Questions and Answers - Recent questions and answers in Prostate Cancer

What should you expect if you have pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:09:21 +0000

Answered: When is surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:08:31 +0000

If pancreatic cancer seems very likely, and the tumor appears removable by surgery, doctors may recommend surgery without a biopsy.

Answered: Who should perform the Whipple procedure?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:06:43 +0000

The Whipple procedure can take several hours to perform and requires great surgical skill and experience. The area around the pancreas is complex and surgeons often encounter patients who have a variation in the usual arrangement of blood vessels and ducts.

Answered: What tools are used to diagnose pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:05:34 +0000

A doctor uses the following to diagnose pancreatic cancer:

By taking a medical history, a doctor learns the story of the illness, such as the time of onset, nature and location of pain, smoking history, and other medical problems.
During a physical exam, a doctor might feel a mass in the abdomen and notice swollen lymph nodes in the neck, jaundiced skin, or weight loss.
Lab tests may show evidence that bile flow is being blocked, or other abnormalities.

Answered: Who is more likely to get pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:02:48 +0000

People with any of the risk factors are at slightly higher risk than the general population:

Genetics. Five percent to 10% of people with pancreatic cancer have an immediate family member who also had it. Several different genes have been associated with the increased risk, although no "pancreatic cancer gene" has yet been identified.
Diabetes. People with diabetes are not necessarily more likely to get pancreatic cancer but the two have been linked.
Smoking. Cigarette smoking is well known to increase the risk for pancreatic cancer. The more a person smokes, the higher the risk. Ten years after quitting smoking, the risk returns to about that of someone who never smoked.
Obesity and inactivity. In a study of 88,000 nurses, those who were obese (body mass index higher than 30) were more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. Those who exercised frequently were about half as likely to get pancreatic cancer, compared to those who did not exercise at all.
Pancreatic cysts and chronic pancreatitis. People who have one or both of these are at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Diet. A diet high in fat and meat (especially smoked or processed meat) has been linked to pancreatic cancer in animal studies. Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables decreased pancreatic cancer risk in other studies. Still other studies suggest there's no identifiable link between diet and pancreatic cancer.
Lycopene and selenium. Studies have shown low levels of these nutrients in some people who developed pancreatic cancer. That's not proof that low levels of lycopene and selenium cause pancreatic cancer, though. Any diet that includes lean meat and red or yellow vegetables should provide adequate lycopene and selenium.

Answered: Where should the Whipple procedure be done?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:01:36 +0000

Because the Whipple procedure continues to be one of the most demanding and risky operations for surgeons and patients, the American Cancer Society says it's best to have the procedure done at a hospital that performs at least 15 to 20 pancreas surgeries per year. The organization also recommends choosing a surgeon who does many such operations.

Answered: What is the Whipple procedure?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:00:05 +0000

The classic Whipple procedure is named after Allen Whipple, MD, a Columbia University surgeon who was the first American to perform the operation in 1935. Also known as pancreaticoduodenectomy, the Whipple procedure involves removal of the "head" (wide part) of the pancreas next to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). It also involves removal of the duodenum, a portion of the common bile duct, gallbladder, and sometimes part of the stomach. Afterward, surgeons reconnect the remaining intestine, bile duct, and pancreas.

Answered: Does obesity affect your risk for pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:58:25 +0000

Large studies also point to obesity and inactivity as potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer. People who exercise regularly have about half the risk of pancreatic cancer as sedentary people do.

Answered: What can you do to prevent pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:57:08 +0000

Eliminating your risk factors for pancreatic cancer won't reduce your risk entirely. But eating a healthy diet, keeping a healthy weight, and exercising frequently will improve overall health, and reduce your risk of other health problems.

Answered: When is pancreatic cancer best treated?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:54:41 +0000

Treating pancreatic cancer is challenging when it's discovered at an advanced stage, as is usually the case. Researchers are seeking methods of early detection, but so far none has proved useful.

Answered: What are other treatments for pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:53:37 +0000

Depending on the type and stage of pancreatic cancer, patients may be given chemotherapy treatments alone or in combination with radiation. Whether or not the tumor is removed surgically, or has spread to lymph nodes, these therapies may be given after surgery in an effort to extend survival time. These treatments may also be given before surgery to shrink the tumor and make it possible for surgery to be performed or used as a means of relieving symptoms, such as pain. Prescription medications, usually narcotics, are given to help manage pain associated with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Answered: What can help resectable pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:51:31 +0000

If pancreatic cancer is resectable, surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiation or both may extend survival.

