The prostate gland is located under the bladder and forms a donut-like collar around the urine channel (urethra).
The prostate makes the fluid that helps sperm survive. Sperm are made in the testicles and travel through the vas deferens. They are stored in the seminal vesicles, which are located behind the bladder, just above the prostate gland.
During sexual activity, sperm pass through the prostate gland, mix with a small amount of prostate fluid and pass out of the penis during ejaculation.
What is Prostate Cancer?
Cancer is abnormal cell growth that can occur in any part of the body. Normal, healthy cells grow, divide and replace themselves to maintain the natural order of living.
Prostate cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the tissues of the prostate. It is the most common cancer in American men after skin cancer. Prostate cancer usually starts in the outer part of the gland, so the doctor may be able to feel it during a rectal examination.
Prostate cells produce a protein called prostate-specific antigen or PSA. When cancer develops, PSA may leak into your blood and raise the suspicion of prostate cancer before a lump can be felt. The PSA blood test, developed at Roswell Park, has allowed most prostate cancers to be found before they cause symptoms and before there is any spread.
Prostate cancer is one of the few cancers that commonly spread to the weight-supporting bones (back, hips, and thighs).
Prostate cancer tends to grow slowly compared with most other cancers. Cell changes may begin 10, 20, or 30 years before a tumor gets big enough to cause symptoms. Eventually, cancer cells may spread (metastasize) throughout the body. By the time symptoms appear, the cancer may be more advanced.
By age 50, very few men have symptoms of prostate cancer, yet some precancerous or cancerous cells may be present. More than half of all American men have some cancer in their prostate glands by the age of 80.
Most of these cancers never pose a problem. They either give no signs or symptoms or never become a serious threat to health.
What Are the Stages of Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer is staged into different categories of development using the TNM system (Tumor/Nodes/Metastasis). Here is an overview of the stage classifications:
- Stage T1 and T2 prostate cancer is usually found by accident or when a man has a routine examination and blood work. There may be no symptoms in these early stages of disease.
- Stage T3 and T4 prostate cancer has spread outside the gland to surrounding or nearby organs.
- Advanced prostate cancer occurs when the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes (N+), bones (M+), or other distant organs through the lymphatic and blood systems. Stages T3, T4, N+ and M+ are more advanced stages of cancer and usually men will have symptoms with these stages. Symptoms may include bone pain, trouble passing urine, weak urine stream, having to get up at night to pass urine or other voiding problems.
Read more details about prostate cancer stages, according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
What is a Gleason Score?
Prostate cancer is also classified into different grades of aggressiveness using the Gleason system. This system assigns a Gleason grade ranging from 1 through 5 based on how closely the cancer cells resemble normal prostate cells. Because prostate cancers often have areas with different grades, a grade is assigned to the 2 areas that make up most of the cancer. These 2 grades are added to give a Gleason score between 2 and 10.
The higher the Gleason score, also referred to as the Gleason sum, the faster the cancer is likely to grow and the more likely it is to spread beyond the prostate.
What Are the Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer?
If the prostate cancer is detected early enough to be confined to the prostate (Stages T1 and T2), surgical removal or radiation (using high-energy rays to kill cancer cells) may be an option.
If the prostate cancer has spread beyond the prostate capsule, the following options may be appropriate: orchiectomy (surgery to remove the testicles); other forms of hormonal therapy (using drugs to keep the cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow); chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells); or radiation therapy may be appropriate.
Since prostate cancer is very slow growing, there is time for you to consider all options and make the best choice. Consider all aspects of the treatment options: cost, cure rates, side effects and life style changes.
You Should Know
- Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men after skin cancer.
- About 16 percent of American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
- Eight percent have serious symptoms.
- Three percent die of the disease.
- There will be an estimated 192,280 new cases diagnosed in the United States in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society.
- More than 27,360 men are expected to die from their prostate cancer in 2009 according to the American Cancer Society.
- A much smaller percentage of men are actually treated for prostate cancer. Most men with prostate cancer do not die from this disease.
Discuss these options with your doctor, family or friends. Take the time to make the right decisions for you and your loved ones.
