Cancer is a disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth and potential spread of abnormal cells. The human body is made up of billions of cells and, normally, cells reproduce themselves by dividing so that growth occurs. Occasionally, cells abnormally grow into a mass called a tumor. Some tumors are benign, which is noncancerous. Others are malignant, which are cancerous. The growth of a benign tumor may interfere with body functions, such as urinating, but these tumors are seldom life-threatening. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, invade and destroy normal tissue. By a process called metastasis, cells break away from a cancerous tumor and spread through the blood and lymph nodes to other parts of the body, where they form new tumors. Sometimes cancer grows and spreads rapidly. In other cases, it develops and spreads slowly. In this paper, I will first explain what prostate cancer is and where it is located. Second, I will explain exactly what causes prostate cancer. Third, I will explain what takes place when a patient t is refereed to a urologist and what is recommenced. Finally, I will conclude with a critique of an article by Dr. Phillip Stricker titled, "New Treatments for Prostate Cancer How Do I Chose?".
The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder out through the tip of the penis. As with many other parts of the body, cancer cells can grow inside the prostate. In certain more advanced cases, the cancer can spread beyond the prostate. The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age. The normal prostate gland, which on average is about the size of an egg, is located in a man's pelvis, sandwiched between the bladder, above the gland, and the rectum, below the gland. The prostate gland consists of millions of prostate cells, which are surrounded by a thin covering called the capsule, much like the shell of an egg.
