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 | Health Spotlight: Prostate Cancer |  |
 Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, other than skin cancer.
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The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 234,460 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2006. About 27,350 men will die of this disease. Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in men, after lung cancer and colorectal cancer. While 1 man in 6 will get prostate cancer durin g his lifetime, only 1 man in 34 will die of this disease. The death rate for prostate cancer is going down. And the disease is being found earlier as well.
The prostate (pros-tate) is a gland found only in men. The prostate is about the size of a walnut. It is just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The tube that carries urine (the urethra) runs through the prostate. The prostate contains cells that make some of the seminal fluid. This fluid protects and nourishes the sperm.
Male hormones cause the prostate gland to develop in the fetus. The prostate keeps on growing as a boy grows to manhood. If male hormone levels are low, the prostate gland will not grow to full size. In older men, though, the part of the prostate around the urethra often keeps on growing. This causes BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) which can result in problems with urinating.
Although there are several cell types in the prostate, nearly all prostate cancers start in the gland cells. This kind of cancer is known as adenocarcinoma. The rest of this information refers only to prostate adenocarcinoma.
Most of the time, prostate cancer grows slowly. Autopsy studies show that many older men who died of other diseases also had prostate cancer that neither they nor their doctor were aware of. But sometimes prostate cancer can grow and spread quickly. Even with the latest methods, it is hard to tell which prostate cancers will grow slowly and which will grow quickly.
Some doctors believe that prostate cancer begins with very small changes in the size and shape of the prostate gland cells. These changes are known as PIN (prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia). These changes can be either low-grade (almost normal) or high-grade (abnormal).
If you have had a prostate biopsy that showed high-grade PIN, there is a greater chance that there are cancer cells in your prostate. For this reason, you will be watched carefully and may need another biopsy.
www.cancer.org
Prostate Cancer Links
Describes different options for prostate cancer screening and both the positive and negative sides to PSA testing
Guides visitors through a “Prostate problems self- assessment”
Discusses prostate cancer screening, including who should be screened, how it is done, the disadvantages, and how one makes the decision to get screened
Provides an in-depth description of all aspects of the PSA Test (Prostate-Specific Antigen Blood Test), primarily used as a screening test for prostate cancer.
Gives an overview of the different types of methods used to screen for prostate cancer
Provides a comprehensive condition guide on all aspects of prostate cancer
Gives a brief description of four different methods of diagnosis for prostate cancer
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Videos
Contains different videos on prostate cancer; includes "Aggressive Prostate Cancer: Needs Aggressive Approaches"
Interactive tutorials on "What is Prostate Cancer?"
Video on "Once-a-Year Treatment for Prostate Cancer"
"Video on "What's first in deciding what to do with a diagnosis of prostate cancer?"
Animations/
Illustrations
Illustration and description of the digital rectal exam, used to test for prostate cancer
Illustration and description of the PSA blood test, used to test for prostate cancer
Illustration of the male sex organs and description of the symptoms of prostate cancer
Human Body Atlas: Male Reproductive System
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Medical Doctor Advice
Submit your medical questions to professionals at the Mayo Clinic
Submit your health-related questions here
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