Early prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems. About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease. Men who are younger than 40 are rarely diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Cancer that grows in the prostate gland is called prostate cancer. The most common cancer in American men, excluding skin cancer, is prostate cancer. It’s estimated that approximately 234,460 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and approximately 27,350 will die of the disease.
One symptom is a need to urinate frequently, especially at night. One of the most common symptoms is the inability to urinate at all. Some men will experience symptoms that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer.
If cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms. If you have one or more prostate cancer symptoms, you should see a qualified doctor as soon as possible. Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for.
One downside to PSA testing is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. There is a newer test called AMACR that is more sensitive than the PSA test for determining the presence of prostate cancer. Your doctor may use either one or two of the most common tests for prostate cancer detection.
The decision about whether to pursue a PSA test should be based on a discussion between you and your doctor. A PSA test with a high level can also be from a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA enzyme in your blood for abnormalities.
