The commonest form of cancer in the United States today is skin cancer
but, to many people's surprise, prostate cancer is the second most
frequently seen type of cancer and results in some 30,000 deaths each
year. So just what is prostate cancer?
The human body starts its life as a single cell which divides
repeatedly to form new cells. As cell division continues so the newly
created cells, acting as the building blocks of the human body, form
themselves into walls of tissue creating the various parts that we
recognize as the human body. This is not however the end of the process
as, throughout our lives, our bodies change constantly with old cells
wearing out and dying and other newer cells continuing the process of
division to replace them.
Occasionally however this process of division does not follow the
pattern that it should and a cell divides incorrectly, forming two
cells which do not carry the correct information to function normally.
At the same time this frequently sets off a chain reaction so that
these cells in turn begin to divide, forming further faulty cells.
This, in simple terms, is the basis of all cancers and, where faulty
cell division takes place in the prostate gland, then the result is
prostate cancer.
The prostate gland, which is about the size of a walnut, sits between
the bladder and the rectum and partially surrounds the urethra (the
tube which carries urine from the bladder) and its main function is to
produce and store a clear fluid which makes up about thirty percent of
male semen.
Although we tend to think of cancer whenever the prostate is mentioned,
there are in fact numerous other problems that can affect the prostate
gland, many of which can be quite easily treated.
Prostate cancer is rarely seen in men under the age of 40 and, although
cases are seen between the ages of 40 and 65, the vast majority of
prostate cancer cases arise in men over the age of 65.
In many cases however the progress of the disease is slow and early
stage prostate cancer often carries few if any noticeable symptoms. For
this reason many men can suffer from prostate cancer for years before
it is diagnosed and the average age at which diagnosis is made in the
United States is currently 70.
If caught in its early stages prostate cancer can be successfully
treated either by surgery or radiation therapy (radiotherapy) and,
while such treatment can often leave its mark in terms of ongoing
problems with urination or a degradation or loss of sexual function,
the cancer will often not return.
Problems arise however if prostate cancer is more advanced at the time
of diagnosis and has already spread into neighboring tissue and bone,
or has been carried to other parts of the body, usually through the
lymphatic system. Here a combination of surgery, radiation therapy and
possibly hormone therapy can certainly help in treating the problem but
the cancer will often reappear.
Perhaps the biggest problem lies in the fact that, in terms of their
general health and sexual health in particular, men have traditionally
suffered in silence and will only venture into the doctor's surgery
when they are at death's door.
This fortunately is starting to change in our modern society, even if
only slowly, and as an increasing number of men turn to their doctor
when they first suspect that something might be wrong, rather than
waiting until they know something is wrong, then perhaps the early
diagnosis of prostate cancer will result in fewer deaths each year from
this treatable disease.
