Men Too Have A Fear

In this world, there is only one thing that can bend every man on his knees-- loss of sexual supremacy. You can take everything away from a man but never his phallic ego. The distinctive dynamics of man's sexuality is what essentially differentiates them from women. All sons of Adam can give up a life in the paradise but can never do without their most precious sexual dominion. They can wage and fight all wars, battle all beasts and demons, and conquer any land. But the thought of losing their sexual supremacy can make their raging hormones slow down. Men can sit down on the negotiating table, and bargain and compromise for whatever it takes to keep hold of their manhood. You can throw any hurt or injury on a man's body and tear up most of his psyche and he definitely would not care less, but lambasting what is in between his legs and its interconnections to the other aspects of his existence will give him a run for his life.

Impotence and sterility are two of the most common ailments dreaded by men. But another major threat is prostate cancer. It is so dreadful that it can take away not only sexual powers but life as a whole. In the United States, prostate cancer claimed 30,200 lives of the 189,000 recorded cases in the year 2002. Currently, it ranks next to lung cancer as the leading cause of death among American men, who are the ones hit the most by this reproductive cancer. Europeans come next, and Asian men are the ones least inflicted.

Prostate cancer, literally, is a kind of disease wherein cancer develops in or around the prostate region of a man's reproductive system. This disease happens when prostate cells mutate and multiply uncontrollably. Just like other types of cancer, cells of this kind of cancer have the capability to spread or metastasize from the areas near the prostate, thus reaching the other parts of a man's body. Spreading of cancer cells mostly reach the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer causes much pain, specifically difficulty in urinating and in having an erection, among others.

Men over the age of 50 have the highest probability of being inflicted with this cancer. What is distinctly alarming with this kind of cancer is that most men afflicted with it never show symptoms, and hence, the cases are not diagnosed as prostate cancer. They eventually die of other causes mistaken to be not from prostate cancer.

Sadly, the core reason for the development of prostate cancer is still unknown. Studies have only gone as far as identifying factors that could trigger the development of cancer cells in the prostate. First factor being linked is aging. Statistical data over the years have shown that the risk of developing prostate cancer is highest among men above the age of 40, and the risk even gets higher as a man grows older. The other factors related to the risk of developing prostate cancer are genetics, race, and quality of lifestyle. Genetic predisposition is seen to have a very high correlation to having prostate cancer. Men with relatives who had prostate cancer are very likely to have one also. Race is not actually a direct factor but studies have found out that trends of cancer cases vary from region to region. The changes in a man's environment is also found to be capable of altering genetic predisposition. For example, Japanese men have relatively low records of acquiring prostate cancer but studies have shown that Japanese men working or living in America or Europe have high risk factors. As in other kinds of cancer, the quality of lifestyle is also being pointed to as a significant factor in the chances of developing prostate cancer. Smoking and chemical abuse among men is highly suspected to be a triggering factor for cancerous cells to develop in the prostate region. Industrial pollution, diet with high saturated fat content, and other environmental toxins are also likely to have a link, albeit not direct, to prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer develops in two stages: the early stage and the late stage. In the early stage, unfavorable symptoms can call enough attention from men. Usually, the strangest thing being felt at this stage is difficulty in urinating-- something most men easily ignore. Then the difficulty and pain in urinating aggravate as the tumor in the prostate region grows bigger. It is only at this time that a lot of men take time to pay attention and seek medical assessment. By the time the cancer reaches the later stage, the cancer cells had already spread in other areas of the body. Prostate cancer cells usually travel to the surrounding lymph nodes, pelvic bone, lower spine, the lungs, and the liver. Signs and symptoms of a possible ailment in the areas already reached by the cancer cells are common observations for prostate cancer cases in the late stage.

Prostate cancer, unfortunately, is still inevitable these days. Diagnosis has been made easier but choosing the right treatment still remains a daunting task. The kind of possible treatments for prostate cancer cases vary in three classifications: treatment for organ-confined cancer, treatment for locally advanced cancer, and treatment for metastatic cancer. For the organ-confined and locally advanced treatment options, surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, cryotherapy, or any combination of these is done to remove the tumor. While no cure for metastatic cancer case is available at present, measures like chemotherapy and hormonal therapy can be administered to at least slow down the growth and spread of more cancer cells.