by Debbie Ross

Created on: November 14, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2008

A digital rectal exam is performed by your doctor to screen you for prostate cancer. As the prostate is a walnut sized gland that lays in front of the rectum, the doctor will have you stand, feet apart and bend forward, resting your arms and elbows on an examination table. The doctor will then insert a gloved, lubricated finger in a downwards angle into your rectum to feel the prostate for abnormalities such as hardness or lumps. The digital rectal examination takes only a few minutes to complete and you will normally experience only mild discomfort.

If prostate cancer is diagnosed, your doctor will decide what course of treatment you will be given. Watchful waiting is usually recommended for older men who have other medical issues and are in the early stage of prostate cancer. No treatment is prescribed, other than close observation of the prostate cancer, until the symptoms either appear or change.

If you are in good health, surgery is an option for prostate cancer. This may involve removing the lymph nodes in the pelvis and checking them for cancer cells. If cancer is present in the lymph nodes, the prostate will not be removed and other treatment will be recommended. Or, the prostate, the surrounding tissue, and the glands located on each side of the bladder will be removed through an incision made either in the abdominal wall or in the area between the scrotum and the anus.

Because of age or other illness, you may not be a candidate for removal of the prostate cancer by incision. In this case, the doctor may opt to remove the prostate tissue with a thin, lighted tube or scope equipped with a cutting tool which is inserted through the urethra. Also, this is sometimes done to relieve symptoms before other cancer treatments are prescribed.

There are two types of radiation therapy used to either kill cancer cells located in the prostate or to keep the cells from multiplying. The radiation may be either internal or external. Internal radiation involves placing a needle or catheter filled with a radiation substance directly into the cancer. External radiation uses high energy x rays which are precisely directed toward the cancer by a machine.

Hormone therapy is a treatment for prostate cancer that removes hormones or obstructs their action thereby stopping the cancer cells from growing. In prostate cancer, male sex hormones can cause prostate cancer to grow. Drugs or other hormones, such as estrogen, are given to lessen the production of the male hormones.

Sources: WebMD

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