The staging is referred to the process of determining how far the cancer has spread within the body. For prostate cancer, there are four stages.

Stage I
At this stage, the cancer is hard to detect. It can be discovered through needle biopsy or even accidentally when the patient is examined for other illness. The tumor is still small and within the prostate.

Stage II
Here, the tumor is still within the prostate but in an advanced level than in Stage I. The tumor can be detected using imaging tests.

Stage III
The cancer has already spread beyond the prostate gland and can be found in nearby tissues.

Stage IV
The cancer is now on the other organs near the prostate gland such as bladder, liver, or rectum.

The possible use of vitamin C to treat prostate cancer has been recently garnering interest. There are claims that large doses of vitamin C can destroy cancerous cells, and it can even reduce the risk of developing said disease. There are studies that claim otherwise. But in order for the body to attain high levels of vitamin C, the intake should be intravenous not orally. The body almost automatically disposes excess vitamin C it doesn’t need.

Up to now, there is no advanced research made on this matter even if some people from the medical field has shown interest in determining the capability of vitamin C to cure prostate cancer and other types of cancer.

Let us dwell on the emotional and psychological effect that prostate cancer can bring. Normally, this disease develops among men in advanced age; however with the recent advances on the screening tests, more men below 65 years old have been diagnosed. Younger men are more vulnerable to the psychological effects of prostate cancer. After treatment, erectile dysfunction or impotence can be a side effect. Younger men are more affected by this fact especially that they have longer years ahead of them to think about. Depression and lack of confidence are the leading psychological effects after treatment. People around survivors of this disease should be more sensitive and supportive to them to enable them restore their old self-esteem.

A side effect of the treatment for prostate cancer (note that it is the treatment, not the disease) is erectile dysfunction or impotence. Impotence is the failure to maintain erection for sexual activities.

Among the treatments that may cause impotence are; cryosurgery, hormonal treatments, radiation therapy, and surgery. This side effect can be directly attributed to the treatment and which could be either permanent or temporary. However, since as most treatments have their respective psychological effects, impotence may be a result of psychological manifestations.

Impotence acquired after treatment of prostate cancer can be cured by taking medications specifically for erectile dysfunction.

Smoking does not cause prostate cancer per se. Research about the possible link between the two shows that tobacco intake may only aid the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body. Apparently, tobacco components induce the growth or development of the infected cells.

The study shows that younger men who had a history on smoking and are diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to have the disease spread to other parts of the body. The subjects of the research were men aged 55 and below. It showed that at the time of treatment, for patients who smoke or used to smoke, the cancer has already spread beyond the prostate.

There are studies conducted involving the link between prostate cancer and obesity. Results show that obese men are more likely to die from prostate cancer than those with normal weight. But there was no evidence increasing the rate of incidence for obese men to have prostate cancer. It is only on the mortality from the disease which was linked with a person’s weight. Note that it is obesity not merely being overweight which increases the probability of dying from prostate cancer.

It wasn’t shown how the two are related. The study simply reflects the numerical relation between obesity and death due to prostate cancer. But keeping an ideal weight is not a bad idea.

It was in 1853 that prostate cancer was specifically identified. The disease was first described as early as the 1500’s but it was only considered as a rare disease at that time. This was because at that time, technology is minimal and detection methods were poor.

The first surgical treatment of prostate cancer was performed in 1904 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

In 1941, estrogen was discovered to be able to control the testosterone by Charles Huggins. This was used to control the growth of metastatic prostate cancer.

The discovery of the growth hormone GnRH led to the use of leuprolide and goserelin in treating the disease in the 1970s.

Presently, there are various treatments available for prostate cancer. Various factors determine the type of treatment needed for a person with prostate cancer such as the stage of the disease, and health condition of the patient, among others.