Application: Cancer and Women's and Men's Health

Application: Cancer and Women’s and Men’s Health

Cancer is one of the more dangerous diseases affecting many men and women in the western world. The statistics on the people that are diagnosed with the disease are worrying and this call for urgent preventive measures to help in reduction of the fatalities that are caused by cancer. This paper delineates on breast cancer among women and prostate cancer among men, its factors related to preventive care, treatment and their short and long-term effects.

According to the American Cancer Society, by the end of 2012, around 2410, 000 men and 2,260,000 women could have been diagnosed with cancer (U.S Preventive Services Task Force. (2014). According to the US Preventive Service Task Force, breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer-affecting women. Statistics indicate that 12.4 % of the women born today equivalent to one among eight women is likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime (U.S Preventive Services Task Force, 2014). Between 2005 and 2009, the median age of women that were diagnosed with cancer was 61 years while the median age among men was 50 years (U.S Preventive Services Task Force, 2014). This statistics therefore indicates the need for preventive education to create awareness and to enable people to go for screening continuously to reduce the rate and the number of deaths.

Providers recommend various preventive services to individuals either at risk of breast or prostate cancer. For prostate cancer, one of the recommended preventive services that are usually recommended by the providers is the screening. A Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test is normally carried out on men at risk (Bostock-Cox, 2013). Other tests that are usually carried out in symptomatic men include blood and urine tests. Urinary test helps in identification of any infections in the infection tract that may be the cause of the symptoms. This test may also identify the presence of glucose- diabetes that usually mimics symptoms related to prostate cancer. DRE tests are also carried out to assess the shape, size and the texture of the prostate. The normal PSA levels relates to age but in most cases the level of PSA among men aged 50 need to be below 3ng/ml, in men in 60s need to be less than 4ng/ml while in men in 70s it is required to be less than 5 ng/ml (Bostock-Cox, 2013).

Likewise, patients that are at risk of suffering from breast cancer require screening. Women are required to seek medical services to determine whether they are at risk or not. Example of recommended clinical trial that women need to prevent breast cancer includes use of tibolone and aromatase inhibitors. Aromatase inhibitors are effective in reducing the incidence of invasive breast cancer among women that are past menopause at high risks of contracting the disease. Other risk preventive treatment drugs for breast cancer include drugs such as tamoxifen and raloxifene. These drugs however have some side effects related to uterine abnormalities, thromboembolic events, cataracts, cardiovascular diseases and other adverse effects (U.S Preventive Services Task Force, 2014).

The two factors that are likely to impact on the decisions related to preventive services are the age and the ethnicity. Age is one of the important factors usually taken into consideration when diagnosing and during initiatives to prevent cancer. Most men that have higher risk of suffering from prostate cancer are aged above 50 years (U.S Preventive Services Task Force, 2014). Therefore, any person that is nearing the age is advised to seek medical checkup or go for screening to find out whether they are health or at risk of suffering from the disease. Similarly, women that are past menopause have higher chances of suffering for breast cancer and it becomes an important decision making factors when it comes to going for screening. Ethnicity is also an important factor when it comes to preventive initiatives. Most of the people that comes or lives in the west have higher chances of suffering from both prostate and breast cancer and therefore, it become prudent for them to go for these check up on regular basis compared to others that comes from other ethnicities such as the Asians and the Africans in African continent.

In case aggressive prostate cancer is diagnosed, there is a wide range of treatments available and which can be administered. These treatment options include surgical removal of the prostate gland trough a transurethral resection of the prostate or total prostatectomy and radiotherapy (National Cancer Institute, 2014). Other ways include, testosterone blocking hormone therapy, which shrinks the tumor reducing the risk of reoccurrence. These treatments have both short and long-term effects and it becomes essential to discuss them as partners. The short term implications of these treatment include problems with erecting while long term effects includes urinary incontinence, hot flushes, weight gain, poor memory and mood swing (Bostock-Cox, 2013).

On the other, there are different treatment options that providers use to treat breast cancer. These includes chemotherapy where drugs are used to destroy the cancer cells, hormone therapy, radiotherapy, surgery to remove the cancer cells or lymph nodes and use of various medications or drugs. The side effects or implications of using chemotherapy includes, hair loss, vomiting, nausea, fatigue and increased risk of developing infections (Mayo clinic, 2014). One of the short term side effects is premature menopause. Lapatinib is one of the medications that can be used in domination with chemotherapy and has side effects such as diarrhea, painful feet and hands, heart problems and nausea (Drugs. Com. 2014).

In conclusion, cancer has become a threat to the live of people as it is affecting many people. The disease can only be managed through creation of awareness on the appropriate preventive measures. Breast cancer and prostate cancer are some of the types of cancer that continues to claim many lives. Preventive measures reduce the risks of these diseases as well as their prevalence. Various treatments are available such as surgery for these two kinds of cancer and if well adopted can help in promoting the health of a patient.

References

Bostock-Cox, B. (2013). What practice nurses need to know about prostate disease, Practice Nurse, 43(1): 10-14.

Drugs. Com. (2014). Drugs. Retrieved from: http://www.drugs.com/

Mayo clinic. (2014). Breast cancer: Treatments and drugs. Retrieved from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/basics/treatment/con- 20029275

National Cancer Institute. (2014). Prostate cancer prevention (PDQ). Retrieved form: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/prostate/Patient/page3

U.S Preventive Services Task Force. (2014). Medications for Risk Reduction of Primary Breast Cancer in Women. Retrieved from: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf13/breastcanmeds/breastcanmedsrs.h tm