But my father died of it at age 73, so I always knew the potential was there. I just thought I would be a lot older. As Bob approaches the one-year anniversary of his own diagnosis and treatment, he considers himself a fortunate man. My cancer was discovered before it had a chance to spread. When the prostate gland was taken out, so was all the cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.
It is diagnosed 179,000 times each year in the United States and kills an estimated 40,000 American men annually. The prostate gland is part of the male genital tract. It lies just below the bladder and surrounds the upper part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine. A physician can check for abnormalities in the size or shape of the prostate by doing a digital rectal exam. Bob was between checkups in November 1998 when his primary care physician noted a high PSA on a routine cholesterol blood test.