Stage 4 Prostate Cancer happens when the cancer cells in the prostate break away and spread to the other areas of the body through the surrounding lymph nodes. The cells that spread out usually travel to the lymph nodes, liver, and bones.

The most common symptoms of Stage 4 Prostate Cancer are:

• Lesser force in the urine
• Pain while urinating
• Blood in semen
• Painful bones
• ● Swollen legs
• ● Fatigue

To determine if you have Prostate Cancer, your doctor might prescribe the following set of tests:

• Imaging tests: Imaging tests include ultrasound, CT scans, PETs, MRIs, and bone scans. These tests will help your doctor determine the size and spread of your prostate cancer. The tests your doctor prescribes depend on the symptoms you experience.
• Biopsy: Your doctor might advise you to go in for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis made using other tests. The procedure involves taking samples from suspicious cells and checking for cancerous growth.

The treatments might slow the spread of cancer, extending your lifespan, although it can not completely cure Stage 4 Prostate Cancer.

Some of the commonly used therapies at this stage of cancer include:

1. Hormone therapies: In prostate cancer, the cancer cells grow with the help of testosterone. This is a therapy to stem the production of testosterone (male hormone) in your body and block the reaction of testosterone on the cancer cells. Thus, breaking the hormone supply might stop cancer from spreading and may help shrink it.

In Stage 4 Prostate Cancer cases, hormone therapies are usually used unaccompanied. They might sometimes be clubbed with chemotherapy or after radiation therapy, or in rare cases, with surgery. The treatment can continue till it keeps working.

There are multiple options of Hormone therapy:

• ● Medications to stop the production of testosterone in your body: Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) is a medication that forbids the messages to produce testosterone from reaching the testicles.
• ● Orchiectomy: Orchiectomy is a surgery where the testicles are removed. This lowers the testosterone levels in the body. The effects of orchiectomy may be the same as that of hormone therapies with regard to subduing testosterone levels. However, this surgery might show results quicker.
• ● Medications to obstruct the testosterone from reaching the cancer cells: Anti androgens are medicines that block the testosterone from reaching the cancer cells. These medicines can be given with an LH-RH agonist or before it.
• Other medicines: Other medicines have different results than those seen in the hormone therapies mentioned above. These drugs include steroid drugs, oestrogen, the female hormone, among others.

2. Radiation therapy: As the name suggests, radiated high-power energy beams are used to destroy cancer cells in this procedure. In stage 4 prostate cancer, a large machine moves around your body and directs energy beams, such as X-rays and protons, around the affected area.

This therapy can also be used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells or with hormone therapy if cancer has spread to the surrounding lymph nodes.

3. Surgery: Surgery is not a very common treatment option in stage 4 prostate cancer. It might only be used to relieve your symptoms. The types of surgery are:

• Removal of lymph nodes: Your doctor might advise extraction of lymph nodes around your pelvic region to determine if cancer has spread to them.
• Radical prostatectomy: The doctor may recommend removing the prostate and some surrounding cells if cancer has spread to that area but not to other parts of the body.

4. Palliative Care: This special medical care system comprises treatment from several medical experts ranging from dieticians to pharmacists, whose role is to assist you and your family during the treatment period and provide extra support whenever required. Palliative care is used along with other aggressive procedures such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

The factors that might increase complications in Stage 4 Prostate Cancer are:

• ● History of cancer in the family: Males who have inherited certain gene mutations may be more at risk of receiving aggressive cancer cells.
• ● Your race: Certain races, like men from the African race, have a higher chance of contracting prostate cancer.

Various therapies and procedures show different side effects. Hormone therapy has the following:

• Hot flashes
• Bone mass loss
• Erectile dysfunction
• Depleted sex drive

The side effects of surgery, however, are a little different:

• Incontinence
• ● Bleeding
• ● Infection
• ● Damaged rectum