Some Helpful Information About Prostate Cancer

Being afflicted with prostate cancer is one of the complications that men can suffer. Other than skin cancer, this form of cancer is also the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in America. In fact, one out of every six men in the U.S. will develop this type cancer at some point in his life. Another important piece of information is that an American man is 33% more likely to get prostate cancer than an American woman is to get breast cancer.
Males have a prostate which is part of the male sexual reproductive organ. It is located in front of the rectum, and just below the urinary bladder. A healthy prostate averages around 3 centimeters in diameter, and weighs around 20 grams. This male body part is responsible for producing and storing some of the fluids that comprise semen.
The production of this fluid occurs in the numerous little glands that are within the prostate. Like most cells in the body, the cells in these glands live for a while before dying and being replaced in an orderly fashion. However, the new cells in these glands can grow out of control and form a tumor. A tumor can either be benign, or malignant. A malignant tumor of the prostate gland is called prostate cancer.
Contrary to common belief, prostate cancer is not fatal in itself. The danger of prostate cancer is that the cancer cells may spread or 'metastasize' to other vital areas of the body. All kinds of cancer present this danger which occurs when cancer cells circulate through the body by way of blood or lymph. Bones, lungs, brain and lymph nodes, and cancers are common areas where the cancer cells may invade and from fatal tumors.
Prostrate cancer occur in very young men, although over 70% of prostate cancer is diagnosed in men over 65 years of age, and the majority of the other cases are found in men over 50. Since this form of cancer is normally a relatively slow growing cancer, many men afflicted with it will end up dying from some other unrelated cause before the cancer causes any serious damage.
This type of cancer often has no noticeable symptoms in its early stages. Therefore, any male over the age of 50 should regularly receive a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. This will inform them if any early form cancer has been detected within their body. The chances of recovering from prostate cancer are very good with today's available treatments if it is treated in the earlier stages.

About the Author
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Prostate Cancer. Visit our site for more helpful information about Prostate Cancer Overtreatment and other similar topics.