Why Biden may not know about the “aggressive” prostate cancer until recently

On Sunday, the office of former President Joe Biden announced that he was diagnosed with something “aggressive” of prostate cancer.

Biden’s office also said that cancer had spread and spread to its bones.

Although some people have been letting them wondering about the reason for the cancer arresting only after reaching the Glexon 9 degree, oncology experts told ABC News that it is not uncommon for larger prostate cancer patients to receive diagnostic after the progress or spread of the disease.

“The prostate cancer is something that we hope will always be examined early, when the cancer is still inside the prostate,” said Dr. Elishia Morgans, a medical oncologist in Dana Farper Cancer in Boston.

“Even if we are perfectly presented, there will never be 100 % discovery of prostate cancer because in reality, cancer does not follow the book of rules,” Morgans continued. “Just as we are trying to capture it early, it does not necessarily mean that it exists when we examine.”

Psa may not have been examined

A single test of prostate cancer includes a blood test that measures the level of prostate antigens, which are proteins made of cells in the prostate gland.

Although there is no level of cutting clearly indicating the presence of cancer, many doctors use 4 ng per milligram to recommend other tests with a urologist, according to what he said American Cancer Association.

For an advanced form of cancer like Biden, the PSA test would have been likely to show high levels.

However, the American Preventive Services Sector Recommended against the PSA -based examination For men between the ages of 70 years or more due to damage such as wrong positives that lead to more tests or diagnosis of problems that will not cause symptoms or death.

Morgans said it is unclear what the former president and his doctor discussed regarding the examination, but it is reasonable that he was not undergoing the PSA show.

“It is quite possible that President Biden, like many men who exceeded that era, decided to stop the PSA examination because they decided that he did not agree with their general health goals and desires, and this is completely reasonable,” Morgans said.

Cancer can grow quickly

Morgans said that some of the men in the 1970s and 1980s are still undergoing a PSA for prostate cancer based on talks with primary care doctors and what is appropriate for them.

However, the results are likely to be normal – either because of the wrong negative or because its cancer was not present at that time.

“Prostate cancer can develop between examination tests,” Morgans said. “It does not necessarily grow slowly. It can develop between shows, and it can be aggressive when it develops; this does not mean that it is not treatment.”

The results of the border examination can be

There may be some patients who receive the results of PSA examination that show high -linear results who decide not to follow more tests.

“There are completely scenarios, as this conversation occurs with a patient or a member of his family,” Price told ABC News. “Each of them may say, do you know what? Given the place we are in life, we are not worried about this. Let’s go forward and wait for another year.”

Price, a medical oncologist who specializes in prostate and testicular cancers, added that making joint decisions is important when it comes to determining whether the patient wants to follow up on prostate cancer examination-and if they want to test more abnormal test results, said Price, a medical oncologist who specializes in prostate and testicular cancer.

“As doctors, we offer patients with options and recommendations, but at the end of the day, the patient’s decision is still,” he said. “Therefore, it is completely possible to have a conversation and the patient decides that they do not want to proceed with more work. Maybe they don’t want an examination, they may not want to do a biopsy.”

There are no symptoms present

Advanced prostate cancer can provide symptoms such as weak urination flow; The need to urinate often; Men’s impotence; exhaustion; Weight loss losing bladder or intestinal control; And pain in the ribs, hips and spine when cancer spread to the bones, according to ACS.

Morgans said just because the patient has advanced prostate cancer, this does not necessarily mean that they will show symptoms.

“I would like to say it’s more common that people are sitting in my office and telling me,” Morgans said, as you know, I have no symptoms. I do not understand how I suffer from this cancer. I definitely do not understand how it could spread outside the prostate. ”It is very common that people be completely symptoms.”

Price added that some symptoms, such as the difficulty in urinating or the weak urination flow, may be due to the expanded prostate, which is common in the elderly men.

“It is quite normal that in the elderly, there is a degree of urology that occurs with age,” he said. “It is completely possible that a man has natural symptoms associated with aging and nothing about it emerges as a cancerous process.”