Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer statistics

The fear of having prostate cancer can be devastating to men. However, it is most successfully treated when found early. Consider these statistics from the American Cancer Society:

• More than 90 percent of all prostate cancers are discovered while they are either localized (confined to the prostate) or regional (nearby). The five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with prostate tumors discovered at these stages is nearly 100 percent.
• In the past 25 years, the five-year survival rate for all stages combined has increased from 69 percent to nearly 100 percent.
• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, excluding skin cancer.
• For 2011, the American Cancer Society estimates about 241,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the US.
• Year 2011 estimates also include 34,000 deaths occurring from prostate cancer in the US alone, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

Facts about the prostate gland

The prostate is a sex gland in men. It is about the size of a walnut, and surrounds the neck of the bladder and urethra -- the tube that carries urine from the bladder. The prostate is partly muscular and partly glandular, with ducts opening into the prostatic portion of the urethra. It is made up of three lobes: a center lobe with one lobe on each side. 

The prostate gland secretes a slightly alkaline fluid that forms part of the seminal fluid, a fluid that carries sperm.