His prostate cancer could well be a mere bump on the road to a long and healthy life. Our second gentleman was less fortunate. He too was diagnosed at a relatively young age - in his case, at 50. But by the time doctors learned of his condition, the disease had spread beyond the prostate gland into the bones. The prognosis for this kind of prostate cancer isn't good.
Most men die within three years.
True stories, with details smudged for confidentiality. Both of these men are patients of Dr. Christopher Evans, an assistant professor of urology at the UC Davis Medical Center. They're why he wants to find better ways to fight the most deadly varieties of this common male cancer. Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed malignancy in men. About one in eleven will develop the disease and about 3 percent will die from it - 40,000 American men this year alone.