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Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of your prostate gland grow in an abnormal way. Early prostate cancer is also called localised prostate cancer. This means the cancer is found within the prostate only. It has not spread outside your prostate gland. The tumour may be too small to be felt during an exam of your back passage and your doctor may only suspect it after doing a PSA test. Often men with early prostate cancer do not have any symptoms at all.
The exact cause of prostate cancer is unknown. Research continues to study possible causes. But there are certain things called risk factors that can increase your chance of getting the disease. These include::
Age: The risk of prostate cancer increases with age. It is rare in men under the age of 50.
Family history: If you have a brother or father with the disease, your risk is higher. The risk is also higher if your relative developed prostate cancer at a younger age or if you have more than one relative with the disease.
Race: Afro-Caribbean men are at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer.
Remember prostate cancer is not infectious and cannot be passed on to other people.
As you get older your prostate gland can get bigger. This is often due to a condition other than cancer. It is known as benign enlargement of the prostate or benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH).Some men with prostate cancer may have similar symptoms too. The symptoms may include the following:
If you have any of the above symptoms, do get them checked out by your doctor. But remember that often symptoms are not due to cancer and they can be treated. Because prostate cancer often grows slowly, symptoms may not occur for many years. It is very common for a man with early prostate cancer to have no symptoms at all.
For the month of Movember, now known as men’s health awareness month the Rapid Access Prostate nurses, Clodagh Sharpe and Eimear Dunne in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society, Daffodil Centre, Cancer Support Nurse, Phil Harford decided to do something small to promote men’s health surrounding prostate cancer.
Left to Right- Ms Clodagh Sharpe. Ms Phil Harford & Ms Eimear Dunne
An information stand was set up on the 21st of November in the main concourse from 1-3pm here in Beaumont to promote men’s health and awareness surrounding prostate cancer. Over the two hours we handed out information flyers and booklets in relation to prostate care and provided an opportunity to men to ask questions, complete a prostate awareness quiz and we had a small raffle. We had many discussions with men surrounding prostate care. From our calculations we reached approximately 110 men over those 2 hours with information on prostate health.
We were delighted to hear so many men are actively looking after their health and many had a good knowledge base surrounding prostate care. Others had treatment for prostate cancer both surgery and radiotherapy and many told us about their positive outcomes here in Beaumont Hospital. Others reached out for support and guidance and were advised and referred to the relevant support networks. The Daffodil Centre here in Beaumont Hospital is an excellent source of support and guidance for so many of our patients and their families. All in all we feel this small gesture has promoted awareness and got men thinking about their prostate health.