For men between the ages of 25 and 45, prostatitis, the infection or inflammation of the prostate, is the most common complaint. When a diagnosis is made, prostate infections and inflammations are often treated with antibiotics. This enlarging of the prostate is considered a natural event. As the prostate gets bigger, the urethra often gets squeezed, which can make urination a problem. Beyond age 55 Prostate cancer is a big issue for men over 55.
Many tumors grow slowly, and can often be felt in a digital rectal exam.
If cancer is left undetected it can eventually spread to the bones. A PSA blood test scans for Prostate-Specific Antigen. The test does not specifically rule out or indicate the presence of cancer but an elevated reading will tell the doctor to do more testing. There are 244,000 new cancers of prostate cancer each year, and over 40,000 deaths. This makes prostate cancer deaths second only to lung cancer.