history, and individual risk. The potential benefits and limitations of screening matter, too.
The important thing is to talk with your healthcare provider so you can make an informed decision based on your own risk rather than someone else’s screening schedule.
Hearing the word “cancer” can make waiting seem unthinkable. But some prostate cancers grow slowly and may not require immediate treatment.
For certain men with low-risk prostate cancer, active surveillance may be appropriate. This means closely monitoring the cancer and beginning treatment if testing shows that it’s changing.
Other prostate cancers are more aggressive and do require treatment. The right approach depends on factors such as the cancer’s stage and characteristics, your overall health, and your individual circumstances.
Surgery is one treatment for localized prostate cancer, but it isn’t the only option.
Radiation therapy can also be used with curative intent. At Greater Houston Radiation Oncology, Dr. Kirk Kanady and Dr. Maria Sosa use advanced radiation treatments for prostate cancer, including external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, image-guided radiation therapy, and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).
For some patients undergoing prostate radiation therapy, the team also uses SpaceOAR™ Hydrogel. Because the prostate sits close to the rectum, radiation treatment can expose nearby rectal tissue to radiation. SpaceOAR temporarily creates space between the prostate and rectum, helping reduce the radiation dose that reaches the rectum.
The appropriate treatment depends on your individual diagnosis. The goal isn’t to choose a treatment based on what worked for someone else. It’s to understand your cancer and weigh the options that make sense for you.
Perhaps one of the most important prostate cancer myths to leave behind is the idea that you don’t need to think about it until something feels wrong.
Learning your risk and talking with your healthcare provider about screening before symptoms appear can help you make informed decisions about your health. And if you’ve already been diagnosed, understanding your particular cancer can help you weigh what comes next.
If prostate cancer treatment is part of that conversation, Greater Houston Radiation Oncology offers advanced radiation therapy at locations in North Houston, South Houston, and Huntsville, Texas.
Schedule a consultation to learn which treatment options may be appropriate for you.
