Dr. Ruchir Maheshwari Sr Consultant Urology & Kidney Transplant

Saket, Delhi

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in Western world. Though still less common in India, its incidence is gradually increasing with improving socio-economic status and Westernizing diet, i.e. low fiber, high fat and high sugar diet. It is rare before the age of 40 years; 65% of cases occur after 65 years of age. Similar disease in 1st degree relatives (father, brother) is a strong risk factor.

It is an uncontrolled growth of cells within urinary bladder (the part of our body which stores urine till its socially acceptable to empty). It is one of the most demanding cancer in that there is high chances of recurrence and demands commitment from both the physician and patient for optimal treatment. Neglected, it is uniformly fatal.

Unfortunately, kidney cancer rarely causes visible signs or symptoms in its early stages. In the later stages, the most common sign of both renal cell and transitional cell cancers is blood in the urine (hematuria). Most of the time RCC is now found incidentally, during physical examinations for other problems, by imaging studies such as ultrasound, CAT scan or MRI. You may notice the blood when you urinate, or your doctor may detect blood from a urinalysis, a test that specifically checks the contents of your urine.

Cancer begins when healthy cells change and grow out of control, forming a mass called a malignant tumor. Malignant means that the tumor is cancerous and can grow and spread to other parts of the body. There are also benign tumors of the penis that are not cancers. They can grow but do not spread. Penile cancer is a rare form of cancer that occurs mostly in uncircumcised men. Uncircumcised means that a man still has the piece of skin called the foreskin covering the head of the penis. Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin and may reduce the risk of penile cancer.