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Understanding the Disease and Symptoms of Prostrate Cancer

Prostate cancer is most common in older males, but can affect people of all ages. It is basically, when a tumor begins to grow in the prostrate and if caught in time, it is often controllable, whereas once it spreads the prognosis is not as good.

Prostate cancer is not a new disease, but due to better screening procedures, that began in the seventies, the rate of diagnosis of prostate cancer has dramatically increased. Ultimately, around 20% of males develop prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer can grow rapidly or slowly and often goes undetected for some time. It first starts in the prostate gland, which is located right under the bladder and is responsible for the creation of semen. Often, frequent urination can be an indication of prostrate cancer, which is caused as the prostrate expands squeezing the bladder.

In someone with cancer, certain cells begin to grow abnormally, causing tumors, which are basically groups of cells. These tumors do not respond to the body's request to stop growing and die, instead often rapidly expanding throughout the body.

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

As stated above, one of the main symptoms of prostate cancer is that it affects the way urine travels out of the body. It is common to cause increased urination, as well as cause pain when urinating. The flow of urine may also stop and go several times, instead of being one consistent stream. Orgasms can also be painful, as well as seeing blood in the urine and having pain in the pelvic area.

However, while the above symptoms are common, they can also be caused by a variety of other conditions and sometimes there are no symptoms for some time.

Often, prostate cancer is first diagnosed during a Digital Rectal Examination(DRE), with digital referring to the digits on the doctors finger and not an actual digital readout, as might be implied by the name. The doctor will insert a finger into the patients rectum, which allows him to feel the prostrate and determine if it is enlarged.

Prostrate Cancer is also often detected by analyzing urine for the presence of Prostrate Specific Enzyme, which occurs during prostrate cancer. In many cases, it is these tests or the suspicion of the doctor that lead to a prostrate cancer diagnosis, rather than the patient noticing and reporting symptoms.

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