Do You Have Prostate Cancer? How to Recognize Prostate Cancer?
By Alevoor Rajagopal

Here is a brief of what prostate and prostate cancer are before we set on to see methods to recognize the symptoms of prostate cancer. Mind you the symptoms can be quite misleading as prostate cancer has the same symptoms as its enlargement does.

Prostate is one of the male sex organs and is located just between the bladder and rectum in such a way that urethra has to pass through it. Prostate’s job is to produce a base fluid to carry the sperms produced by testes. If not for this, the fluid doesn’t actually have an active role in the reproduction. Prostate Cancer: Symptoms

The symptoms of any ailment of prostate are more or less the same. And generally they go round around urination. Take for example the need to urinate frequently and especially so in the night. Or for that matter trouble in urinating or even holding it a while or burning and painful passage of urine. All these symptoms indicate you might possibly have prostate cancer. But then, hold a minute. These are the same symptoms an enlargement of prostate gland shows too. Recognize your Prostate Cancer Symptoms

The trouble with prostate cancer symptoms is not just this. Worse, it may not even show any of the symptoms till it is spread beyond the gland itself. Here are a few things that can be helpful. Look for blood in urine and semen. And if your lower back and hip are aching or if ejaculation is paining you it is an alarm that you need to consult your doctor. More so when you are above 80 years of age (80% of men above 80 yrs. are proven to have prostate cancer).

While all these can be because of infection, inflammation of your urinary system or even benign prostatic hyperplasia, a test for PSA (prostate specific antigen) helps. However there is still a small chance of normal PSA levels in people with prostate cancer. The normal highest level of PSA is 4ng/ml. Scientists have a better age specific chart for PSA levels for different age groups. Though this PSA method is controversial physicians agree referring to age specific chart as better than going by the rule of thumb of 4ng/ml. Additionally blood has to be checked for higher levels of acid phosphatase. This is a clearer indication of malignant prostate tissues.

You doctor can ask you if you have bone pain and weight loss as these are normally associated with prostate cancer. Your behavioral change like hesitancy too indicates malignant prostate caner.

There is another clinical way called as DRE. DRE stands for digital rectal examination. Your doctor feels your prostate by inserting his finger through your rectum. But most of the doctors feel that both DRE and PSA done together rather than independently are better in detecting prostate cancer.

Further tests like MRI, CT scanning, bone x-ray, bone scan and ultra sound scan clarify any doubt whether or not you have prostate cancer.

Alevoor Rajagopal had been writing on technical matters and in this avtar he gave up tags that confine to particular genre of writing. Rajgopal is a mechanical engineer and served the pharmaceutical industry. Oflate he has been putting his efforts in to creative art and healthcare writing. Here he looks up at options available to put life back on track. He can be contacted at http://bangalore.sancharnet.in/rjgopal1

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alevoor_Rajagopal