Prostate cancer is without a doubt the most dangerous and life-threatening condition that can afflict the prostate gland. It is also the most common form of cancer diagnosed in American males. The prostate gland itself is a vital and necessary organ for the maintenance of life, and its healthy state is required to live comfortably. While other conditions can have a detrimental effect on the performance of the urinary system, prostate cancer can be fatal. Prostate cancer can also spread to other parts of the body, furthering the severity of the disease and threatening other important systems or organs.
Many of the symptoms of prostate cancer can be attributed to other conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia or a buildup of corpora amylacea, making early recognition difficult. But finding the disease early on is very important. Prostate cancer, when detected at an early point, has a recovery rate of higher than ninety percent, and it is easy to see why early recognition is necessary in fighting the condition. Symptoms exhibited by those with a case of prostate cancer can include difficulty starting urine flow, painful urination, loss of weight or appetite, blood in the urine and painful ejaculation.
Like all forms of cancer, prostate cancer results from a mutation of the cells that causes them to grow and reproduce unchecked. This produces tumors and infected cells that can spread the cancer to other portions of the body. Granted, benign, or non-cancerous tumors do form, but they have different properties than cancerous growths. These tumors can be removed and will very rarely grow back. Malignant tumors, however, are cancerous, and have different properties. They can be removed, but often grow back, and their cells have the ability to spread cancer to adjacent parts of the body.
The primary method for fighting cancer is chemotherapy. Unfortunately, chemotherapy regimens have, in the past, only been used to treat prostate cancer as a last resort when other treatments have stopped working. New studies indicate that previously approved chemotherapy drugs can be applied to prostate cancer with promising results, but until more research is done, a specific chemotherapy regimen has not been developed or tailored towards treating cancer of the prostate gland.
Scientists have yet to be able to determine exactly what causes prostate cancer. The most important risk factor seems to be age: men who are younger than forty-five very rarely develop prostate cancer. Once a man reaches the age of sixy-five, however, his chances of developing prostate cancer rise dramatically. Other risk factors include race and diet. African Americans are most likely to develop prostate cancer, followed by Caucasians and then Native Americans and Asian Americans. Studies also seem to indicate that men who eat a diet rich in meat and animal fats have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer then men who eat higher amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Prostate cancer is definitely a serious condition for men who are of middle age or older. Regular prostate exams can detect prostate cancer early on, greatly increasing the chances of successful early recognition and treatment.
