What is prostate cancer?

What is prostate cancer? plz be as detailed as you can

What is prostate cancer?
"Prostate Cancer is a malignant growth of the glandular cells of the prostate. Our body is composed of billions of cells; they are the smallest unit in the body. Normally, each cell functions for a while, then dies and is replaced in an organized manner. This results in the appropriate number of cells being present to carry out necessary cell functions. Sometimes there can be an uncontrolled replacement of cells, leaving the cells unable to organize as they did before. Such abnormal growth of cells is called a tumor. Tumors may be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Cancer is abnormal cell growth and disorder such that "cancer cells" can grow without the normal controls and limits. A malignancy is a cancerous growth that has the potential to spread and cause damage to other tissues of the body or death. Cancers can spread locally into surrounding tissues, or cancer cells can break away from the tumor and enter body fluids, such as blood and lymph, and spread to other parts of the body. Lymph is an almost clear fluid that drains waste from cells. This fluid travels in vessels to the lymph nodes, small bean-shaped structures that filter unwanted substances, such as cancer cells and bacteria, out of the fluid. Lymph nodes may become filled with cancer cells.





As with most cancers, prostate cancer is not contagious."
Reply:It's cancer of the prostate
Reply:The prostate gland is a male organ situated below the bladder. In males past puberty, it produces a fluid that is a major constitutent of semen. Prostatic fluid is stored in the seminal vesicles, which inject it into the urethra at ejaculation. The urethra passes through the prostate gland.





Cancer ("carcinoma") is the uncontrolled growth of rogue cells.





Adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland occurs when cells in a man's prostate gland become abnormal and poorly differentiated. Adenocarcinoma is the typical prostate cancer, although there are other types of cancer, much rarer, that also manifest themselves in the prostate gland. (Properly speaking, these other cancers should be called "small-cell cancer of the prostate" or "neuroendocrine cancer of the prostate" or something else, rather than "prostate cancer". All of them are quite rare.)





When cancerous prostate cells migrate to another location, such as a lymph gland, bone, or lung, the cancer is still prostate cancer -- not lymphatic cancer, bone cancer, or lung cancer. Even if prostate cancer spreads (metastasizes) to the lungs, it looks and acts like prostate cancer, not like lung cancer.





Prostate cancer is the slowest-growing type of cancer, and one of the commonest (in men). Most men who live long enough will eventually develop prostate cancer; but most of them will die of something else before the cancer grows large enough to kill them.





In the United States, about 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and about 20,000 men die of it.





As a rule of thumb, a tumor consisting of a billion cancer cells is large enough to detect. If the cell population doubles another ten times, reaching a trillion cancer cells, it's too much for the body and the patient dies. A very slow-growing ("indolent") form of prostate cancer might double every two years, and thus might take 20 years from detectability to death if left untreated.





Normal prostate glands secrete many chemicals. Among them is PSA (prostate-specific antigen). Because no other organ secretes it in any appreciable quantity, PSA is an excellent indicator of how many prostate cells a man has. For this reason, the U.S. recommends PSA tests for all men starting at age 50 (younger if the man's race or genes predispose him to higher risk). If PSA levels are abnormal, it sometimes indicates cancer; if PSA levels climb at a higher-than-normal rate, it can indicate cancer progression.





Treatments for prostate cancer include the following:


1. Active surveillance: Stay aware of the disease, watch for symptoms, and track changes in PSA.


2. Nutrition: (Some foods and supplements are said to slow the growth of prostate cancer.)


3. HIFU: Destroy the prostate with high-intensity focused ultrasound. Not yet approved by the FDA in the U.S.


4. Hormone therapy: Starve prostate-cancer cells by depriving them of DPH, a metabolite of testosterone.


5. Cryotherapy: Destroy the prostate by freezing.


6. Brachytherapy: Destroy the prostate with radioactive implants.


7. External radiation: Destroy the prostate gland with beams of radiation.


8. Lumpectomy: Excise only a well-defined tumor from the prostate, keep the remainder intact.


9. Prostatectomy: Surgically remove the entire prostate gland.





Of the treatments noted above, 1 and 2 can be combined with any other therapy. When a patient first opts for a therapy that removes or destroys prostate tissue (3 through 9), this is called the "primary" therapy; if further treatment is started or continued afterwards, it is called "secondary" therapy.





A very typical course of screening, diagnosis, and treatment might look like this:





0a. A young man needs no screening till age 40 or 50.


0b. Routine digital rectal exams (DRE) and PSA tests every few years disclose nothing abnormal.


0c. At age 55, a PSA test discloses a reason to suspect cancer. Patient is referred to a urologist for workup.


0d. Imaging tests and/or DRE provide further reason for suspicion, and a biopsy is scheduled.


0e. The biopsy confirms a cancer. From the samples, an estimate is made of the cancer's grade (aggressiveness) and stage (progression thus far).





The patient has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. For the rest of his life, he should stay aware of his PSA level.





1. In a low-grade cancer, a patient might choose active surveillance for several years, while improving his diet and exercise and getting regular PSA tests.





2. If the cancer grows, or is more aggressive, a patient will typically opt either for surgery (to excise the prostate and allow it to be examined pathologically; radiation remains available as a secondary treatment if the cancer returns) or for primary radiation therapy (to destroy the prostate through radiation; but post-radiation surgery is usually not feasible).





A patient whose prostate has been excised or destroyed almost always retains/regains continence and usually retains/regains potency. However, because he lacks a prostate gland, he no longer produces prostatic fluid and is no longer capable of fathering children without extraordinary measures.





In most cases, prostatectomy or radiation is "successful"; this means that the cancer becomes undetectable and remains undetectable for ten years. However, because prostate cancer grows so slowly, even a successful treatment does not mean the man is free from any risk of recurrence.





3. If the cancer returns (as shown by a PSA level of greater than 0.2), further treatment is usually advised, often consisting of radiation combined with hormone therapy.





4. Because of the many promising therapies now in the pipeline, undergoing clinical trials, if a man diagnosed this year with prostate cancer can keep it at bay for another decade or so, chances are good that he can continue to control it using new drug therapies that won't be available until 2015 or 2020 or later.








What with the slow-growing nature of the cancer, the relative ease of early detection, and the many treatment modalities, most men can survive 15 to 50 years after their initial diagnosis, so long as they receive proper care.