PROSTATE CANCER/PATHOLOGIC FRACTURE: OTHER COMPLICATIONS
When cancer invades bones, they become brittle. Brittle bones break. Therefore, men with metastatic prostate cancer are prone to broken bones (called pathologic fractures). Most susceptible are bones that bear much of the body’s weight, in the hip and thigh. Sometimes, doctors can take steps to protect bones at risk—putting pins in the hip bone to strengthen it, for example. Such steps are a good idea when a bone has a large chunk of cancer (greater than three centimeters in diameter) that takes up at least half of the bone’s outer shell.
Other Complications
If you’re having any of these symptoms—weak urine flow; hesitancy in starting urination; a need to push or strain to get urine to flow; intermittent urine stream (starts and stops several times); difficulty in stopping urination; “dribbling” after urination; a sense of not being able to empty the bladder completely; or not being able to urinate at all—it’s probable that the cancer has become extensive enough to block your urinary tract. Several procedures are available to ease these symptoms, including a TUR procedure or the placement of stents.
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