Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that typically forms in the outer part of the prostate. In most men, prostate cancer grows very slowly and many men will never know they had it. Moreover, early prostate cancer is limited to the prostate gland itself, and most patients with this type of cancer can live for years with no symptoms. That said, Prostate cancer is:
Just as women know to be concerned about breast cancer, men need to be aware of their risk for prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with an even higher incidence in Black men. But many men don’t know their risk factors or when to get screened.
Today, not all cancer is actively treated. Some slow-growing cancers may be monitored closely to determine if treatment is ever needed. This approach is called active surveillance.
1 in 7 men will learn they have prostate cancer; the third-leading cause of cancer death in men. While those statistics may sound frightening, they don’t tell the whole story. For the great majority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, the prognosis is excellent.
In the past, men in their 40’s and 50’s received a simple message: Get screened! In recent years, that message has gotten more complicated. That’s because there’s been a debate among medical professionals about whether the benefits of screening outweigh potential harms. What harms? False positives, unnecessary surgery or radiation, and complications such as erectile dysfunction or urinary problems as a result of treatment.