Can Colon Cancer Affect Prostate?

Like many things in cancer, metastasis of colon cancer can affect other parts of the body at its advanced stages, causing some complications. If it does have spread, first it will affect the nearby tissues such as other parts of digestive system. It also can spread to distinct organs, especially such as liver and lungs. But can it affect prostate, too?

One of reproductive organs that cannot be found in women is prostate, male-reproductive organ (it is about the size of a walnut). It is located below the bladder, an essential organ in your urinary system – and just in front of rectum (the end part of your bowel).

It surrounds the first section of urethra (a tube that carries urine from bladder to out of the body during urination). In male reproductive system, urethra also has function to carry semen (male fluid). See the picture (credit to Mayo)!

Prostate plays a key role to make and squeezes semen to help nourish and protect sperms during male ejaculation. Male hormones, especially such as testosterones, are responsible for the growth and function of prostate. Testosterones are made in the male testes.

Cancer prostate is the most common cancer in men. It and its treatments can affect the productivity of male reproduction. For instance, some cancer treatments can cause too low testosterone levels.

Interestingly, many patients with prostate cancer die due to other conditions. In fact, it often grows very slowly. Even some people with it don’t realize until they die from another health problem.

Theoretically, a cancer can spread to any part of the body if left untreated. However, there are some places where it is likely to spread.

For instance, the most common secondary brain cancer (cancer in the brain that is derived from elsewhere in the body) is come from the primary lung cancer (a cancer that originally has started from cells in the lungs).

Remember that it’s important to determine the primary site of where cancer grows. Even though if the cancer has spread, the treatment plan is still focused on treating the primary cancer. In other words, the treatment approaches for primary and secondary cancer are different.

How about colon cancer? Where does it usually spread to in the body?

In the metastasis of  colon cancer (the phase of when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body), liver and lungs are the 1st and 2nd common places where it usually spreads. You can explore more this issue in this section!

Metastasis of colon cancer can go to the prostate, too – but …!

Cancer of colon is less likely to become aggressive since it usually growl slowly, too. But unfortunately, many patients die due to this cancer. Even it is the third leading cause of death associated with cancer in the U.S. Experts blame that the late of the diagnosis is the answer for this high mortality rate!

The more aggressive it is – the greater chance for it to spread and affect other parts of the body.

If it grows aggressively, it may go to the prostate and cause secondary prostate cancer. But the metastasis of colon cancer to the prostate is quite rare (not common).