Prostate Cancer

Nov 4, 2011 Uncategorized
Posted by Kappitaal

Prostate Cancer
The Stats

1 in 23 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime – a new case is diagnosed every 2 hours.
One man dies from prostate cancer every 7 hours.
This year 4000 men will be diagnosed and  2500 will lose their lives to the disease.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.

What is prostate cancer?
Only men have a prostate gland. It is the size of a walnut and its main function is to help make semen.
The prostate is underneath the bladder and surrounds the tube that men pass urine through (the urethra).

Normally the growth of all cells is carefully controlled in the body. As cells die, they are replaced in an orderly fashion. Cancer can develop when cells start to grow in an uncontrolled way. If this happens in the prostate gland, prostate cancer can develop.

Prostate cancer can grow slowly or very quickly. Most prostate cancer is slow-growing to start with and may never cause any symptoms or problems in a man’s lifetime. However, some men will have cancer that is more aggressive or ‘high risk.’ This needs treatment to help prevent or delay it spreading outside the prostate gland.

Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer
Men with prostate cancer may have no symptoms at all. If a man does have symptoms, they may be mild and happen over many years. When they do occur, symptoms can be similar to non-cancerous prostate problems such as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) or prostatitis. For some men the first noticeable symptoms are from prostate cancer which has spread to their bones.

The following may be signs of a prostate problem such as prostate cancer:

A weak urine flow

Needing to urinate more often, especially at night

A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly

Difficulty starting to pass urine

Dribbling urine

Needing to rush to the toilet