Answered: How is surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:49:23 +0000

Pancreatic cancer is very hard to control. But if it is caught early and the cancer hasn't spread beyond the pancreas, it can be treated with surgery. This offers the best outcome for pancreatic cancer. The surgery is called a "Whipple procedure," or pancreaticoduodenectomy, and is named after Dr. George Hoyt Whipple, the surgeon who pioneered it. If possible, the surgeon removes the malignant tumor, leaving as much of the normal pancreas as possible to allow continued pancreatic function. Less often, the entire pancreas must be removed. If a patient undergoes a total pancreatectomy, a lifelong regimen of replacement enzymes and hormones, including insulin, must be administered.

Answered: How are pancreatic cancer patients treated?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:47:36 +0000

For some people with pancreatic cancer, a complex surgery known as the Whipple procedure may extend life and could potentially cure the condition. Those who undergo a successful Whipple procedure may have a five-year survival rate of up to 25%.

Answered: How many people die from the Whipple procedure?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:45:42 +0000

After the Whipple procedure was introduced, many surgeons were reluctant to perform it because it had a high death rate. As recently as the 1970s, up to 25% of patients either died during the surgery or shortly thereafter.

Since then, improvements in diagnosis, staging, surgical techniques, anesthesia, and pos-toperative care have reduced the short-term death rate to less than 4% in patients whose operation is performed at cancer centers by experienced surgeons. At some major centers, the reported death rate is less than 1%. However, the rate may still be above 15% in patients who are treated at small hospitals or by less experienced surgeons.

Answered: How do people get pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:43:27 +0000

Pancreatic cancer often goes undetected until it's advanced and difficult to treat. In the vast majority of cases, symptoms only develop after pancreatic cancer has grown and begun to spread elsewhere.

Answered: How effective is radiation therapy and chemotherapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:41:56 +0000

Both radiation therapy and chemotherapy damage some normal cells, along with cancer cells. Side effects can include nausea, vomiting, appetite loss, weight loss, and fatigue as well as toxicity to the blood cells. Symptoms usually cease within a few weeks after radiation therapy is complete.

Answered: What are rare forms of pancreatic cancers?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:40:46 +0000

Islet cell tumors, also called neuroendocrine tumors, arise from the cells in the pancreas that make hormones. Islet cell tumors account for less than 5% of all pancreas tumors.

Answered: What can affect your risk for pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:39:39 +0000

The uncomfortable fact is that anyone can get pancreatic cancer. A few risk factors for pancreatic cancer have been identified, but many people who get pancreatic cancer have no risk factors. Cigarette smoking is one controllable risk factor for pancreatic cancer. People who smoke are about twice as likely to get pancreatic cancer as are nonsmokers. Fortunately, the reverse is also true. After quitting smoking, the risk for pancreatic cancer steadily falls, eventually falling to the same risk as a nonsmoker after 10 to15 years.

Answered: What should you know about pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:37:31 +0000

Pancreatic cancer may go undetected until it's advanced. By the time symptoms occur, diagnosing pancreatic cancer is usually relatively straightforward. Unfortunately, a cure is rarely possible at that point.

Answered: How is an endoscopic ultrasound used for the early detection of pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:36:54 +0000

Some families have multiple members affected by pancreatic cancer. In fact, the American Cancer Society says that up to 10% of pancreatic cancers may be caused by inherited DNA changes. Studies are ongoing to see if aggressive screening with endoscopic ultrasound works for early detection of pancreatic cancer in healthy family members. Early results are promising. However, endoscopy is an invasive procedure, so it should only be used on people already at high risk for pancreatic cancer.

Answered: What chemotherapy drugs can be used for pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:30:15 +0000

Chemotherapy includes cancer drugs that travel through the whole body. Chemotherapy ("chemo") kills pancreatic cancer cells in the main tumor as well as those that have spread widely. These chemotherapy drugs can be used for pancreatic cancer: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or capecitabine
Gemcitabine

You would take both 5-FU and gemcitabine intravenously during regular visits to an oncologist. Your doctor may substitute an oral drug, capecitabine, for 5-FU, especially with radiation.

