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What is Cancer?
Cancer is disordered and abnormal cell growth. ... Prostate cancer is just one of literally hundreds of different types of cancers that can develop in the human body. Though each cancer is different, all cancers share certain similarities. Prostate cancer has a number of specific aspects that are unique. Before we can address prostate cancer, we need to understand how the body’s cells normally work. ... ” A benign growth can occur in any part of the body, including the prostate, skin or intestine. ... More commonly, a mass of such cells is called a “cancer”. ... ” A cancer that continues to grow can eventually overwhelm and destroy the part of the body or particular organ where it is located.
There are many different types of cancer each type is distinguished by the cells in which the cancer originates. Therefore, a cancer may arise from cells of a gland, muscle cells, nerve cells or fat cells.
Each of these cancers behaves differently and has a different name: adenocarcinoma (cancer of a gland), leiomyosarcoma (cancer of the muscle cells), neurosarcoma (cancer of the nerve cells) and liposarcoma (cancer of the fat cells). ... Cancer cells disregard this principle and may spread through the body (metasize) in several ways. ... When a cancer spread it retains the properties of the original cancer. This means that a prostate cancer that spreads to the bones is still a prostate cancer. Under the microscope it looks different from a cancer that started in the bones, and it responds to treatment like a prostate cancer, not a bone cancer. The original cancer in the prostate is called the “primary” cancer. A cancer that has spread to another site is called a “secondary” or “metastatic” cancer.
Cancer cells can also deceive the immune system. ... Cancer cells somehow manage to slip through this detection system without triggering the immune system to start fighting, either at the primary cancer site, in the blood vessels, or at the site of the distant spread.
Prostate cancer does not develop overnight it can take years and many cycles of cell division before a normal cell becomes a cancerous cell. ...
Initially the cancer cells are confined within the prostate ducts and glands (in situ cancer), but with time the cells develop the ability to invade out of the ducts and into the blood and lymphatic system (an invasive cancer).
Unfortunately, it is not possible to detect one in a few abnormal or cancer cells. At present, technology is only capable of detecting a small lump or mass of cancer cells that may have been growing slowly for several years. By the time a cancer can be detected as a lump, it contains roughly one billion cells.
What is the Prostate Gland?
The prostate gland, essential for reproduction, is one of those body parts that man rarely thinks about that is, until he begins to have problems or concerns. Over time and under the influence of normal male hormones, the prostate can enlarge or turn into cancer. The function of the prostate gland is to add vital nutrients and fluid to the sperm. When fathering children is no longer a goal, the prostate no longer serves it’s main purpose. ...
The prostate is actually a collection of glands encased as one organ that secretes fluid. A thin capsule of compressed fibrous tissue surrounds the outside of the prostate. Outside the prostate is a layer of fat. The Prostate Gland is part of the urinary and reproductive systems of the male. Women do not have a prostate gland. The prostate is just below the bladder. ...
The prostate gland is normally rubbery, flexible, and smooth. ... If it feels enlarged or hard or there is a hard lump, then this is an indication that the prostate has undergone a change (not necessarily cancer). ...
A prostate gland has two functions. ... The second function of the prostate is the production of seminal fluid (also known as “semen” or “the ejaculate”). The prostate is made up of thousands of tiny fluid-producing glands interspersed within its blood vessels and muscular framework. Sperm travels from the testicles upwards through a tube called the vas deferens (the tube that leads the sperm from the testicles to the urethra and empties into the urethra inside the prostate) and then downward to enter the upper portion of the prostate. There, each vas deferens receives the tube from the two seminal vesicles (glands that lie above and behind the prostate gland). ... The sperm and fluid from the seminal vesicles then mix with secretions emitted from the prostate to form the seminal fluid that is expelled at the time of ejaculation. The seminal vesicles are considered to be extensions of the prostate gland. ... The bladder sits above the prostate, in the bottom of the pelvis. ... The urethra is the tube that leads from the bladder through the prostate, past the urinary sphincter and out the penis to the opening, called meatus (a duct like passage within the body or the external opening of such a passage, as in the ear, nose, or urethra).
Causes of Prostate Cancer
Cancers develop for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes we know what can stimulate a cancer to growing. Smoking for example can cause irritation, which can lead to lung cancer. With many other types of cancer, researchers have no idea what starts the cancer’s growth from otherwise normal cells.
It is the most common cancer affecting North American men, accounting for 25% of all newly diagnosed cancers: 179,300 in the USA and 16,600 in Canada (1999 statistics). In 1999 it caused 12% of male cancer-related deaths: 37,000 in USA and 4,100 in Canada. African-Americans, it should be noted, have the worlds highest rate of prostate cancer and therefore, are widely considered the greatest at-risk group
In essence, a new case of prostate cancer is diagnosed every 2. ... First, men are now living longer so they are at risk of getting prostate cancer (or any other disease) over a longer period of time. Second, because physicians now have a better understanding of prostate cancer, they are performing more rectal examination and are using diagnostic tools such as PSA to detect the cancer early.
Interestingly enough, over the past several years, prostate cancer rates have begun to fall, probably because the introduction of PSA screening caused a significant but temporary increased rate of detection of men with early cancer (“cull” effect). ... Therefore, part of the apparent increase in prostate cancer is due to the fact that it is simply being diagnosed more often instead of going undetected. ... There are many causes to prostate cancer it is not clear why prostate cancer develops, but experimental and population studies provide insight into the factors that may play a role.
Prostate cancer has a definite link to age. Eighty percent of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over 65 years old and only 1% is found in men younger than 50 years old. The odds of being diagnosed with prostate cancer are 1 in 9,085 for men 45 to 49 years old.
Approximate Word count = 5830
Approximate Pages = 23.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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