Each year, more than 65,000 men develop prostate cancer in Brazil. Estimates are from the National Cancer Institute (Inca) based on national health indicators.
The campaign Blue november promotes awareness of comprehensive men’s health care. Attention to prostate cancer guides the initiative, which reinforces the importance of periodic monitoring every year for the prevention of other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, in addition to obesity and smoking.
“Caring for health, when you look at the male universe, has an impact on the cultural issue. We need the next generations to come up with a different perspective that taking care of men’s health is also important, as we women do”, highlights Merlene Oliveira, creator of the Novembro Azul campaign and president of the Lado a Lado pela Vida Institute, dedicated to cancer , cardiovascular diseases and human health.
Risk factors
Aging and genetic aspects are the main risk factors for the development of prostate cancer. In addition, there is an increased likelihood of the disease for obese people and black men.
Incidence and mortality from the disease increase after the age of 50 years. As with breast cancer, having cases of prostate cancer in the family increases the chances of developing the disease, especially if it is in a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, who had the disease before the age of 60 years.
Although the main risk factors for the disease are characteristics that cannot be changed, experts point out that the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits can contribute to reducing the chances of the disease, including a balanced diet, moderate exercise and avoiding smoking and alcohol abuse.
The dangers of a silent illness
Prostate cancer is considered a silent disease that does not usually show signs or symptoms in its early stages. Some patients may experience symptoms such as difficulty urinating, decreased urine flow, an increased need to go to the bathroom, and the presence of blood in the urine.
The disease has variable evolution profiles, which can show a slow or fast growth, from one patient to another.
O Touch examination is one of the screening methods for early detection of cancer. The test allows the doctor to check the structure of the prostate, as well as possible signs of enlargement or other changes. With aging, the prostate can increase in size naturally, without any kind of disease.
The Brazilian Society of Urology (SBU) recommends that men, from 50 years old, and even without symptoms, seek medical care for individualized assessment with the aim of diagnosing cancer early.
O Touch examination can be performed annually from age 50 for the general population, and must be started at 45 years for men who are part of the risk group, especially those with a family history of the disease.
To clarify the diagnosis, specialists also use another indicator called prostate specific antigen (PSA). Although the protein is naturally produced by the gland, the increase in PSA level present in the circulation may indicate the need to investigate the presence of a tumor.
The PSA test is performed by collecting blood, which makes it possible to measure the levels of the molecule in the body. The results are then compared by the doctor with other factors such as the size of the prostate, the patient’s age, and the presence of nodules or inflammation in the prostate.
According to the physician Alexander Dias, from the Urology Section of the Inca, the early detection increases chances of cure.
“For patients diagnosed at the stage of localized disease, the survival rate, that is, the probability of that person being alive after five years of diagnosis, is greater than 95%. When the diagnosis is made in the presence of metastatic disease, when the disease already reaches places outside the prostate, this rate drops to 25% to 30%”, explains Dias.
Confirmation of the diagnosis can be done through prostate biopsy. The procedure consists of a surgical intervention to remove a fragment of prostate tissue for laboratory analysis. A biopsy should be ordered by the physician considering the results of the touch and PSA tests.
Doctor appointments should become a habit
In 2006, forklift operator Carlos Alberto Stella, from Ilha Comprida, a city on the coast of São Paulo, was diagnosed with a prostatic hyperplasia which, unlike a tumor, is a benign enlargement of the prostate. He says that the hyperplasia made him go to medical monitoring more often.
“I was 46 years old, the company I worked for was big and had a doctor. Once a year, I was required to have an EKG and an encephalogram. That year, the company doctor asked if I had ever taken the PSA. I said no, because it had never been asked for,” says Carlos.
Three years later, Carlos discovered he had prostate cancer. At 50, Carlos was unfazed by the news and immediately asked the doctor when he could perform the surgery.
The retiree says that, before the diagnosis, he was not in the habit of having medical appointments. “I had never been to any specialty, except when I was referred”, he says.
Carlos underwent surgery for the treatment of cancer and did not have to undergo radiotherapy or hormone therapy. Medical follow-up was continuous and began with a space of three months, being progressively expanded over the years. In early 2021, the retiree was discharged from the hospital and declared cured of cancer by the team.
The father of two men and a woman, Carlos says that he reinforces the need to take care of his own health among his children. “It is necessary to draw the population’s attention to the importance of health care, but it is also important to speed up the tests and, if there is a positive result for the disease, to treat it as soon as possible”, he says.
How is prostate cancer treated
O prostate cancer treatment it can be done with the adoption of different methods, which will vary according to the profile of each patient.
“The treatment must be individualized, but, in general concepts, we have to differentiate treatment with a more radical curative modality from treatment for metastatic disease, of disease control. For some patients, we have surveillance, which is a strategy of not offering curative treatments at first”, says Dias.
When the disease remains restricted to the prostate, surgery can be performed to remove the gland, radiotherapy or just medical monitoring, called vigilant observation. In cases where the disease progresses to the prostate, surgery, radiotherapy and hormonal treatment may be indicated.
On the other hand, patients who have metastases, when the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, the most suitable treatment is hormonal therapy.
Reference: CNN Brasil
