Contents:
- Medical Video: Prostate Cancer Animation
- Does a woman have a prostate?
- How can a woman get prostate cancer?
- Get to know prostate cancer in women
Medical Video: Prostate Cancer Animation
Prostate cancer is a scourge that seems to always haunt men, especially when entering middle age. Because prostate cancer has always been considered a male disease, very few studies or case studies have looked at the possibility of prostate cancer in women. You are not mistaken, really. Women can also get prostate cancer!
To learn more about prostate cancer in women and the difference with male prostate cancer, see the full review below.
Does a woman have a prostate?
In men, the prostate gland is located under the bladder, in front of the anus. The size is very small, which is as big as walnuts. This gland serves to produce prostate fluid, which is one of the ingredients in a man's semen. In addition, the muscles in the prostate gland are responsible for pushing out semen when ejaculating.
Because the reproductive system is different, the female prostate gland is certainly not the same as the male prostate gland. Quoted from the public health information center of the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), women have two glands whose function and anatomy are similar to the male prostate gland. Because it is very similar, this gland is often referred to as the female prostate.
Two male prostate-like glands are actually called Skene glands. It is located under the female urethra, approximately 5-8 centimeters near the vaginal wall. Like a male prostate, this female prostate will produce lubricating fluids that are useful for moistening the vagina when aroused.
Another similarity is that male and female prostates both have antigenic substances (stimulants for immune responses) specifically named PSA and PSAP. Thus, both the male and female prostate glands have a similar but not identical structure.
How can a woman get prostate cancer?
Your entire organ system consists of billions of cells. Disorders or abnormalities in cells can become cancerous. So, like other parts of your body, cells in a woman's prostate gland also have the possibility of developing cancer.
However, prostate cancer in women is very rare. According to cancer specialists who are members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, cases of prostate cancer in women only recorded as much as 0.003% of all cancers that attack the reproductive system and urinary tract of women.
Get to know prostate cancer in women
Because research around prostate cancer in women is still very limited, the symptoms of cancer in this gland are often thought to be symptoms of infection or bladder cancer. So, notice that you have bloody urine, pain behind the collarbone, pain during sex or urination, or irregular menstrual cycles.
In a case recorded in Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations, a woman constantly experiences bloody urine without pain. After being examined, cancer in the female Skene gland was finally treated with radiation therapy (radiotherapy). In other cases, the cancer may have to be removed surgically.
