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Essay about Prostate Cancer

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Prostate Cancer

Cancer of the prostate, a common form of cancer, is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the prostate. The prostate is on the male sex glands, and is located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The size of the prostate is about the size of a walnut. It surrounds the 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, which contains sperm. Prostate cancer is most commonly found in older men.

As a man gets older, his prostate may get bigger and block the urethra of bladder, which can cause him to have difficulty urinating or even interfere with sexual functions. This condition is called …show more content…

Surgery is the most common of the three treatments.

The cancer may be removed by either radical prostatectomy, transurethral resection, or cryosurgery (removing the cancer by freezing it. Radical prostatectomy removes the prostate and some the tissues that surround it. This surgery may be done by cutting into the space between the scrotum and the anus in an operation called a perneal prostatectomy, or by cutting into the lower abdomen in an operation called a retropubic prostatectomy. Radical prostatectomy is done only if the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. Often, a surgery to remove the lymph nodes in the pelvis, called pelvic lymph node dissection, is done to make sure the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. If it is found out that the lymph nodes do have cancer, a prostatectomy will most likely not be performed.

Transurethral resection cuts the cancer from the prostate using a tool with a small wire loop on the end that is put into the prostate through the urethra. This operation is sometimes done to relieve symptoms caused by the tumor before other treatment, or in men who cannot have a radical prostatectomy because of age or other illnesses.

Radiation therapy uses high x-rays to kill

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