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Caitlyn Scott

English 302-N03

Prostate Cancer is a Serious Disease

In this day and age, there are new illnesses being discovered and new cures being created. The common cold is no longer a death threat and AIDs is a growing crisis. Another growing problem is cancer. Today there are all different types of cancer out there. The most common non-skin cancer in America is prostate cancer. As of July 2006, there were 298,444,215 Americans living in the United States, and out of those men, one in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer within their lifetime. Prostate cancer is a disease that does not know when to stop. In 1998, it was the leading cancer in men with 184,500 new cases of men being diagnosed. This particular cancer hits older men above the age of forty, typically around the age of sixty-five. It also appears the most in African American men with Caucasians following close behind. Prostate cancer is so serious for many reasons. One reason being that it simply is a cancer. Cancerous cells are uncontrollable if not completely removed. The second reason why prostate cancer is so appalling is because of the stages that it is classified as and how early it can be detected. If the cancer reaches a certain level, it cannot be stopped and is seen as terminal.

The main reason prostate cancer is so harsh is because it is a cancer. Cancerous cells are very interesting and are still not completely understood. This type of cell is what leads to tumors and what can eventually spread all over the body if not treated in time. They start out as normal cells. “Normal cells replicate themselves, they stop replicating when certain factors come into play, they bond to the surrounding cells, they self-destruct if damaged, and become specialized or ‘mature’ to a specific area of the body” (Cancer Research UK). At some point, some normal cells can become abnormal cells. They replicate as usual, except that they keep replicating. All of those natural “stop” mechanisms no longer function and the cells multiply quickly. This can develop a lump or a growth of cancerous, abnormal cells. Cancerous cell also don’t destroy themselves if they are damaged. The only way to kill or destroy the large amount of detectable destructive cells is simply to remove it. However, if the cancer has become too vast, nothing can be done to remove all of these cells. If one is missed in the removable, that one will replicate and start the process over again. Also, cancerous cells do not mature and specialize the way the way they normally would. A normal cell will become fixed in a certain area of the body and will only function there. If it were a liver cell, it would not be able to function with heart cells or brain cells, but only will other liver cells. Cancerous cells, on the other hand, stay immature and never specialize, which means that a cancerous cell can function with any other type of cell anywhere in the body. Most normal cells bond with their surrounding cells, yet cancerous cells do not. This makes it easy for the cancerous cells to spread throughout the body. This in its self can become very problematic and basically becomes unstoppable.

Another main part of prostate cancer is how it progresses over time through the body. Prostate cancer has been categorized into four different “stages” of how far along, or how deadly, the cancer is. The first phase is “Stage I.” In this stage, the cancerous cells are only found in the prostate and nowhere else. In fact, it normally goes undetected during exams. “It is usually found accidentally during surgery for other reasons, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia” (Cancer.gov). Though it is ideal for prostate cancer to be found in this stage, it rarely happens. The second phase is “Stage II.” This stage is more advanced than Stage I is. Fortunately, at this stage, the cancerous cells have not spread out side of the prostate yet. At this stage, the cancerous cells can range from very similar to the prostate tissue to very different from the tissue. If the cancerous cells are similar, then they are less likely to spread outside of the prostate. However, if they are very different, they are more likely to spread. This “grading scale” is called the Gleason score which ranges from two, being the most similar to the normal cells, to ten, which is the more different. In Stage II, the cancerous cells can range anywhere on the scale. The next point is “Stage III.” This stage is rather similar to the previous stage. However, it is a little more frightening. In Stage III, everything is the same as stage two, for instance, the type of cancerous tissue can range anywhere from two to ten on the Gleason score. Yet, in Stage III, the cancer has spread to near by tissues, and even the seminal vesicles, which are located in males above the prostate that adds most of the ejaculatory fluids to the sperm before ejaculation. Then there is “Stage IV,” the most severe. The cancer at this point has spread, or metastasized, to the lymph nodes and other areas to the body, like the liver, bones, bladder, lungs, etc. Usually, prostate cancer that is metastasizing spreads to the bones. This is the stage where most doctors won’t attempt to remove the cancerous tumors. Typically, when a person has Stage IV cancer, it is deemed terminal.


Source: National Cancer Institute. Terese Winslow (artist). Used with permission. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/prostate/Patient/page2. March 21, 2007.

Prostate Cancer, just like every other cancer out there, is serious and deadly disease. There are multiple factors that come into play with the individual cancerous cell itself along with the many other factors contributing to the process. It is a disease that is still not where close to being understood, but is studied constantly. There are so many other factors that go unnoticed that can cause cancerous cells. Factors like diet and exposure to certain chemicals. People are just finding out that certain foods can have an affect on preventing, causing, and curing certain diseases like cancer. Such seemingly random influences like foods put more strain on the human body. This is especially true with the technology and the chemicals that are continuously processed on a daily basis of a typical human’s life. Most of these factors and influences remain disregarded without even a thought until it is too late and the past cannot be changed.

Bibliography:

· American Academy of Family Physicians. 2005. http://familydoctor.org. Visited March 12, 2007.

· Prostate Cancer Foundation. http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org. California. 2003. Visited March 12, 2007.

· American Cancer Society. 2007. http://www.cancer.org. Visited March 12, 2007.

· The World Fact Book: United States. March 2007. https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/us.html. Visited March 17, 2007.

· WebMD: Prostate Cancer Guide. WebMD inc.: 2007. http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/guide/prostate-cancer. Visited March 20, 2007.