Prostate Cancer

Why Should'nt i dope

2009-06-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

Why should’nt i dope

In the past, there had been many people who dope themselves with high performance drugs. Philip Adam, a competitor in Shooting, was found to have dope himself with Hydrochlorothiazide. Similarly, Shoaib Akhtar, a competitor in the game of cricket, was also found with Nandrolone and was eventually suspended from the game. Indeed, why do people dope themselves with these drugs? Possibly, it was for 2 main reasons: Pressure and the desire to outshine their fellow competitors. Following that, we shall mention about the consequences of doping and we should not dope.

One of the main reasons competitors dope is that they are under the pressure of their country. This affects a competitor even more if the country they are representing happens to be the host country. The competitors felt that they have a responsibility to ace their game and do their country proud. Moreover, they are also under immense pressure from their coach. Most will train for countless of hours to attain the first position in their game. However, some might resort to underhanded means to win it. These include doping of performance improving drugs to even “poisoning” other athletes.

Doping is also driven by the athletes motivation to win their game and do their country proud. It could also result from spite between 2 athletes, whom one athlete might choose to dope himself with drugs to beat the other athlete. In some cases, the coach might not even know about the doping issue, leading to problematic athlete-coach relations.

On the other hand, Doping could lead to serious consequences such as death. Doping is dangerous and unethical. It also serves no purpose in attaining glory for a country once the cat is let out of the bag.

Once Amphetamin was used in sports such as rugby to improve the players aggressiveness. However, after much research it was found to cause a lack of judgement that could lead to death if used too frequently. Often, the drugs used to improve the performance of athletes have a side effect that could lead to serious consequences. Once or twice in a few years would we chance upon a athlete having problems due to the taking of performance improving drugs. Our human body have a limit to the output( performance) it can release during a competition. Consumption of these drugs thus forcibly cause the athletes to perform beyond their limits, leading to problems such as a nervous breakdown after the game. Morever, it is also unethical to use them.

Doping can be likened to cheating in a game. Is cheating ethical? It does not respect other athletes who play the game fair and square. The Olympic games is created to honour the best athletes and to allow friendly competition between countries. Winning is not everything. Just as what Zig Ziglar said : Winning is not everything, But the effort to win is.

Indeed even though the athelete who dope himself might gain a minute or two of fame, is it worth harming the body and lying to the doping testers? Moreover, the doper will have to carry the secret to his graveyard, for it will bring national outrage should it get leaked out. Carrying this burden is no easy task to handle and that is why i should not dope.

References: image from http://www.bicycle.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/no-doping.jpg

References

2009-05-22T03:19:00.000-07:00

http://singapore2010.sp.edu.sg

Our References

1.http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/

2.http://www.google.com/

3.http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/prostate

4.http://www.hpb.gov.sg/diseases/article.aspx?id=592

5.http://www.youtube.com/

6.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-cancer/DS00043

Videos

2009-05-21T07:28:00.001-07:00

Orchiectomy

taken from Youtube

Learn more about it here

Prostatectomy

Cryotherapy

Prognosis

2009-05-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

FACTS AND FIGURES

Prostate Cancer is one of the most deadly cancers in the world. The survival rate for prostate cancer is around 56%-65%( National Statistics – UK Government Census, 2001)

The Deaths from Prostate cancer hovers around 31,729 deaths reported in USA 1999 (NVSR Sep 2001)

15 in every 1,000 men die during the first 15 years after diagnosis of prostate cancer (The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 291, 2004)

Complications

2009-05-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

COMPLICATIONS

As the Cancer Progresses, It may lead to complications such as the difficuly in urinating.