Answered: What are other complications after the Whipple procedure?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:28:55 +0000

_{Other possible Whipple procedure complications include: Weight loss. Most patients can expect to lose weight after the surgery.}
_{Diabetes. This condition can develop if too many insulin-producing cells are removed from the pancreas. However, patients who have normal blood sugar before surgery are unlikely to develop diabetes, and those who recently developed diabetes before surgery are even likely to improve.}

Answered: What other treatments do patients get after the Whipple procedure?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:27:56 +0000

Regardless of node status, most patients receive chemotherapy, radiation, or both after surgery. However, cancer specialists have differing opinions on the best combination and the best drugs to use.

It's not yet known if therapy works better before or after surgery, but some research suggests that therapy could allow a few patients who are initially thought to be ineligible for surgery to eventually undergo the Whipple procedure. Studies are ongoing.

Answered: How is a Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) done to treat resectable pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:25:37 +0000

During a Whipple procedure, or pancreaticoduodenectomy, a surgeon removes the head of the pancreas and sometimes the body of the pancreas, parts of the stomach and small intestine, some lymph nodes, the gallbladder, and the common bile duct. The remaining organs are reconnected in a new way to allow digestion. The Whipple procedure is a difficult and complicated surgery. Surgeons and hospitals that do the most operations have the best results.

About half the time, once a surgeon sees inside the abdomen, pancreatic cancer that was thought to be resectable turns out to have spread, and thus be unresectable. The Whipple procedure is not completed in these cases.

Answered: How does radiation therapy work to treat pancreatic cancer?

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:23:56 +0000

In radiation therapy, a machine beams high-energy X-rays to the pancreas to kill pancreatic cancer cells. Radiation therapy is done during a series of daily treatments, usually over a period of weeks.

Answered: Can treatment for advanced prostate cancer lead to incontinence?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:15:34 +0000

Incontinence -- the inability to control urine flow -- is a common side effect of all therapies directed at the prostate gland. Most patients eventually regain complete urinary control. Exercises to strengthen the sphincter and surrounding pelvic muscles can help. These are called Kegel exercises. Medications may also help relieve incontinence. An artificial urinary sphincter also can be surgically inserted in cases of severe incontinence.

What is a urologist?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:14:05 +0000

How is erectile dysfunction treated?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:12:54 +0000

Answered: Where is prostate cancer found?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:12:18 +0000

In more than 90% of time, prostate cancer is found while it’s confined to the prostate gland or has spread only a bit beyond that. That’s called a regional spread. The other 10% of prostate cancers are found after they’ve spread to distant part of the body. Almost 4 out of 10 men in those cases can expect to live at least 5 more years on average.

Answered: What is a urine PCA3 test?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:10:45 +0000

This urine test looks for a fusion of genes that is present in 50% of prostate-specific antigen tested men with prostate cancer. It's another tool to determine if a man may need a biopsy.

Answered: How long can I live with prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:09:55 +0000

You can live a long time with prostate cancer, maybe even decades. If you catch and treat it early, you might even be able to cure it.

Answered: What is the best treatment for prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:35:43 +0000

There's no single option that’s right for every man with prostate cancer. Some tumors grow very slowly or not at all, so you may never need treatment. Others grow faster and spread to different places in your body. In either case, you and your doctor will work together to decide what's best for you.

Answered: Will my sex life ever be satisfying after prostate cancer treatment?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:34:57 +0000

If you end up having problems after treatment for prostate cancer, keep in mind that for many men the problems go away on their own once the body has time to heal. Medications, devices, penile implants, and couples counseling also can make your sex life satisfying again.

Answered: What side effects can I expect if I am diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:34:07 +0000

_{As prostate cancer treatments fight your disease, they can also cause other problems, like losing control of your bladder or having trouble getting erections. Not all men will have these side effects, but you should talk about them with your doctor before you decide if and how you’ll treat your disease. The risks may steer you toward one treatment over another.}

Answered: How much will prostate cancer affect my life?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:33:18 +0000

Life goes on after a prostate cancer diagnosis, and often for a very long time. If your disease is still in the early stages and you've opted not to treat it, it may have little or even no effect on you. But there may be some adjustments to make to your life during treatment.

Answered: When is prostate cancer difficult to treat?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:31:22 +0000

Once cancer spreads, it's much harder to treat. A small percentage of prostate cancers can move quickly to distant parts of the body. When that happens, just 28% of men live 5 years after they're diagnosed. The good news is that doctors usually catch most prostate cancers early, before they spread.

