Every year over 232,090 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and about 30,350 of those diagnosed die due to the disease. Fortunately, if detected early prostate cancer is often treatable.

Because prostate cancer is a complex cancer and no one really knows the cause of it or why one man develops it and another does not, anyone who has experienced the disease knows one thing – support is a necessity.

In Las Cruces, the Us TOO Prostate Cancer Support Group and Memorial Medical Center (MMC) are doing what they can to meet the needs of men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

While Us Too provides emotional support for men already diagnosed with prostate cancer, they also work to educate men throughout the community on the importance of early testing and detection and the group credits much of their success to the medical support received by MMC.

“Our Us TOO local chapter could not function without the aid and support of MMC, which provides us with meeting rooms and snacks for our meetings,” said Us TOO Chapter Leader Ed Fernandez. “MMC has been most accommodating with any request our chapter has made and we owe the administration and staff there our heartfelt gratitude.”

PROSTATE CANCER FACTS
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States and the majority of deaths from prostate cancer are related to advanced disease with metastases. Knowing about prostate cancer and understanding early diagnosis is the first step in understanding the disease.

WHAT IS THE PROSTATE?
The prostate is a small gland that produces prostatic fluid located at the bottom of the bladder, surrounding the tube that drains urine from the bladder. Normally, cells within the prostate grow, divide, interact and die to make sure the prostate functions properly. Prostate cancer cells have lost control and grow on top of each other, forming a tumor. What causes normal prostate cancer cells to become cancer cells isn’t fully understood, but it involves a disruption of the processes that control normal cell growth and death.

RISK FACTORS
While there are no known causes of prostate cancer, there are risk factors that doctors believe may increase the chance of developing prostate cancer including:

Age. Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than 45, unless there is a family history of prostate cancer, but the chance of getting the disease does go up with age. Prostate cancer is mainly found in men age 55 or over with an average age of 70 at the time of diagnosis.

Family History. A man’s risk of prostate cancer is higher than average if his brother or father had the disease. With two close relatives diagnosed the risk is five-fold. With three close relatives diagnosed the chance is 97 percent.

Race. Prostate cancer is more common in African American men and less common in Asian and American Indian men.

Obesity. Men with a body mass index over 32.5 have about a one-third greater risk of dying from prostate cancer than men who are not obese.

Diets High in Fat. Diets high in fat may increase the risk of prostate cancer by increasing testosterone, which stimulates prostate cell growth.

SYMPTOMS OF PROSTATE CANCER
Early-stage prostate cancer may not be associated with any obvious signs or symptoms, or may cause symptoms that can be mistaken for those of other disorders. Most cases of prostate cancer are not detected until they have spread out of the prostate and begin to cause noticeable symptoms.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS MAY INCLUDE:
Pelvic pain , Frequent need for urination , Difficult or painful urination , Blood in the urine , Painful ejaculation , Loss of appetite and weight , Bone pain

PSA TESTING
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test allows prostate cancer to be detected and treated early, before it can spread to other tissues. Prostate-specific antigen is a substance that is normally produced by the prostate gland and a small amount of PSA can usually be detected in the blood. However, if the prostate begins to make too much PSA, it could be a sign of an enlarged prostate, inflammation or cancer. The doctor will draw blood to measure the PSA level. The earlier prostate cancer is detected, the more easily it can be treated.

Men should have annual prostate examinations, which should include both a PSA blood test and a digital rectal examination (DRE) by age 40 if African American man, or have a family history of prostate cancer and no later than age 45 for all other men. Men should keep a record of the exact numbers of their PSA results. The first PSA blood test establishes the ‘baseline’ PSA score so by tracking the PSA from year to year; it is possible to see if the numbers have increased over the year.

TREATMENT OPTIONS
There are many available treatment options for prostate cancer based on the stage of cancer. The type of treatment should be discussed in length with a physician and loved ones.

Us TOO International suggests the following options.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH:
Early stage prostate cancer with a low risk of progression, or you are not expected to tolerate other therapies, your doctor may recommend watchful waiting, or short-term monitoring of the cancer with routine digital rectal exams (DREs) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests.

Early stage prostate cancer, when cells have not spread outside of the prostate, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the prostate and the seminal vesicles or radiation therapy to remove or destroy prostate gland and the cancer contained in it.

Advanced prostate cancer, when cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, your doctor may recommend hormone therapy to slow cancer cell growth and/or palliative radiation to destroy as much of the prostate cancer as can be easily done.

Metastatic prostate cancer that is not responsive to hormone therapy (hormone resistant prostate cancer or androgen independent prostate cancer), your doctor may recommend radiation or chemotherapy that would be injected and treat the entire body.