Cancer of the prostate is the most common type of cancer among men in the United States. It is second only to lung cancer in claiming lives. Although it can develop at any time in life, prostate cancer affects mostly older men over the age of fifty.
The prostate is a part of the male reproductive system responsible for making and storing seminal fluid. Located between the bladder and rectum, the prostate in a healthy adult male, weighs around twenty grams and is about three centimeters long. There are many glands in the prostate and it is in these glands whose cells can mutate into cancer.
What causes these cells to mutate is still unknown, although genetics and diet are two known factors. This type of cancer is a slow growing cancer, which is good news when detected early. In fact, it can grow so slowly that many men will suffer from it for years but end up dying from other causes.
Unfortunately, many times there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Therefore, it can easily go unchecked. Due to its location in the pelvis, prostate cancer can easily spread to other parts of the body. Prostate cancer sufferers have a higher rate of bone cancer and cancer of the lymph nodes. As the cancer progresses, the sufferer will begin to experience more and more pain. The sufferer will have trouble passing urine and experience erectile dysfunction.
Unless there are symptoms, the only way to detect prostate cancer is through an examination, a prostate specific antigen lab test (PSA), or biopsy. The most common treatment methods are surgery (radical prostatectomy), radiation therapy and chemotherapy
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