Answered: Are there alternatives to prostate-specific antigen testing?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:30:31 +0000

^{There are some other tests that may help you and your health care provider determine if you need a biopsy. You should know that doctors do not always agree on how to use or analyze the results of these additional tests.}

Answered: How do I pick a doctor if I am diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:29:51 +0000

Here are some tips on how to choose the right one doctor if you're diagnosed with prostate cancer:

Find a doctor who has a lot of experience with prostate cancer. Usually, it will be a urologist.
Try to talk with any doctors you are considering, either in person or on the phone. You'll get a better idea if they're the right fit for you.
Work with your primary care doctor to find the right prostate cancer doctor.

Answered: How does hormone therapy treat advanced prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:28:39 +0000

Hormone therapy is the most common treatment for men with this disease. Prostate cancer cells need male sex hormones to help them grow. This therapy blocks them from getting or using those hormones. This is called androgen deprivation therapy. Some treatments lower the body's levels of testosterone and other male hormones. Other types of therapy block the way those hormones work.

Answered: Is chemotherapy considered palliative care for prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:27:24 +0000

Sometimes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery are considered "palliative" because they ease pain by shrinking tumors.

The goal of all of these is to make your life more comfortable.

Answered: How does chemotherapy treat advanced prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:24:56 +0000

Chemotherapy is an option when hormone therapy no longer works. It can slow cancer cells’ growth, shrink tumors, and make you feel better. You usually go to a clinic to get the drugs through an IV. You may need to get a few rounds of treatment, called cycles, with some time in between for your body to recover.

Answered: What should I keep in mind when telling people that I've been diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:23:56 +0000

When you feel ready to talk to your partner or family members about your prostate cancer, either now or later, keep these things in mind:

Don't expect things to stay the same. There will probably be changes in your close relationships as you adjust to living with cancer.
Make sure you give the other person a chance to express feelings.
Be direct about what kind of support you need and ask what they might need. This also might change over time.
Talk about things other than your disease. The interests you share and things you both enjoy can give you a break from stress and bring you closer together.

Answered: How does cryotherapy for prostate cancer work?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:23:03 +0000

Cryotherapy kills cancer cells by freezing them. Your doctor will put small needles or probes into your prostate to deliver very cold gasses that destroy the cells.

It’s uncertain how well this technique works. Scientists haven’t done much long-term research that focuses on using it to treat prostate cancer. It's usually not the first treatment option a doctor recommends.

Answered: When else is the prostate-specific antigen test used?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:22:20 +0000

Although the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is used mainly to screen for prostate cancer, it is valuable in other situations: To guide treatment. Along with a doctor's exam and tumor stage, the PSA test can help determine how advanced a prostate cancer is. This may affect treatment options.
To determine treatment success. After surgery or radiation, the PSA level can be monitored to help determine if treatment was successful. PSA levels normally fall to very low levels if the treatment removed or destroyed all of the cancer cells. A rising PSA level can mean that prostate cancer cells are present and your cancer has come back.

Answered: What should you know about the prostate-specific antigen blood test?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:17:27 +0000

Just as important as the prostate-specific antigen number is the trend of that number (whether it is going up, how quickly, and over what period of time). It is important to understand that the PSA test is not perfect. Most men with elevated PSA levels have noncancerous prostate enlargement, which is a normal part of aging. Conversely, low levels of PSA in the bloodstream do not rule out the possibility of prostate cancer. However, most cases of early prostate cancer are found by a PSA blood test.

Answered: What changes can I expect if I am diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:16:52 +0000

Here are some things that might be different if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer:

Body image. You may need to adjust how you see yourself or deal with changes in your self-esteem.
Identity. Some men feel that their masculine identity has changed as a result of the cancer.
New family roles. As you go through treatment and recovery, you may find that you can't do everything you used to do at home. Some of these changes may work themselves out over time. For instance, as you recover, you may be able to resume your activities around the house. Others, such as identity and self-esteem issues, could benefit from talking to a professional, people close to you, or other survivors.

Answered: What does an elevated prostate-specific antigen level mean?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:16:17 +0000

Elevated prostate-specific antigen levels may indicate prostate cancer or a noncancerous condition such as prostatitis or an enlarged prostate.

Answered: Where is the prostate located?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:14:11 +0000

The prostate is directly beneath a man's bladder and in front of his rectum.

Answered: When can I start driving after prostate cancer surgery?

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:13:41 +0000

Most men can resume driving 10 to 14 days after surgery. Ask your doctor for specific advice.