According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer of American men. It is estimated that 184,500 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 1998.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, exceeded only by lung cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 39,200 men in the United States will die of this disease during 1998. The prostate, a gland found only in men, is about the size of a walnut and is located in front of the rectum, behind the base of the penis, and under the bladder. The prostate surrounds the upper part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out of the penis. Prostate cancer is a malignancy that develops from cells of the prostate gland. Eventually the cancer cells may spread outside the gland to other parts of the body.