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Prostate cancer - Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Complications


If you have surgery, you run the risk of having difficulty urinating, and trouble with erectile dysfunction. Chemotherapy is potent and can kill or damage healthy cells, along with the cancer cells. You may lose hair or weight or feel very sick as a result. You may also have urinary incontinence or pain when urinating. Some significant side effects of chemotherapy include erectile dysfunction and diarrhea. Also, hormone therapy, while useful, is not a Godsend. It has its painful side effects which include erectile dysfunction, hot flashes, bone mass loss and reduction in libido, and weight gain.


Cryosurgery is not used much because of its extreme riskiness and many acute side effects.


Side effects


You may find that your bladder leaks as a result of your treatment plan. Urination can be painful, and you may require permanent kidney dialysis because of complete loss of bladder control. You may end up waking up many times during the night to urinate with radiation treatment.


Bowel dysfunction or slower-moving stools is a common side effect of prostate cancer treatments. This is because the inside of your rectum can be damaged by some of the more invasive procedures. You may have diarrhea, bloody stools, or a sudden urge to defecate, only to find that no stool is produced.


Hormone therapy, while it produces wonderful results, can have serious side effects. These include hot flashes, decreased libido, bone density and mass loss, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, weight gain, reduced muscle mass, anemia, loss of memory, and higher (harmful) cholesterol levels. Your risk of developing diabetes and getting heart attacks also increases dramatically.


Surgery can increase your survival chances, but its side effects can also be severe. You will likely have urinary incontinence for some time after your surgery. This can be alleviated with pelvic floor muscle exercises. Erectile dysfunction and problems with bowel movements are common side effects. Many men have issues with fertility after surgery. You will not be able to ejaculate sperm during sex, so your partner will not get pregnant. If you want to have kids after surgery, consider storing and freezing substantial quantities of sperm before your operations.


Chemotherapy consists of powerful medicines and has its own side effects. These include an immediate fever and lower white blood cell counts (so chemotherapy weakens your immune system!) You may also experience numb and weak feet, fingers, and toes. Please note that this side effect is usually permanent. You may also have neuropathy which tends to be stable as well. If you receive regular chemotherapy, your blood platelet count will decrease dramatically. You will be more prone to bleeding and will bleed for longer because you will have fewer blood platelets to stop the bleeding. Approximately one per cent of chemo patients will have problems with this.


Chemotherapy has other devastating and potentially severe side effects which include anemia (5%), increased risk of heart failure (10%), hair loss (65%), diarrhea (32), changes in nail colour, consistency, quality and thickness (30%), decreased desire to eat (20%), being short of breath (15%), edema (10-20%).


Managing side effects


Since many of these side effects can be life-threatening, they need to be managed early on to increase your chances of survival. Most of these side effects, when treated within the stipulated time, are harmless. This is discussed in further detail below.


If you have problems urinating, your doctor will likely prescribe you medicine to help with this. Some effective medications include Tamusulosin, terazosin, and alpha-blockers. These are very effective at reversing urinary incontinence. You will generally be prescribed these medicines during or after radiation therapy. You’ll need to take them for a while to be effective. Your doctor will gradually wean you off them as your urination abilities improve.


Doctors have found that medicines like tolterodine and solifenacin are great at treating any bladder irritation can be due to the treatment. These drugs belong to a class known as anticholinergic medicines. If you can’t urinate at all, it takes a long time for you to do so, or it is excruciating, your doctor may prescribe you collagen injections. These are injected into your urethra or urinary hole. Because it makes your hole smaller and tighter, it prevents these problems and urinary leakage problems. It works in half of the patients, but its benefits do not last long.


You may need surgery if your urinary problems are severe because this is a more effective management method. The effects last much longer. One type of surgery requires your surgeon to place a sling made either out of prosthetic material (generally speaking), or natural tissue (rarely) under your urethra. This device is attached to a surrounding muscle or bone to secure it into place. The sling is very effective in reducing urinary incontinence and bladder leakages because it relieves the pressure on your urethra as your bladder fills up. This surgery is referred to as prostatectomy and is successful in 70% of cases.


After treatment


Your journey is only just beginning after your treatment plan is completed because you must figure out how to relive your life. While relapse is rare, it is not unheard of. You’ll need many years of follow up care as a result. Your doctor will introspect you about many points related to your overall health and quality of lifestyle during these visits. He or she will do many lab tests and other exams to check the levels and quality of cells in your prostate and bloodstream.


You will undergo imaging tests for the doctor to determine the exact state of your prostate.

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Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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