What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer (not prostrate cancer, which is a common misspelling) results when abnormal cells in a man’s body start to grow out of control. It is a cancer that only affects men. Within our body, cells grow, divide, and even die in a structured way. They also divide more rapidly when we are growing up. As adults, most of our cells only divide when they are needed to replace cells that have worn out, been damaged through injury, or have died. The problem with cancer cellsThese cells don’t live and die in a normal way. They continue to grow and divide, forming more abnormal cells. If they enter the bloodstream or lymph vessels, they can travel to other parts of the body (called metastasis). The good news is that this type of cancer tends to be slow growing. But there are no “absolutes” with the disease. A man may have more than one typeThe most common is called adenocarcinoma, which is cancer that starts in gland cells. Other less common types can include small cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma, sarcomas, and epithelial tumors. In some men, the cancer may remain contained (only inside) in the gland as long as they live (called localized cancer). When cancer moves beyond the gland, the cancer cells adapt to the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing whether a man’s cancer will stay contained. Doctors also can’t predict exactly when the cancer will move beyond the gland.  Reference: The American Cancer Society. Prostate Cancer. http://www.cancer.org. Accessed October 21, 2009.
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