This video presents prostate cancer related information including prostate cancer symptoms.

What is the Prostate?

The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system. The prostate makes and stores a component of semen and is located in the pelvis, under the bladder and in front of the rectum. The prostate surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that empties urine from the bladder. A healthy prostate is about the size of a walnut. Because of the prostate’s location, the flow of urine can be slowed or stopped if the prostate grows too large.

What is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer forms in the tissues of the prostate. Except for skin cancer, cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer in American men. In most men with prostate cancer, the disease grows very slowly. The majority of men with low-grade, early prostate cancer (which means that cancer cells have been found only in the prostate gland) live a long time after their diagnosis. Even without treatment, many of these men will not die of prostate cancer, but rather will live with it until they eventually die of some other, unrelated cause.

Who is at Risk for Prostate Cancer

An important risk factor is age; more than 70 percent of men diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 65. African American men have a substantially higher risk of prostate cancer than white men, including Hispanic men.

Genetic factors appear to play a role in prostate cancer development, particularly among families, in which the diagnosis is made in men under age 60. The risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.

What are the Prostate Cancer Symptoms?

Most of the time, prostate cancer does not initially cause symptoms. By the time symptoms do occur, the disease may have spread beyond the prostate. Symptoms of prostate cancer may include the following:
• Urinary problems
• Difficulty having an erection
• Blood in the urine or semen
• Frequent pain in the lower back, hips, or upper thights

How is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?

A diagnosis of prostate cancer can be confirmed only by biopsy. During a biopsy, an urologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases of urinary and sex organs in men, and urinary organs in women) removes tissue samples, usually with a needle. This is generally done in the doctor’s office with local anesthesia. Then, a pathologies (a doctor who identifies diseases by studying tissues under a microscope) checks for cancer cells.

Related posts:

  1. Do You Know The 17 Different Signs and Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer?
  2. 5 Early Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
  3. Prostate Cancer Symptoms you May Experience
  4. Think You Have Prostate Cancer Symptoms? – What to Look For and What Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Filed under: Prostate Cancer Symptoms

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