Prostate cancer is usually a very slow growing disease and once diagnosed there is time to gather information, consider your options, and make a plan. More than 50 percent of men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer have low-risk disease which will likely not spread beyond the prostate to cause harm, problems, or symptoms. However, some prostate cancers are aggressive and will spread beyond the prostate to other parts of the body.
The prostate is a small gland forming part of the male reproductive system.
Its main function is to produce fluid which protects and enriches sperm.
In younger men the prostate is about the size of a walnut and is located below the bladder.
It is doughnut shaped as it surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the tube that conveys urine from the bladder to the penis.
The nerves that control erections surround the prostate.
Prostate cancer is an abnormal growth of prostate cells, which form a lump (tumour) in the prostate. In time it will spread to other organs, particularly the bones and lymph nodes, which can be life threatening.
Prostate cancer is generally a slow growing disease. However in some cases, particular younger men, the high grade disease spreads aggressively and can be lethal.
A major problem is that prostate cancer at an early (potentially curable) stage usually does not have obvious symptoms.
As Australia’s most commonly diagnosed male cancer and the second leading cause of cancer related death in men – there are many good reasons to get tested!
Current guidelines recommend that:
There is increasing evidence suggesting a potential benefit for men to have a baseline PSA at the age of 40. A baseline PSA at the age of 40 has the potential to predict an individual’s future risk of developing prostate cancer. It can then guide the frequency of further testing with a PSA and DRE. Individuals identified as high risk can undergo close monitoring whilst individuals identified as low risk can have less frequent monitoring. It also allows the identification of a small number of aggressive cancers that can be found in young men.
With systematic testing most cancers found are in a curable stage. Recent evidence has demonstrated that prostate cancer screening does save lives. A large trial recently published in the world renowned New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that PSA based testing reduced the death rate from prostate cancer up to 38%. The trial which was conducted in Europe, studied 162,000 men over a prolonged period and is known as the ERSPC Trial (European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer). The results of the ERSPC trial demonstrated that for every 1,000 men tested for prostate cancer, 48 would need to be treated to save 1 life.
Each year approximately 22,000 Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and over 3300 men die from a direct result of prostate cancer each year. This equates to 55 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer and 9 men dying from prostate cancer each day. It is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer death.
In 2008, prostate cancer was an underlying cause of death for more men than breast cancer was for women (accounting for 3,031 deaths or 4.1% of male deaths compared with 2,774, or 3.9% of female deaths).
Approximately 1 in 5 Australian men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime.
Younger men have less risk of having prostate cancer than older men but if they are diagnosed with prostate cancer they have a higher chance of dying from the disease. The chance of having prostate cancer at a specific age is as follows:
The chance of having prostate cancer at a specific age | |
---|---|
For a man in his 40’s | 1 in 1000 |
For a man in his 50’s | 12 in a 1000 |
For a man in his 60’s | 45 in a 1000 |
For a man in his 70’s | 79 in a 1000 |
Family history is the most important risk factor for developing prostate cancer. If one first degree relative has prostate cancer then the risk of developing prostate cancer increases to 20%. If two first degree relatives have prostate cancer this risk increases to 40% and if three first degree relatives have prostate cancer then the risk increases significantly and approaches 100%.
An individual’s risk of prostate cancer is based on their age, race, family history, PSA result and DRE findings.
Testing for prostate cancer has potential risks and benefits. In making a decision whether or not to be tested these risks and benefits must be assessed.
Potential benefits of prostate cancer testing and early diagnosis include:
Diagnosing prostate cancer at an early and potentially curable stage when it is localised and potentially curable, prostate cancer that is diagnosed late and spread beyond the prostate is often incurable.
Recent evidence suggests that prostate cancer screening has the potential to decrease the death rate from prostate cancer by up to 44%.
Potential risks of prostate cancer testing and early diagnosis include:
Some prostate cancers don’t present a threat to life and treatment may result in side effects and a reduction in a patient’s quality of life with potential for impotence and incontinence. This is known as overtreatment.
Not all patients with an abnormal PSA will have prostate cancer and the only way to find out is a prostate biopsy. This results in 2 out of 3 men having an unnecessary prostate biopsy with potential side effects.
If prostate cancer is diagnosed early and is potentially curable, there are many treatment options including: active surveillance, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and radical prostatectomy. Unfortunately all potentially curative options for prostate cancer have potential side effects. These side effects vary greatly between the individual options but include; impotence, incontinence and bowel disturbance. With modern technology these side effects have been greatly reduced.
Prostate cancer testing or screening is an important decision for men to make. There is no right or wrong answer and the decision whether or not to be tested is a complex issue. The decision should be made in conjunction with a patient’s treating doctor and their partner after reading the appropriate information on prostate cancer early detection and weighing up the risks and benefits whilst their goals, fears and willingness to accept these risks and potential benefits.
“That was an awesome talk and I know everyone got a lot out of it. Most lads from our team learnt something. Just passing on my appreciation. I have booked in for a PSA at 8am tomorrow when I get home. Good stuff.”
“I just want to share with everyone what a great presentation we had yesterday with the MAN up team about prostate cancer. It was really well received by the Ops team and the spotless Teams. The presenters were fantastic.
I believe this would be a great presentation for every team member for both SHELL and Spotless.
Being a prostate cancer survivor at 47 years of age I hope that I can encourage everyone in your teams / villages / offices to contact MANUP and take this presentation to all of our teams as early detection saved my life and I am so lucky!”
“This morning you presented to C Crew at Glencore’s Clermont Open Cut mine. As the safety rep for the haulage team I would like to extend you a very big THANK YOU.
Your presentation was by far one of the best we have ever had here on site being very informative, down to earth and able to really connect with all crew members. For any presentation to keep the crew talking about the topic all day, especially this topic, is no small feat.”
“I’d like to say thank you very much for your recent visit to Burdekin Shire Council staff. I have had so much positive feedback from staff, with some saying they have made and attended appointments, along with others following up on their scores.”
“I just wanted to let you know that the presentation about prostate cancer was greatly appreciated. The presentation dismissed a lot of myths about the disease and highlighted the important things like the PSA test, getting it done every year and creating a baseline to compare your score. It was a very worthwhile presentation”