There are tests that allow the detection of certain types of cancers before the patient becomes symptomatic. The idea is to diagnose the cancer in the early stages while treatment can be used to cure the cancer rather than wait until the cancer advances and spreads and is no longer curable. With respect to prostate cancer there are two tests that are recommended to be used in combination. The first is a physical examination of the prostate gland for any abnormalities that could be the result of prostate cancer. The second is a blood test called the PSA test. An abnormally high result indicates the possibility of prostate cancer.
When a factor other than prostate cancer causes the PSA level to raise the elevated PSA is called a "false positive." A biopsy has risks, such as the risk of infection and the risk of excessive bleeding. Given these two facts some doctors advise that male patients follow a plan of "watchful waiting." Under such a plan the doctor monitors the patient's elevated PSA over a period of months or years. During this time some doctors advise that the patient try non cancer related treatments, for example, for infection, under the theory that if the PSA is elevated for a reason other than prostate cancer such treatments may bring the PSA back to normal levels.
The danger with doing this is that the physician may wait too long before ordering any tests to determine whether the high PSA level is due to prostate cancer. If waiting results in the spread of the cancer beyond the prostate capsule then the patient will no longer have treatment options that can eliminate and cure the cancer. For patients whose cancer is detected while contained within the capsule, the likelihood is better than 90 percent that they will still be alive 5 years after diagnosis. The percentage is lower for the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer. This measure is referred to as the 5-year survival rate.
Doctors use the five year survival rate to classify, for each stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, the percentage of men so diagnosed who will survive the cancer for five years. While men with very aggressive forms of prostate cancer generally have a lower survival rate than men with a less aggressive cancer, when prostate cancer is diagnosed in the early stages, before it has a chance to spread outside the prostate gland itself, the five year survival rate is in the high ninety percent range.
When the cancer is not diagnosed until the late stages, after it has spread outside the prostate, there is no known cure at the current time. Treatment options are more limited and are generally meant to slow the spread and effects of the cancer. In time, however, current treatments for advanced prostate cancer eventually lose their effectiveness and the disease becomes fatal.
After the cancer spreads beyond the capsule, the 5-year survival rates drop significantly.
In general, once the cancer reaches to stage 3 the patient has about a 50-50 percent chance that the cancer will progress. If the cancer is already at stage 4 when the diagnosis is made, the patient generally only has a 2-3 year life expectancy.
Treatment options for advanced prostate cancer may include hormone therapy, radiation therapy, orchiectomy (the surgical removal of the testicles), and possibly chemotherapy. Treatment will usually cause the PSA to drop significantly. Over time, however, treatment ceases to be effective as the cancer continues to progress. This is typically associated with a new rise in the PSA level. After the treatment stops being effective, the cancer is fatal. As of the time this article was written approximately 90,000 men a year are expected to die in the U.S. from advanced prostate cancer.
How many of these 90,000 deaths will be due to a physician advising his patient to follow a plan of "watchful waiting" and then waiting too long to finally diagnose the cancer? We might never know how many of these men's lives might have been saved had the physician instead advised the patient to undergo a biopsy. However, if you or a member of your family were among those whose physician delayed the diagnosis of prostate cancer until it was at an advanced stage, you should immediately contact a competent medical malpractice attorney. The physician may be liable under a medical malpractice claim.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about cases involving advanced prostate cancer and how a cancer attorney can help you by visiting his website.
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