Information on prostate cancer

The fear of having prostate cancer can be devastating to men; however, it is most successfully treated when found early. Consider these facts.

• Nearly 86 percent of all prostate cancers are discovered while they are either localized (confined to the prostate) or regional (nearby). The five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with prostate tumors discovered at these stages is 100 percent.
• In the past 20 years, the five-year survival rate for all stages combined has increased from 67 percent to 97 percent.

Early prostate cancer may not present any symptoms and can only be found with regular prostate examinations by your physician. Do not let fear and anxiety keep you from having the tests you need. These tests can often detect, or help rule out, prostate cancer.

Follow-up visits with your physician are extremely important if you have had an unusual digital rectal examination, or if your PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level is high. Your physician may order additional tests or suggest repeating the PSA tests.

Prostate cancer statistics

These statistics are from information published by the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, a continuing project of the National Cancer Institute.

The SEER Program collects cancer data on a routine basis from designated population-based cancer registries in various areas of the country. Trends in cancer incidence, mortality and patient survival in the U.S., as well as many other studies are derived from this data bank.

Goals of the SEER Program include:

• Assembling and reporting, on a periodic basis, estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in the U.S.
• Monitoring annual cancer incidence trends to identify unusual changes in specific forms of cancer occurring in population subgroups defined by geographic, demographic and social characteristics. 
• Providing continuing information on changes over time in the extent of disease at diagnosis, trends in therapy and associated changes in patient survival. 
• Promoting studies designed to identify factors amenable to cancer control interventions, such as:
  • Environmental, occupational, socioeconomic, dietary and health-related exposures. 
  • Screening practices, early detection and treatment. 
  • Determinants of the length and quality of patient survival.

Consider the following statistics related to prostate cancer:

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, excluding skin cancer.
• All men are at risk for prostate cancer. The risk increases with age, and family history also increases the risk. 
• African American men have about a 60 percent higher incidence rate of prostate cancer than Caucasian men, and nearly a two-fold higher mortality rate than Caucasian men. 
• According to the National Cancer Institute, if current rates stay the same, a man’s chance of developing prostate cancer is as follows: 
  • From age birth to 39 – 1 in 10,000. 
  • From age 40 to 59 – 1 in 45. 
  • From age 60 to 79 – 1 in 7. 
  • From birth to death – 1 in 6.

Anatomy of the prostate gland

The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut and surrounds the neck of a man’s bladder and urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder. It is partly muscular and partly glandular, with ducts opening into the prostatic portion of the urethra. It is made up of three lobes: a center lobe with one lobe on each side.

Function of the prostate gland

As part of the male reproductive system, the prostate gland’s primary function is to secrete a slightly alkaline fluid that forms part of the seminal fluid (a fluid that carries sperm). During male climax (orgasm), the muscular glands of the prostate help to propel the prostate fluid, in addition to sperm that was produced in the testicles, into the urethra. The semen then leaves the body through the tip of the penis during ejaculation.