Cancer, and more exactly prostate cancer develops whenever the process of cell division known as mitosis runs amok and when the apoptotic reaction or the cell death fail to function properly; this is one of the main reasons why this disease is also seen as an abnormal medical condition caused mainly by hormonal problems.



The prostate cancer is a disease affecting only men since the prostate is the male-specific gland responsible for making the seminal fluid and because of this any hormonal unbalance will affect gravely the well functioning of this organ.



This warning is directed mainly towards men over forty because age is regarded as another cause for the prostate cancer.


Usually the level of testosterone decreases after this age and that triggers the development of some serious prostate disorder and diseases such as cancer or the benign hyperplasia prostate, manifesting itself as the growth or enlargement of the gland.

In the first stages the malignant tumor is organ-confined, that basically means that the cancer cells are found only in the prostate gland; on the staging system this basically means that cancer is in stage I or II. If the cancerous cells have escaped from the prostate capsule and entered the bloodstream or the lymph fluid and lymph system, the cancer becomes locally advanced or stage III and if the primary tumor had given birth to some other secondary but small tumors in far distanced areas from the prostate gland, that basically means that the cancer had become metastatic, this being the stage IV.


Depending on each individual, the symptoms can be reported in the early stages or the latter stages, but for some reason, the prostate cancer has no early symptoms and these are being reported only when the cancer begins its spreading process.


The common symptoms can be: frequent urination, prostate blockage, bacterial prostatitis, prostatitis, weak urine stream, urine odor, burning or pain while urinating, blood in urine or semen, prostate inflammation, painful ejaculation, prostate-related urinary dribbling, stiffness, compression of the spine, leg pain, ache, abdomen and chest pain, etc.


We mentioned above something about stages and usually the staging process is done to help doctors determine the characteristics of the cancer affecting a patient because cancer is unique and that means that the same type of cancer can grow at different rates in different people.


That staging process is done with the help of the tumor, nodes and metastatic or the TNM system or with the Whitmore-Jewett staging system but before staging, the cancer has to be identified or diagnosed. This is done with the routinely screening tests or for a more accurate result, with the prostate biopsy procedure or the new method of detection, the prostate mapping.

The screening tests don’t actually indicate de existence or non-existence of cancer, but by palpating the prostate gland you can determine whether the size of it is normal or if on the surface a node or a lump is felt, this examination being known as the digital rectal exam; the prostate specific antigen blood test is a tumor marker or a biological one, indicating the level of the prostate specific antigen, which in normal conditions should be low.


If cancer is identified after analyzing some tissue parts of the infected gland with the help of the biopsy, the grading process is the next step in prescribing the right treatment for the cancer. The grading is done by using the Gleason scale, and the higher the grade is, the more aggressive the tumor can be.


On one hand, cancer is a treatable disease, even curable, if it is detected in the early stages and if the patient responds well to the initial treatment, but on the other hand, we can’t say for certainty that the cancer is definitely cured because, even if the safe period of minimum five years after the initial treatment had passed, there is always the possibility of recurrence. In the worst cases, patients have reported more aggressive forms of cancer like the apparition of two or more metastatic tumors this being the stage of metastases.



Prevention should be taken in serious consideration after you reach a certain age, but there are some factors blamed for the prostate cancer which can not be avoided such as the aging process, the genetic inheritance or race.


Even though, each year new discoveries in treatment are announced, the conventional and common treatment methods for the prostate cancer still remain popular, those being prostatectomy, the hormone therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and cryotherapy.