| |
Symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer: |
| |
Rising PSA level
Bone pain or back pain
Difficulty urinating
Weakness or numbness in the legs
|
|
|
Overview
What is the prostate?
The prostate gland is a walnut-shaped organ below the bladder that encircles the urethra, which is the passage for urine. Part of the male genital tract, the prostate secretes the fluid and chemical nutrients necessary for sperm cells to survive in semen.
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is the growth of abnormal, unhealthy cells in the male prostate gland. Prostate cancer is often a very slow-growing cancer. Most men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer die from a cause other than the cancer. However, prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body - most often, the bones or pelvic lymph nodes (small, round structures found in the lower abdominal area that help fight infection). After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the next most common type of cancer in American men.
More on Prostate Cancer Basic Facts About Prostate Cancer
Can a Vitamin Cut Prostate Cancer Risk?
Men, Go Heavy on the (Tomato) Sauce
Will My Cancer Come Back? Coping with the Fear of Recurrence
Life After Cancer: Your Survivorship Plan
What Is a Urologic Surgeon?
In the Encyclopedia: Prostate-specific antigen test
Prostate ultrasound
Prostatectomy
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
|
|
|