They are as followed:

Spread of cancer-

Prostate cancer can spread to nearby organs or travel through your bloodstream or lymphatic system, affecting your bones or other organs. Treatments for prostate cancer that has spread can include hormone therapy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Pain-

Although early-stage prostate cancer typically isn't painful, once it's spread to bones it can be. Not all people with cancer that has spread to bones have pain, but in some cases, pain is intense and doesn't go away. Treatments directed at shrinking the cancer often can produce significant pain relief. Medications ranging from over-the-counter pain relievers to prescription narcotics can alleviate pain. If your pain is severe, you may need to see a pain specialist. While it's not always possible to make all of your pain go away, your doctor will work with you to try to control pain to a point where you're comfortable. If you're in serious pain, tell your doctor. Pain can be controlled, and there's no reason you have to suffer.

Difficulty urinating

Treatments include behavior modifications , exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles, medications and catheters. Your doctor may suggest more aggressive procedures. These include implanting an artificial urinary sphincter, placement of a sling of synthetic material to compress the urethra, or the injection of bulking agents

Erectile dysfunction (ED) or (impotence).

It is the result of the cancer or its following treatments.

Medications to treat ED include sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis) and vardenafil (Levitra).

Depression

Many men may feel depressed after a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Treatment such as counseling or antidepressant medication can make a big difference. Talk to ur doctor for more information

Treatment

2009-05-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

Prostate Cancer Treatment

Consult a urologist, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist for treatments and outcomes when dealing with Prostate cancer

Active Surveillance

Prostatectomy-removal of prostate, either whole or part of it

Radiation therapy-direct radioactive exposure to kill the cancerous cells

hormone therapy-
Prostate cancer feeds on testerone. Stopping hormone production will remove a large part of cancer cells, but not those which does not feed on testerone

two types of hormone therapy are

orchiectomy-
removal of testes and LHRH agonists-
blocking the production of luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone so that testosterone will not be produced from LHRH
chemotherapy-
Usage of Drugs to kill or halt the growth of cancer cells Eg.docetaxel (Taxotere)

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy, also known as cryosurgery or cryoablation was rarely used. With this approach, probes are inserted into the prostate through the perineum (the space between the scrotum and the anus), and delivers argon gas or liquid nitrogen , "freezing" to death the prostate cells and any tumors.

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound

High-intensity focused ultrasound, or HIFU, is the opposite of cryotherapy: with HIFU, the prostate cells are "heated" to death. A probe is inserted into the rectum and high-intensity ultrasound waves are delivered to the cancerous area

Diagnosis

2009-05-19T02:26:00.002-07:00

Diagnosis (Gleason Scores and Staging the Disease)

The Biopsy

During a biopsy, needles are inserted into the prostate to gather tissue using ultrasound imaging. It may cause some discomfort or pain, but the procedure is short, and usually hospital stays are not required

Gleason Grading and Gleason Scores

Prostate cells are constantly reproducing and dying and look the same as other Prostate Cells. But cancer cells look different, and the degree to which they look different from normal cells is what determines the cancer grade. "Low-grade" tumor cells tend to look very similar to normal cells, whereas "high-grade" tumor cells often do not resemble normal cells.

The Gleason grading system accounts for the five distinct patterns that prostate tumor cells tend to go through as they change from normal cells. The scale runs from 1 to 5, where 1 represents cells that are very nearly normal, and 5 represents cells that do not look normal at all

After examining the cells under a microscope, the pathologist looking at the biopsy sample assigns one Gleason grade to the most common pattern, and a second Gleason grade to the next most common pattern. The two grades are added, and the Gleason score, or sum, is determined.
It tends to predict the aggressiveness of the disease and how it will behave. The higher the score, the more aggresive the cancer is

Staging the Disease
Staging determines the extent of prostate cancer. Localized prostate cancer that the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate. Locally advanced prostate cancer means that most of the cancerous cells are still within the prostate(note: not all). In metastatic disease, the prostate cancer has spread outside the prostate.
A number of tests can be used to help determine the stage of disease. Eg, It be detected through CT scans, MRIs, or x-rays, or more through bone scans. It cannot be used to determine the stage of the disease, to guide treatment options, or to predict outcomes.
Metastatic often can be detected in the lymph nodes. Cancers that spread to more distant organs travel through the lymphatic system, a system important in fighting infection and disease. During a biopsy, or, lympth nodes will be examined for traces of prostate cancer tissues.

