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Prostate Cancer 101

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What is Cancer?
Cancer is defined as the abnormal growth of cells. Normally, cells grow and mature into healthy tissue. However, sometimes cells undergo changes whereby they fail to differentiate and mature properly. When these undifferentiated cells begin to reproduce rapidly, a tumor -prostate cancer- forms. Under certain circumstances cancer cells will break off and travel in the blood stream or the lymphatic system to another part of the body where they adapt and begin to grow again. This process is referred to as metastasis and the new sites of prostate cancer growth are called metastases. The most common sites of prostate cancer metastasis are to the bones and the lymphatic system.

The Prostate Gland The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located between the bladder and pelvic floor in men. Urine is stored in the bladder and exits the body through the penis in a tube called the urethra. The upper portion of the urethra passes through the middle of the prostate gland. The bottom or apex of the prostate gland is closely associated with the urinary sphincter, which is responsible for controlling urine flow (Figure 1-male pelvis). This anatomical relationship helps explain why changes within the prostate can affect urine flow. The prostate gland is a sex gland, which plays an essential role in the fathering of children. This is achieved because the prostate produces a milky white fluid that helps carry and nourish sperm during their trip into the female vagina and helps to reduce the acidic environment present in the vaginal canal. It is in this prostatic fluid that prostate specific antigen (PSA) is found in very high concentrations relative to the blood stream.

Prostate Cancer and Men's Health
For more information, view Healthology's prostate cancer audio / visual webcast overview of prostate cancer as a men's health issue or read the text transcript.