Pelvic Cancer Awareness Month

Cancers within the pelvis come in various forms for all genders. It refers to any cancer found within the pelvis. Early detection is important and improves survival rates. After medical treatment for cancer, it is often recommended to undergo pelvic rehabilitation to restore and recover as much of the function of the pelvis and pelvic organs as possible.

Pelvic Cancers

• Bladder
  • Bladder cancer is four times more prevalent in men that women.
  • Symptoms: blood in the urine, painful urination, urinary frequency, back pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
• Ureter and urethral
  • The ureters connect the kidneys to bladder. The urethra connects the bladder to the outside allowing urine to flow from the body.
  • Smoking is a risk factor for these cancers.
  • Symptoms: blood in urine, difficulty initiating flow, weak flow, urinary frequency, urinary discharge, swelling or a palpable growth in perineum (urethral cancer), unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
• Rectal or Colorectal (Gastrointestinal)
  • Common form of cancer. Often found with yearly screening (colonoscopy) for patients (>45yrs). See here for more information.
  • High (over 88%) survival rate when found early.
  • Symptoms: rectal bleeding or bloody stool, diarrhea or constipation with no change in diet, narrow stool, abdominal pain, incomplete emptying feeling, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
• Bone Cancer of the Pelvis (Osteosarcoma)
  • Rare form of cancer of the pelvic bones. More often found in adolescents than adults.
  • Symptoms often present late so disease has progressed and metastasized often at diagnosis. Lower survival rate for this reason.
  • Symptoms: worsening bone pain (more often at night), redness near the bone, palpable lump over bone, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.

Common Pelvic Cancers in Men

• Prostate
  • Symptoms: trouble urinating, difficulty maintaining urine stream, blood in semen or urine, weight loss, bone pain, fatigue.
  • Please see here for more information, impact of plastic and the prostate.
• Testicular
  • Rare form of cancer impacting the testicles. See here (second half of article) for more information.
  • Symptoms: painless testicular lump, swelling or heaviness, fatigue.
  • Testicular cancer and/or its medical treatment may lead to infertility.

Common Pelvic Cancer in Women

• Uterine
  • The most common type of uterine cancer is endometrial cancer which typically affects women postmenopause.
  • Survival rates are much higher for women with localized disease (cancer which has not metastasized) are 95%.
  • Symptoms: abnormal vaginal bleeding, menstrual period changes, abnormal discharge, pelvic pain, mass or swelling in pelvis, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
• Ovarian
  • Check out our recent article on ovarian cancer here.
  • Detection is often missed due to non-specific symptoms. This results in the disease being diagnosed late, sometimes after it has metastasized impacting survival rates.
  • Symptoms: pelvic pain, abdominal bloating, difficulty eating, feeling full soon after eating, nausea, urinary frequency, urinary urgency, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
• Cervical
  • For more information check our article on cervical cancer here.
  • Yearly PAP smears helps improve early detection rates increasing survival chances.
  • Symptoms: pain during intercourse, abnormal vaginal bleeding, change in menstrual cycles, abnormal vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue.

Is Cancer Treatable?

Cancer treatment depends on the type of cancer and it’s stage. Some cancers are benign which means they do not spread to other organs or parts of the body. Metastatic cancers, on the other hand, often spread to neighboring tissue and organs before traveling and growing in other areas of the body far from the original cancer site. Cancers are often staged I to IV depending on how developed they are. The earlier the cancer is found the better the chances of survival. With current medical advances many cancers are fully treatable when in Stage I or II. Stage III and IV cancers often involve more lengthy medical interventions including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Medical treatment depends on the type and stage of specific cancer.

Pelvic Rehabilitation

Pelvic health physical therapists are important to have in your medical team when you have a diagnosis of pelvic cancer. We are able to help improve bladder, bowel and sexual health symptoms. Pelvic rehabilitation involves improving the function of the muscles within the pelvis. Our therapists also help improve whole body conditioning, like strength and endurance of the muscles and cardiovascular system, two things which can be heavily impacted with medical treatment for cancer.