The printed word and pictures are helpful but one needs to have a one on one discussion for the information to be the most valuable. You can print the article and pictures to take to your own physician for an in depth discussion 2 Prostatic cancer is the most common cancer afflicting men and is the second most common cause of death for males. In recent years the incidence of prostrate cancer seems to be increasing. There is much debate concerning this issue. Some research articles support the theory that the increase is because of improved detection procedures developed in the past ten years.
Some workers believe that there is an actual increase.
The whole story will take many years to unfold and be totally understood. The disease is found at autopsy as early as the twenties and in forty percent of men over the age of fifty. These statistics are the reason for the various problems outlined in the following paragraphs. The characteristics of this tumor include lengthy dormancy, variable aggressiveness, multiple areas of involvement within the capsule of the gland, local extension through the capsule into the surrounding tissue, early involvement of the regional lymph nodes, and the ability of the tumor to spread to distant areas both through the lymphatics as well as by the bloodstream. Symptoms of prostatic cancer include difficulty urinating, decreased sexual function as well as pain from sites of distant metastasis.