A lot of men are still not aware of exactly what the prostate gland is and of how important it is to consult your doctor once they begin to experience the signs and symptoms of a developing prostate problem.
Once a patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is then important that information regarding the extent of the spread is determined, and how much it has affected the gland. Determining this is what is called prostate cancer staging. Prostate cancer staging involves categorizing the disease in specific classification in order to derive the appropriate approach for your treatment.
Although we are beginning, largely as a result of education, to detect more cases of prostate cancer in their early stages, unfortunately all too many cases are still not being detected until they are quite advanced.
Advanced prostate cancer refers to a cancer which has spread outside of the prostate gland itself and is divided into stage 3 cancer, in which the disease has spread into the pelvic tissue surrounding the prostate gland, and stage 4 cancer, in which the disease has spread, or metastasized, into other areas of the body, typically being carried by the lymphatic system.
About 80 percent of men who reach the age of 80 have prostate cancer. About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease. Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and is the most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75 years old.
