The prostate is a gland of the male reproductive system that produces some
of the fluid for semen, which transports sperm during the male orgasm.
The prostrate is normally quite small, about the same size and shape as a
chestnut. It is located in front of the rectum, just below the bladder, and
wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder out
through the tip of the penis. It is composed of approximately 70% glandular
tissue, the remainder is muscular.
How Common is Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in the United
States, and is second only to lung cancer in
the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among men. A non-smoking man is
more likely to get prostate cancer than lung, bronchus, colon, rectal, bladder,
lymphoma, melanoma, oral and kidney cancers combined. It is estimated that
there are over 2 million American men currently living with prostate cancer.
Who gets it?
Age, ethnicity, and family history are its only well established
risk-factors. High dietary fat intake is being looked at as another risk
factor, and considered fact by some, but more research is needed for a cohesive
conclusion to be accepted across the board of medical science.
Men over the age of 65 account for more than 70% of all prostate cancers.
For unknown reasons, African-American men are 65% more likely to be diagnosed
with prostate cancer, and more than twice as likely to die from it.