Prostate Cancer Staging And Diagnosis

By Olive Pate


Cancer has become a serious health issue today. Prostate cancer staging is a process that physicians use to describe the location of the cancer, the extent to which it has spread and the probability of it affecting other parts of the body beyond the prostate gland. They could also determine if it could be cured with local therapies.

The cancer staging process implicates the physician to partake in various tests that should determine the cancer stage.The staging process takes a while for the patient to undergo the tests. The doctors have the responsibility to examine and evaluate the test results to discover the extent at which the tumor has spread and the affected organs. By studying it, it makes it easier for the doctors to treat it and determine the best form of treatment in this way predict if there are any chances of recovering from it.

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.

On the last stage which risks any chances of survival of the patient, involves the tumor spreading to all the other parts of the body regardless of the location. It attacks organs and causes a breakdown to these organs such as the liver, lungs and bladder.

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 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.

Recurrent prostate cancer which is a reoccurred tumor after treatment is common in many cancer situations. It may be reverted to the gland or other organs of the body. If this happens the tumor may need to be reviewed again. This helps in earlier detection which in turns leads to an early treatment for the patient which increases the chances of recovery and elimination of the tumor.




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