The adrenal glands, located near the kidneys produce ten percent of the body’stestosterone while the testicles produce almost ninety percent of the body’s hormones.

Cancer, more specific, the prostate cancer, is an abnormal condition which occurs when malignant tumors develop in the primary site of the organism, this being the prostate gland; if the cancerous cells enter the lymph vessels or the lymph fluid and the bloodstream, the spreading of the cancer to the surrounding areas, tissues and organs, is a certain thing.

When the primary tumor, in the first stage being organ-confined, reaches outside the prostate capsule, the cancer becomes locally advanced and in the worst case, metastatic.

That tumor gives birth to other small but secondary tumors in all the regions of the internal body, but sometimes the spreading process is so complex or far advanced that physicians find it hard to identify the primary site of the cancer; one example could be the transitional cell carcinoma, which is a rare type of cancer developing in the prostate gland but the primary tumors are found in the urethra or the bladder. When the primary site is not identified, doctors refer to this situation as cancer of unknown primary.

If cancer is diagnosed with the help of the screening tests or the prostate biopsy and mapping, the grading and the staging of the cancer will be the next important step in prescribing the right treatment for that cancer stage.

Should be underlined the fact that cancer is treatable, but I’ll refrain of saying curable, only if it is identified in its early stages and if the person responds well to the treatment.

There is always the possibility of recurrence and in the worst case scenario, the cancer comes back in the form of one or two metastatic tumors: doctors refer to this stage as metastases.

The prostate cancer is not noticeable in its early stages because it has no early symptoms, but once it starts spreading, the common reported signs are: prostatitis, blood in urine or semen, prostate-related urinary dribbling, urine odor, frequent urination or weak urine stream, prostate blockage, bacterial prostatitis, prostate inflammation, burning or pain while urinating, painful ejaculation, compression of the spine, leg pain, abdomen and chest pain, stiffness, ache, enlarged prostate, back pains, prostate pain.

Testosterone is the male hormone responsible for the growth of the prostatic cells because it can’t make any difference between the healthy tissues and the cancerous ones; usually the hormone therapy or the androgen deprivation therapy is used to remove the chemical blamed with the alimentation of those cells.

A part of our brain called the hypothalamus monitors if the level of testosterone in the body is normal; usually when this level drops, that part of the brain reacts by releasing two chemicals: the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone or the LHRH and the gonadotropin releasing hormone or the GnRH which stimulates the production of hormone in the testicles.

There is also one type of testosterone named free testosterone and defined as the level or amount of testosterone found in the blood stream and not bound to any other chemical such as albumin or globulin.

The levels of free testosterone can be identified with the help of the blood tests; those levels will indicate whether the hormones are functioning normally or if there is a hormonal unbalance. These tests are recommended to both men and women, because measuring the levels of the free testosterone is one way to measure the level of the SHBG or the sex hormone biding globulin; a low level of this SHBG is to be blamed for the reduction in thyroid performance and/or obesity while a high level indicates hyperthyroidism or cirrhosis.

When the life of a patient is affected by hormonal problems doctors often recommend testosterone injections to improve the process of memorizing and to increase the energy; sometimes injections are replaced by testosterone supplements, but physicians will know better what to prescribe when a certain health problem is identified. That is the precise case if prostate cancer is diagnosed.