The new prostate cancer patients come to the doctor in an advanced stage condition.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — In the world, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. As many as 99 percent of patients prostate cancer diagnosed and treated at an early stage, have a life expectancy of up to five years and a fairly good quality of life.
Although in Indonesia prostate cancer ranks fifth most common type of cancer suffered by men (according to data from the Global Burden of Cancer in 2020), prostate cancer sufferers come in an advanced stage. Dr. dr. Irfan Wahyudi, Sp.U (K), Head of the Department of Urology FKUI-RSCM said it was very unfortunate because most patients were diagnosed when they were at an advanced stage. This is because early detection of prostate cancer cases is not optimal in Indonesia.
“One of the important stages in starting prostate cancer treatment is early detection and this must be done as soon as possible,” he said in a press statement received Republika.co.id, Wednesday (8/9).
Prostate cancer patients diagnosed and treated at an early stage have a 10-year life expectancy of over 90 percent. This figure will decrease to 50 percent if found at an advanced stage.
In Indonesia, there are currently quite a number of cases of new prostate cancer found in an advanced stage. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts for a better and more efficient early detection program.
“It was noted, according to recent publications that most patients came at stage 4. Most of them came or were diagnosed at the age of 60 to 79 years,” he said.
Head of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Agus Rizal Ardy Hariandy Hamid, Sp. U (K) Ph.D., said prostate cancer can occur in a person due to age, race, family history, gene changes, metabolic syndrome such as diabetes, cholesterol and obesity. In addition, unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking habits, poor diet and lack of exercise can increase the risk of prostate cancer in men.
He said most patients with early-stage prostate cancer are not aware of any symptoms. Symptoms are sometimes only felt by patients when the cancer has spread to other organs. “Symptoms that are complained of include urinary disturbances, blood in urine or semen, erectile dysfunction, pain in the waist, back and ribs, weakness in the legs or feet and inability to control the bladder,” he said.
Prostate cancer can also spread to nearby organs, such as the bladder, bones or other organs. Prostate cancer that spreads to the bones can cause pain and fractures.
He said early detection of prostate cancer can be done in several ways, namely anamnesis by looking at the medical history of the patient and also his family. You can also perform a physical examination such as a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) or digital rectal examination to assess and see prostate size, consistency, shape, and the presence or absence of abnormalities in the shape of the prostate. Another way that can be done is a laboratory examination by conducting a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) examination.
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