Prostate Cancer and Seniors – What You Need to Know
This month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, so the team from our assisted living community in Camden County, NJ is sharing essential information to raise awareness and help fight this serious health condition.
What is Prostate Cancer?
This is the third most common type of cancer, affecting over 3 million men in the USA. Almost all cases — over 90% — occur in men over the age of 55, making it essential that seniors take active measures to be aware of this condition.
Symptoms of the disease can include:
- Blood in the urine
- Frequent urination
- Pain while urinating
- Trouble maintaining bladder control
- Erectile dysfunction
It is important to note that these symptoms may only show up years after a tumor begins to grow, so it is important to have regular screenings to ensure an early diagnosis. Most doctors recommend that men should go for an annual screening every year from their 40s or if concerning symptoms appear.
5 Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer:
- Active surveillance. This treatment program focuses on a combination of frequent check-ups (monitoring of the tumor) and PSA (prostate-specific antigen) bloodwork, and is only recommended for mild cases.
- Another treatment for milder cases, this involves a process whereby cancer cells are frozen in order to kill them. It can also be used along with radiation if there are still remaining cancer cells after treatment.
- In advanced stages of the disease, the prostate can be removed surgically along with the tumor. This does involve a hospital stay and rehabilitative therapy to combat the urinary incontinence and erectile disfunction that 80% of men experience post-surgery.
- Radiation therapy. This treatment uses high-energy rays focused on the treatment area to kill cancerous cells. It has a number of unpleasant side effects, although these disappear over time after a successful treatment is over.
- High-intensity focused ultrasound. HIFU is a newer treatment option that is less invasive and has fewer side effects than many others. It uses high-intensity sound waves to kill the cancer cells and has the advantage of being repeatable in the event that the treatment doesn’t eradicate the cancer the first time around.
As with all cancers and medical conditions, early diagnosis is key to successful treatment — so annual screenings are essential to saving lives.
Independent Style Living for Seniors – Assisted Living New Jersey
Collingswood is part of the United Methodist Communities network of high-quality, non-profit assisted living communities specializing in independent style living for seniors. With an experienced care and assistance team, scalable services customized to each resident’s needs, and a lively social calendar, we focus on delivering essential resources that promote independence for seniors.
To find out more about United Methodist Communities or our assisted living community in Camden County, NJ, please visit our website at http://collingswood.umcommunities.org/ or contact us and book your visit today.
