Pacific Prime’s Guide to Prostate Cancer Treatment in Dubai
Prostate cancer treatment in Dubai includes hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation, radical prostatectomy, and cryotherapy—available at Dubai’s top medical institutions. Early detection is key, but symptoms often appear late. Risk increases with age, family history, and ethnicity.
In this Pacific Prime Dubai article, we explore treatment options, risk factors, and insurance coverage for prostate cancer. While health insurance is mandatory in Dubai, basic plans may not cover cancer care—add-ons are often needed. Hence, international health insurance is recommended.
What is Prostate Cancer?
The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system. Located between the bladder and penis, the gland secretes semen, a fluid that nourishes and protects sperm. Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate begin to grow in an uncontrolled way.
In some cases, prostate cancer grows so slowly that it does not cause any health problems. However, in other cases, prostate cancer grows quickly and is more likely to spread to other areas in the body, leading to serious health problems if left untreated.
What are the Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?
Unfortunately, prostate cancer may cause no signs or symptoms in its early stages. Symptoms usually start to develop only after it has reached more advanced stages, showing signs such as:
- Trouble urinating
- Decreased force in the stream of urine
- Blood in semen
- Discomfort in the pelvic area
- Bone pain
- Erectile dysfunction
Note that these symptoms are not exclusive to prostate cancer. If you experience these symptoms, they are usually a result of less serious diseases like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or STDs. Anyhow, it is always a good idea to consult a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.
Am I at Risk of Getting Prostate Cancer?
Although prostate cancer is commonly found in men, some men are more at risk of developing prostate cancer than others. These are the risk factors associated with prostate cancer development:
- Family history: A strong family history of prostate cancer significantly increases your risk, especially if multiple close or distant relatives have been diagnosed. Inherited mutations in genes like BRCA1 or BRCA2, commonly linked to breast cancer, can also raise prostate cancer risk.
- Age: The risk of developing prostate cancer increases as you get older. Particularly, around two out of three prostate cancer cases are found in men over the age of 65. It is recommended that you get yearly Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) checks when above the age of 50 years.
- Race/ethnicity: Studies have shown that prostate cancers are more commonly found in men of African ancestry than in men of other races or ethnicities. Meanwhile, prostate cancer occurs less often in men of Asian and Hispanic/Latino descent than in men of Caucasian and African ancestry.
What are the Types of Prostate Cancer Treatments Available?
Dubai’s top medical institutions offer various prostate cancer treatments. The five most common are hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, radical prostatectomy, and cryotherapy. Discuss with your doctor to choose the best option for your specific condition.
Things that you may consider before deciding which treatment option to go for may include: the stage of your cancer, your age, side effects from each treatment, and the likelihood of success for each treatment.
If time permits, it is also advisable to get a second opinion to help you determine the best treatment option available for you. The following are the pros and cons of prostate cancer treatments available in Dubai.
Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Hormone therapy is aimed at lowering the levels of male hormones, such as testosterone, which cause prostate cancer cells to grow. By lowering these hormone levels, prostate cancers may shrink or grow more slowly.
- Pros: It can help stop or slow the growth of cancer cells and shrink an enlarged prostate.
- Cons: It can lead to erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, blood in the urine, and depression.
Hormone therapy is often used in men with recurrent prostate cancer or with advanced prostate cancer. It is also often used to shrink cancer cells before other surgeries.
Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs for treating cancer, aimed directly at destroying cancer cells.
- Pros: Newer chemotherapy drugs are effective in reducing prostate cancer symptoms and slowing down the growth of prostate cancer.
- Cons: There are heavy side effects from chemotherapy, with each drug leading to different side effects, such as hair loss, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
Chemotherapy drugs target cancer cells throughout the body as the drug enters the bloodstream. For this reason, it is often used with patients whose prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate gland to other parts of the body.
Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer
There are two main types of radiation therapy: Brachytherapy (Internal Radiation Therapy) and External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT).
Internal Radiation Therapy places radioactive pellets directly into the prostate, either temporarily (5–15 minutes or a few days) or permanently. External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) targets the prostate with radiation from a machine outside the body to destroy cancer cells.
- Pros: No surgical risks, no hospital stays required, little to no damage to the tissue around the prostate, painless to almost painless procedure.
- Cons: Increased tiredness or fatigue due to radiation exposure may cause bowel problems. Patients may be forced to stay away from children and pregnant women if receiving internal radiation.
Radiation therapy is often used when prostate cancer is in the earlier stages or is slow-growing. If patients are not healthy enough for surgery treatments, then radiation therapy may also be used as an alternative, especially for men aged over 70 years.
Radical Prostatectomy
Radical prostatectomy is an operation to remove the prostate gland and tissues surrounding it. This measure is aimed at completely curing prostate cancer in men whose cancer hasn’t spread to other areas of the body.
- Pros: This surgery has a real potential to cure prostate cancer. Furthermore, a recent approach known as robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy reduces the invasiveness of the operation and allows for shorter recovery and hospitalization periods.
- Cons: Radical prostatectomy may cause erectile dysfunction and urinary issues like incontinence. It also results in impotence by severing the tubes between the testicles and the urethra. As with any major surgery, there are risks of anesthesia complications, heart attack, and infection.
Radical prostatectomy is often performed on patients younger than 75 years with limited prostate cancer who are still in a relatively healthy condition for a major operation.
Cryosurgery (Cryotherapy)
Cryosurgery involves guiding multiple needles directly into the prostate through the skin between the anus and scrotum to destroy abnormal tissues.
- Pros: Cryosurgery can be performed several times in cases of recurrent prostate cancer and on patients who are not fit enough for radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy.
- Cons: It can lead to impotence and obstruct urine flow. In some cases, the surgery can cause injury to the rectum.
As a smaller-scale surgery, it is a viable alternative to patients who are not healthy enough for larger surgeries or other treatments with severe side effects.
Are the Treatment Costs Covered by My Health Insurance Plan?
Since 2015, Dubai has required all residents to have health insurance. However, basic plans often exclude prostate cancer treatment, so you may need to buy add-ons to avoid high out-of-pocket costs for cancer care. Thus, always review your coverage for critical illness benefits.
Conclusion
To find the best health insurance plan for your needs, it’s helpful to speak with experienced insurance brokers like Pacific Prime. Our team can guide you through your options, helping you understand what’s covered, what isn’t, and which plans offer the best protection against high medical costs.
With over 25 years of experience as a world-leading international health insurance brokerage, we specialize in offering medical insurance in Dubai by partnering with top insurers to offer you unbiased medical insurance advice and free health insurance plan comparisons.
You can visit our website for a free quote today or contact our team of experts for further inquiries.
In his free time, Phuwit enjoys reading and playing badminton. He also loves a good cup of coffee.
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