Is prostate cancer curable? The answer would be yes…and no. By definition, a curable disease is a certain malignant condition that can be treated, leading eventually to its complete eradication from the organism. The definition of curable is that a certain disease completely disappeared from the organism because it was treated earlier. But I shall give more details about why there are two answers for this question and not one. “Cancer” describes an abnormal condition when the body starts producing cancerous cells while the normal ones experience a rapid and uncontrollable growth eventually leading to a fast death. The main problem is that the cancerous cells are different from the normal ones: they outlive the last ones and multiply at a rapid speed.

The spreading of the organ-confined tumor can be a slow one or a fast one, depending on each patient’s organism; sometimes the tumor could double its size once every four years. Once the cancerous cells have entered the bloodstream or the lymph vessels, the cancer will spread at a rapid pace, until it becomes metastasized. If this disease is identified or diagnosed in its early stage, the person’s survival rates will only increase. Usually, for these patients the answer to the above question is yes, simply because any type of cancer can be curable if the diagnose is early or if the prescribed treatment offers some benefic results and if doctors don’t find any sign of recurrence in those five years after the surgery it is less possible for cancer to develop again. There are three factors which make the cancer curable: identify the type of cancer, the stage of the cancer and if the patient responds to the treatment prescribed.

Things are a bit difficult when referring to the prostate cancer. First, this disease has no early symptoms so an early detection is possible only when the male patient decides to have the screening tests. These tests have to be done periodically, so if you want to maintain your healthy life then no skipping is allowed. Second, if the screening tests are ignored the symptoms associated with the prostate cancer will appear only after the cancer began its spreading. If the cancer is detected but left untreated it will become metastatic and the chances of curing this disease are less favorable. The available and recommended treatments for the prostate cancer are: prostatectomy or surgery, the operation being done by completely removing the prostate gland; the radiation therapy seeks to damage the DNA of the cancerous cells to stop their multiplication and this therapy uses two methods: implanting radioactive seeds in the prostate or an external beam radiation; cryotherapy or cryoablation, a treatment method done by freezing the gland and killing the cancerous cells as well as the normal ones; the well known chemotherapy and last, but not least, an unconventional treatment method known as hormone therapy or androgen deprivation therapy, which suppresses the level of cancer inducing hormones, here, the testosterone. Some factors are suspected of causing the prostate cancer but nothing is certain. Prevention has to be the general rule leading our life, but in some cases it is not possible.

For the prostate cancer, research studies concluded that age, genetic background and even race are some of the factors responsible for its development. The aging process can not be stopped, you can not get rid of the inherited genes and you certainly can not choose your race before or after birth. Unhealthy foods are also to be blamed for developing some serious diseases, but it is not certain if some particular foods or foods combination are responsible for cancer or if there is a possibility of curing it. Regularly go for a medical check and if something bothers you, related to your health, don’t mind asking your physician.