Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer, early symptoms are hidden! Once these danger signals appear, check immediately

The office of former US President Biden issued a statement on the 18th saying that Biden was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. According to the statement, Biden's urinary system symptoms have been getting worse recently, and a prostate nodule was found after a doctor's examination. On the 16th, Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the cancer has spread to the bones.

In the field of health of elderly men, prostate cancer is a "hidden killer". In European and American countries, it has long "occupied" the first place in male malignant solid tumors, and the number of new cases each year remains high; in Asia, although the incidence rate is relatively low, it has also shown an upward trend year by year in recent years.

Understanding the clinical manifestations of prostate cancer is like installing an "early warning radar" for our body, which can help us detect abnormalities as early as possible, respond in time, and protect our health. Next, let's talk in detail about the "signals" of prostate cancer that must be prevented.

Early stage: Silent "lurker"

Early stage prostate cancer is like a silent "lurker". Most patients do not have obvious discomfort, and the body will hardly send out "alarms". At this time, if you want to find its traces, you have to rely on some professional examination methods.

1. Detection of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA)

PSA can be called the "early warning radar" of prostate cancer. Generally speaking, PSA of healthy men under 40 years old (including 40 years old) is ≤4ng/ml; 97% of healthy men over 40 years old are 0ng/ml~4ng/ml, and about 3% are 4.01ng/ml~10ng/ml.

If PSA>4ng/ml, the suspicion of prostate cancer will increase greatly. However, at this time, it is necessary to combine the percentage of free PSA (fPSA) to make a comprehensive judgment. The lower the fPSA, the higher the possibility of prostate cancer.

2. Rectal examination

Rectal examination is a common method for detecting prostate cancer. The doctor puts on gloves and inserts his fingers through the anus to touch the prostate, feeling its size, texture, and the presence of nodules. If a hard nodule is touched, there is a risk of prostate cancer.

However, this method is also somewhat controversial. In recent years, studies have pointed out that rectal examination may not be sensitive enough for the detection of early prostate cancer. Some early cancer tissue changes are too slight, or they grow in places that are difficult to reach with fingers, and are easily missed. In a German PROBASE trial, 46,495 men aged 45 participated in the screening, and 6,537 men in the delayed PSA screening group underwent rectal examination. As a result, only 57 were referred for biopsy due to suspicious conditions, and only 3 people were diagnosed with cancer in the end. The detection rate is much lower than that of PSA testing. However, before there is a better way, rectal examination is still one of the important preliminary screening methods, just like a "spare key" that is old but can still play a role at a critical moment.

Therefore, middle-aged and elderly men should not ignore regular physical examinations because they think they don’t feel anything. Physical examinations are the key to finding early prostate cancer. If you wait until the body has obvious symptoms before discovering it, you will be passive!

Progressive stage: the gradually emerging "trouble maker"

1. Urinary tract obstruction

When prostate cancer develops further and the tumor begins to grow slowly, it is like a bigger and bigger "stone" is stuffed into the "drainage pipe" of the urethra, blocking the road more and more narrowly. At this time, urination becomes a "difficult journey".

1. Frequent urination. Patients will obviously feel frequent urination, running to the toilet during the day, and getting up frequently at night, which will disrupt the originally peaceful sleep.
2. Urgent urination. Urgent urination also comes with it. Sometimes, when you just feel the urge to urinate, before you even get to the toilet, the urine can't wait to rush out, which makes people embarrassed.
3. Difficult urination. This symptom is even more commonplace. Standing in front of the toilet, it takes a long time for the urine to flow out slowly and thinly like a hair. The urine flow becomes thinner like squeezing water from the crack of the door. Sometimes it even forks and becomes a "shower". The urination distance is also significantly shortened.
4. Urinary retention. If the obstruction is extremely serious, it will also cause urinary retention. The urine in the bladder cannot be discharged, the stomach is swollen and the pain is unbearable. At this time, you can only seek emergency medical treatment and use a catheter to "relieve" the bladder and drain the urine.

Clinically, many patients come to the hospital for examination because these urination problems seriously affect their lives, and the "culprit" of prostate cancer is found. Therefore, once middle-aged and elderly men have these urination abnormalities, don't simply think that it is prostate hyperplasia due to old age. You must be more careful and check for prostate cancer.

2. Hematuria

Hematuria is an important "signal" of bladder tumors and prostate cancer progression. Under normal circumstances, urine should be clear and transparent or light yellow, but when cancer invades the urethra, bladder and other parts like an "invader", it will damage the blood vessels and tissues here. These damaged parts will bleed, and the blood will mix into the urine, so the urine will turn red, just like red pigment poured into clear lake water.

This type of hematuria is usually painless macroscopic hematuria, that is, when the patient urinates, he can directly see that the urine is red, like meat washing water, or even like blood, but there is no obvious pain during urination. This is different from hematuria caused by urinary stones, cystitis, etc., which are often accompanied by severe urinary pain.

So once you find yourself with painless macroscopic hematuria, you must sound the "red alarm", you must immediately pay attention to it, go to the hospital for a detailed examination in time, check the possibility of bladder tumors and prostate cancer, and confirm it as soon as possible to seize the opportunity for treatment.

Late stage: "Storm" raging throughout the body

1. Bone pain

When prostate cancer develops to the late stage, cancer cells are like a group of "crazy invaders" and begin to metastasize to other parts of the body. Bones are often an important position for them to "occupy". Once cancer cells metastasize to bones, patients may feel a deep and unforgettable bone pain.