Symtoms of Prostate Cancer

2009-05-19T02:26:00.001-07:00

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

These are the symtoms for prostate cancer at its later stages:

- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night;
- Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine;
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine;
- Painful or burning urination;
- Difficulty in having an erection;
- Painful ejaculation;
- Blood in urine or semen; or
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.

Do go for a through checkup if u experience these symtoms.

Prostate Cancer Screening

2009-05-19T02:25:00.001-07:00

PSA & DRE Screening

The PSA Blood Test

PSA is a protein which is released in small amounts in the blood. When there’s a problem with the prostate, A high amount of PSA is normally detected in the blood
During a PSA test, a small amount of blood is drawn from the arm, and the level of PSA is measured. PSA levels under 4 ng/mL are usually considered "normal,

results over 10 ng/mL are usually considered "high,"

and results between 4 and 10 ng/mL are usually considered "intermediate."

It can also be elevated when u have complications such as BPH or prostatitis. Another method use to detect prostate cancer is DRE

The Digital Rectal Exam(DRE)

A specialist will insert his finger into the rectum and examines the prostate for any irregularities.

It is used to Distinguish Prostate Cancer from non-cancerous conditions such as BPH.

Risk Factors/ Prevalance

2009-05-19T02:24:00.001-07:00

Severity of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer affects 1 in 6 men. The older u are, the more likely u will end up with prostate cancer. Although only 1 in 10,000 under age 40 will be diagnosed, the rate shoots up to 1 in 38 for ages 40 to 59, and 1 in 15 for ages 60 to 69. Men over the age of 65 own the bulk of people with prostate cancer.
Race and Family history is Just as important. African American men are 61% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease. Men with a single first-degree relative—father, brother or son—with a history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease, while those with two or more relatives are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed. (When weighing risk factors for prostate cancer, it’s also important to recognize that there are non-risk factors, or factors that have not been linked to an increase in risk.)
Although genetics might play a role in deciding why one man might be at higher risk than another, social and environmental factors, particularly diet and lifestyle, plays a large role too.

Diet Modification

Diet Modification might decrease the chances of developing prostate cancer, reduce the likelihood of having a prostate cancer recurrence, or help slow the progression of the disease.

Modify ur diet by eating more vegetables fruits and proteins!

Defination (continued)

2009-05-19T02:23:00.000-07:00

What is Metastatic Prostate Cancer?

Basically, it is the spreading of the tumor within the body.
If untreated and allowed to grow, the cells from these tumors can spread in a process called metastasis. In this process, prostate cancer cells are transported through the lymphatic system and the bloodstream to other parts of the body, where they lodge and grow secondary tumors. Once the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, cure rates drop dramatically.
In most cases, prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing cancer, which means that it typically takes a number of years for the disease to become large enough to be detectable, and even longer to spread beyond the prostate. This is good news. However, a small percentage of patients experience more rapidly growing, aggressive forms of prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know for sure which prostate cancers will grow slowly and which will grow aggressively – complicating treatment decisions.

Defination Of Prostate Cancer and Causes

2009-05-19T02:22:00.000-07:00

What is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer occurs when cells within the prostate grow uncontrollably, creating small tumors. The term “cancer” refers to a condition in which the regulation of cell growth is lost and cells grow uncontrollably. Most cells in the body are constantly dividing, maturing and then dying in a tightly controlled process. Unlike normal cells, the growth of cancer cells is no longer well-regulated. Instead of dying as they should, cancer cells outlive normal cells and continue to form new, abnormal cells.
Abnormal cell growths are called tumors. The term “primary tumor” refers to the original tumor; When it spreads away from the prostate, secondary tumors are caused. Prostate cancer comprises of multiple very small, primary tumors within the prostate. It is often curable( sucess rates up to 90%) with standard interventions such as surgery or radiation that aim to remove or kill all cancerous cells in the prostate. Unfortunately, it is difficult to detect at this stage