Study Reveals that Men with Prostate Cancer Run the Risk of Deadly Blood Clots
A new study shows that men with prostate cancer run a greater risk of developing blood clots.
Though most cancer treatments cause an increased risk of developing dangerous blood clots in the deep veins of the legs, a recent study revealed that men with prostate cancer run a risk that is almost twice as high as other cancers. The clots, known as deep vein thrombosis or DVT, are dangerous because they can travel to a patient’s lungs and cause a life-threatening blockage.
Doctors are not sure whether DTV in cancer patients is caused by the illness itself, the treatment or even the inability for patients who are sicker to move around as much as they normally would; sometimes inactivity can cause clotting.
The recent study, which researched 76,600 men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, revealed that the chances for blood clots in men went up regardless of which treatment the patients were undergoing; this includes men who had not received active treatment but were just kept under observation. Of the men studied, 1,881 had a DVT or other blood clot problem.
Doctors are being advised to take blood clotting into special consideration for patients with prostate cancer. Patients are also being advised to know the symptoms of a blood clot.
Well, you gotta love all this good news. I would next love to hear that prostate, a big killer, is getting more than a fraction of what breast cancer gets in funding. It wouldn’t come in time to help me, but it would be nice to hear.