What many men do not realize is that, although prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, it is one of the most treatable cancers when it is detected early. For all men, and particularly senior citizens, it is important to know the facts about this disease and what can be done to detect it in the earliest stages. Men should know also that if they are diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are several viable treatment options. Facts This year in the United States, approximately 317,000 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society. In Ohio alone, nearly 13,500 new cases will be diagnosed.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men after lung cancer.
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate gland. The prostate is one of the male sex glands and is located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. This gland is about the size of a walnut. It surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The prostate makes fluid that becomes part of the semen, the white fluid that contains sperm.