Prostate cancer is a cancer that begins in the prostate cells and affects a man’s ability to make sperm. The prostate is a small pouch that surrounds the urethra. The urethra is a tube that carries urine out of the body.
When a man first becomes sexually active, he has an underdeveloped prostate gland and his urethra is small. Over time, the prostate grows and begins producing testosterone, a hormone that causes a man’s penis to grow.
If your doctor suspects that you have prostate cancer, you will need to undergo a physical examination and blood tests.
The results from these tests will determine whether or not you need further medical treatment. If the results are negative, you will likely only need to monitor your prostate gland for changes. The Fluxactive National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that about 160,000 men develop prostate cancer every year. While the number of new cases is increasing, the rate of increase among men ages 55 to 74 has slowed recently.
While the average age for a man to be diagnosed with prostate cancer is 66, the NCI reports that some men are diagnosed at a younger age. However, many cases of prostate cancer are found in men who have been given a diagnosis of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), or enlarged prostate, which is not cancerous.