This bone pain is not ordinary pain. It may occur in various parts of the body, such as the lumbar sacral region, buttocks, hips, pelvis, sternum, ribs and other parts. The nature of the pain varies. Sometimes it is a dull pain, like a small insect gently gnawing in the bone; sometimes it is a dull pain, as if the bone is continuously compressed by a heavy object; sometimes it is a stabbing pain, like a needle piercing into the bone, or even a severe pain that is unbearable, causing the patient to sweat profusely and toss and turn. Moreover, the pain often worsens at night or in activities, weight bearing, fatigue, trauma, etc., making the patient miserable. Many patients could barely take care of themselves, but once the bone pain occurs, even turning over and getting up becomes a luxury.

Therefore, if you have unexplained bone pain accompanied by weight loss, fatigue and other symptoms, you must be highly alert to the possibility of prostate cancer bone metastasis. You must go to the hospital for further examination and find these "troublemaking" cancer cells as soon as possible.

2. Pathological fractures

Because cancer cells "set up camp" in the bones, they constantly erode the bone and destroy the normal structure of the bones, which will greatly reduce the strength and stability of the bones, making the bones as fragile as "tofu dregs", and pathological fractures are very likely to occur. The patient may just cough lightly, bend slightly, or even turn over in his sleep, and the fragile bones will "click" and break.

The spine, ribs, femur and other parts are high-incidence areas for pathological fractures. Once the spine is fractured, it may compress the spinal cord, causing numbness, weakness, and even paralysis of the lower limbs; rib fractures will make the patient's breathing become unbearable and dare not breathe; femoral fractures will make the patient bedridden and lose the ability to move.

Therefore, patients with advanced prostate cancer must be extra careful in their daily lives, walk steadily, avoid collisions, avoid slippery floors at home, and place furniture neatly to reduce the risk of bumps. If a fracture unfortunately occurs, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. The doctor will take conservative treatment such as plaster fixation or surgical treatment such as plate internal fixation according to the specific situation of the fracture to restore the function of the bone as much as possible and relieve the patient's pain.

3. Swollen lymph nodes

In addition to metastasis to bones, advanced prostate cancer cancer cells will also "target" lymph nodes and regard them as "new strongholds". When cancer cells metastasize to lymph nodes, the lymph nodes will swell like "small bulges". This is actually a "signal light" sent by the body's immune system, indicating that the condition should not be underestimated.

The inguinal lymph nodes and pelvic lymph nodes are the most vulnerable areas. Some of the swollen lymph nodes in these parts are as big as soybeans, and some are even as big as peanuts. They are hard in texture and may be accompanied by pain or tenderness. If the swollen lymph nodes compress the surrounding blood vessels, nerves or lymphatic vessels, they will also cause a series of secondary symptoms. For example, compression of lymphatic vessels will lead to poor lymphatic return and cause lower limb edema. Patients will find that their legs are as heavy as lead and their skin is tight and shiny; compression of nerves may cause numbness, pain and other discomforts in the lower limbs.

Therefore, when middle-aged and elderly men find that their groin or pelvic lymph nodes are inexplicably swollen and other common causes such as infection are excluded, they must take prostate cancer into consideration, complete relevant examinations in time, and find out the "culprit" behind it.

4. Systemic symptoms

In the late stage of prostate cancer, cancer cells "rage" throughout the body. The body is like a building hit by a storm, and begins to show various signs of crumbling, showing a series of systemic symptoms:

1. The patient will gradually become anemic. The face is as pale as paper, and it is out of breath after walking a few steps. This is because cancer cells affect the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow, and the body's "hematopoietic factory" is insufficient.
2. The body is also getting weaker and weaker. Mental depression, no energy to do anything, housework that used to be easy to complete, now feels powerless.
3. Weight loss is even more obvious. The flesh on the body disappears little by little, and the bones are skin and bones. This is the result of cancer cells consuming a large amount of nutrients from the body and "eating up" the body's reserves.
4. Low fever often comes to "join in the fun". The body temperature remains at around 38℃ and cannot be lowered. The body is like a small stove burning. This is caused by the pyrogenic substances released by tumor tissue.
5. Lower limb edema. In addition to the lymph node compression factors mentioned above, lower limb edema may also be caused by the combined effects of multiple factors such as metabolic disorders and hypoproteinemia in advanced patients. The legs are swollen like two "elephant legs", and there is a pit when you press them.

These symptoms look scary, but don't be discouraged. Today's medical methods are diverse. Through comprehensive treatment plans such as surgery, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy, symptoms can be relieved to a certain extent, tumor progression can be controlled, and the patient's survival can be prolonged. Patients and their families should maintain a positive and optimistic attitude, cooperate with the doctor's treatment, and fight the disease tenaciously. Maybe they can usher in a turnaround and regain the sunshine of life.

Summary:

Although prostate cancer, this "hidden killer", is cunning, it is not completely traceless. Middle-aged and elderly men must pay more attention to these "small signals" of the body on weekdays, and do not take urinary tract problems such as frequent urination, urgency, and difficulty urinating seriously. Once the urine color turns red, or the bones are inexplicably painful, and the lymph nodes are swollen, they must be vigilant and seek medical treatment in time.

Regular physical examinations are the key line of defense against prostate cancer, especially PSA testing and rectal digital examination. These two "scouts" can help everyone find clues of cancer cells as early as possible.

If unfortunately diagnosed, don't panic. Nowadays, medical development is changing with each passing day. Following the doctor's advice and scientific treatment can effectively control the disease and improve the quality of life.