Prostate Cancer

摘要

About one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, treatment of this disease can be effective when it is diagnosed early. By Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O. More than 200,000 men in the U.S. each year learn they have prostate cancer (two-thirds of them are over age 65), and more than 30,000 men die each year from prostate cancer, which ranks second (behind lung cancer) among all cancers in men. This is a tragedy, because with screening, prostate cancer often can be diagnosed early, before there are noticeable symptoms and when it is most easily and effectively treated. There are two screening tests for prostate cancer. A digital rectal exam involves a health provider inserting his or her gloved and lubricated finger into the rectum and feeling the prostate for lumps or growths. The prostate is about the size of a walnut, located in the lower pelvis in front of the rectum and under the urinary bladder. Normally smooth and firm, its surface can change if large tumors are present.