Know About Prostate Cancer Staging

By Olive Pate


In our modern times, cancer is key health concern. Prostate cancer staging is the criteria followed by physicians to expound on the prostate cancer on issues concerning its location, how far it has advanced and the chances of it spreading to other organs apart from the prostate gland. This also involves the treatment the rapiers to be undertaken to help contain the tumor.

The procedure is carried out by doctors by carrying out tests to determine the extent of the tumor. The patient undergoes various tests and thus takes a longer time. The doctors are provided with the responsibility of looking at the results and interpreting them. This helps them determine how wide the cancerous growth has spread and the affected areas. In this way doctors can ascertain a suitable form of treatment and determine the chances of survival.

The tumor spreads in stages. The first stage is mostly comprised of series of undetected tumor. It can not be felt or seen on any imaging tests. It is found on the gland only and is made up of cells that are deceivingly healthy and have a slow but steady growth. They can not be detected easily and thus hard to treat at this stage.

The tumor is described as a slightly huge lump that can be felt around the gland on the second stage. Although it is too small to be seen on any screen tests. At this time the tumor has not spread to other parts of the body nevertheless, the cells appear to be strange and seem to be growing steadily.

On the third stage the cancerous cells start circulating to other organs both around and past the gland. This adversely affects the seminal vesicles in some cases. This stage is critical as it affects the pro static capsule which causes the lump to be felt on the glands surface.

The immediate fourth stage is described by any tumor that has already spread to other parts of the body and invaded all the nearby organs, such as the rectum, bladder, bone, lungs, lymph nodes or liver.

Through early detection the tumor could be eliminated through various medical stages. The clinical stage, norms its basis on test results that were done before. The tests such as an MRI scan and bone scans are performed although they are not necessary unless advised in reference to the size of the tumor and its stage.

The pathologic stage is grounded on information given during surgery and laboratory results of the prostate tissue removed. The surgery mostly if not, involves the removal of the entire prostate and some lymph nodes.

The cancerous growth may appear again after treatment. This is the recurrent prostate cancer. It may appear in the gland or other body organs. In case this takes place the tumor may need to be staged once again to determine the form of treatment to be provided early and if it could be eliminated through these treatments.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment