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.

On the second stage, the tumor is too small to be figured on any tests. It is described as slightly larger lump that is felt around the gland. In this second stage, the tumor is still limited to the gland. The cells are always abnormal and grow steadily which increases the risk of the tumor spreading to other parts of the body.

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 fourth stage of the prostate cancer is characterized by the tumor spreading to other body organs around and beyond the gland including the bladder, rectum, lymph nodes and lungs and other body parts.

Through the process of recovery, there are two medical stages of the prostate cancer that involve the recovery procedure. The stage that is based on the test results that were previously done which is the clinical stage. The clinical stage involves various tests such as MRI scans, X-rays, bone scans. These tests are not always deemed necessary unless recommended by the physicians. They mostly come advised depending on the tumor's size and its stage of advancement.

The pathologic stage on the basis of provided information during the surgery which mostly involves the removal of the prostate and some lymph nodes or test results of the already removed prostate.

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.




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