CONSUMER CONNECT INITIATIVE KNOW PROSTATE CANCER PROMINENT AMONG ELDERLY MALES, TODAY PROSTATE CANCER HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING COMPLETELY CURED [email protected] etired army personnel, Major Ashwini Kumar was a healthy man of 64 years and had had no major ailment all these years. But for the past few weeks, he had been complaining of difficulty in passing urine.Wary of old age causing health problems, his son,Vijay insisted on him seeing the doctor right away. Since the doctor knew that the Major wasn't a person who would go for check-ups regularly, he made sure that he underwent rigorous examination. Initial results did not show any infection in the bladder. But by that time, Major Ashwini had started experiencing persistent back pain. Fearing the worst, the doctor asked him to go for a prostate biopsy.The results showed that he R Symptoms to look out for: ■ Discomfort while passing urine ■ Persistent back pain ■ Problems with bowel movements ■ General weakness was suffering from prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men.This cancer affects the prostate gland in the male reproductive system.The doctor explained that in most cases, prostate cancers evolve slowly. With advancements in medical technology, a complete cure and long term survival was possible even in elderly people. Ashwini's treatment began immediately with a short course of antibiotics and a transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy. Since the cancer was in an early stage and was confined to the prostate, the doctor had suggested treating it with non-surgical radiation procedures. Some cases that have intermediate risk, surgical options are possible if the disease is confined to the prostate. Even patients with metastatic spread of disease to the bone have newer treatment options like bisphosphonates or bone strengthening agents reducing the skeletal related events apart from androgen deprivation therapy and chemotherapy improving long term survival unlike other malignancies which might have dismal survival chances. Vijay's father responded well to the treatment and showed no signs of any side effects throughout the course of the treatment. Regular screening and biopsies revealed the decrease in the cancer was substantial. Gradually he was completely cured of the cancer and he now goes about his life as usual and hasn't given up on keeping his body fit despite what he went through. For more details, log on to: www.cancermissionpositive.com