I married a man who is approaching the age at which his father and both grandfathers were first diagnosed with prostate cancer... there is no better time to educate ourselves about what exactly prostate cancer is and what we are going to do to fight it...
First things first:
What is a prostate?
- its part of the MALE reproductive system
- its a gland: it makes fluid that adds to semen to help protect sperm
- semen is the fluid that comes with ejaculation
- it surrounds the urethra (a tube that passes urine)
- it grows with age
- age 30: its the size of a walnut
- age 40: it might be the size of an apricot
- age 60: it could be the size of a lemon
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| Image from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-hair-growth-hormones.htm |
What is cancer?
- a group of related diseases
- involves the abnormal growth of cells
- it is caused by genetic changes; a mutation in DNA
- cells divide uncontrollably.. they cannot stop!
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| image courtesy of Duke University: http://rise.duke.edu/seek/pages/page.html?0205 |
So... what is prostate cancer?
- medical term: adenocarcinoma: cancer that begins in a gland
- abnormal cell division in cells of the prostate gland developing into a tumor
- there are different types of prostate cancer:
- most grow slowly
- some are aggressive and grow quickly into tumors
- most stay within the prostate
- some are metastatic: spread to other tissues or organs like bone or lymph nodes
What prostate cancer is NOT:
- enlarged prostate from normal growth of cells known as BPH
- Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Hypertrophy
Reference:
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/index
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