Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in America. Prostate cancer ranks third among all killer cancers in the US, after colorectal cancer and lung cancer.
It has been found that about 1 in every 6 men in the United States will get prostate cancer in his lifetime. Out of every 34 men who gets this disease, 1 will die. Studies by America Cancer Society revealed that in 2006, there were approximately 234,460 cases of prostate cancer in the US.
Prostate cancer is a disease that affects men only since it originates mostly in the prostate gland of the male. The prostrate is a walnut size organ located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It provides seminal fluids to the male reproductive organ and keeps the sperm healthy.
In the early stages, prostate cancer tends to develop slowly. However, there are also cases when it can also grow and spread rapidly to other parts of your body.
Prostate cancer symptoms can be detected in the changes in the size and shape of the prostate glands. Medically, it is known as prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or PIN. Where the changes are low-grade, it indicates a normal reading. However, if the changes are high-grade, then further tests are warranted. In all probability, if you have high-grade PIN, you are having prostate cancer cells already.
Currently, prostate cancer causes remain largely unknown. However, there appears to be certain factors that will put you in the high risk category. For instance, if you smoke, your risk to getting prostate cancer is significantly increased. Your risk also increases with hereditary factors if you have a family member who also has this disease.
Another factor by which raises the chance of you developing prostate cancer is age. Studies show that as the men gets older, they become more at risk of getting prostrate cancer. A good 2 out of every 3 prostrate cancer patients are men over 65 years old. Experts believe that prostate cancer maybe directly connected with the fact that the prostrate glands in men keeps growing around the urethra even when they get older.
However, do not be unduly worried if you notice continued growth in the glands around the urethra. This does not necessarily point to prostate cancer. In many cases, this continued growth is associated with another condition known as benign prostatic hyperlasia or BPH. The lattar condition causes urinary problems but is not life threatening or harmful.
In any case, if you do observe any abnormal changes, you should best check them out. Early detection can help save your life over prostate cancer.
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HealthPublishingMap is an online health publication on health diseases and conditions. If you have a disease or condition that is worrying you, do visit the site at http://www.Health-Treatment-Guide.com for more information and resources.