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Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Overview

The prostate is a glandular organ present only in males. Only men develop prostate cancer.

The prostate is normally about 3 cm long (slightly more than 1 inch) and lies at the neck of the bladder and in front of the rectum.

  • The prostate surrounds the urethra, which is a tubular structure that carries sperm and urine out of the penis.


  • The prostate produces a thin, milky fluid that is added to the sperm at the time of ejaculation.


  • Older men often have an enlarged prostate, which is a noncancerous condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) that causes urinary symptoms.

Cancer occurs when normal cells undergo a transformation in which they grow and multiply without normal controls.

  • As the cells multiply, they form a mass called a tumor.


  • Tumors are cancerous only if they are malignant. This means that they invade neighboring tissues because of their uncontrolled growth.


  • They may also travel to remote organs via the bloodstream.


  • This process of invading and spreading to other organs is called metastasis.


  • Tumors overwhelm surrounding tissues by invading their space and taking the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive and function.

Almost all prostate cancers arise from the secretory glandular cells in the prostate. Cancer arising from a glandular cell is known as adenocarcinoma. Therefore, almost all prostatic cancers are prostatic adenocarcinomas.

In the United States, cancer of the prostate is a common malignant cancer in men, second only to lung cancer. According to American cancer society's most recent estimates, 192,280 new cases of prostate cancer would be diagnosed in 2009 and 27,360 would die from the disease.

The estimated lifetime risk of being diagnosed with the disease is 17.6% for whites and 20.6% for African Americans. The lifetime risk of death from prostate cancer similarly is 2.8% and 4.7% respectively. Because of these numbers, prostate cancer is likely to impact the lives of a significant proportion of men that are alive today.

Over the years, however, the death rate from this disease has shown a steady decline, and currently more than 2 million men in the U.S. are still alive after being diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.



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Prostate Cancer - Symptoms At Onset Of Disease

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The symptoms of prostate cancer can vary greatly from patient to patient. What were your symptoms at the onset of your disease?

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Prostate Cancer

MRI Introduction

History of MRI

Working independently, Felix Bloch of Stanford University and Edward Purcell of Harvard University made the first successful nuclear magnetic resonance experiment to study chemical compounds in 1946. Dr Bloch and Dr Purcell were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1952. In the early 1980s, the first "human" magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners became available, producing images of the inside of the body. Current MRI scanners produce highly detailed 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional images of the human anatomy.

Introduction

  • An MRI is similar to a computerized topography (CT) scanner in that it produces cross-sectional images of the body. Looking at images of the body in cross section can be compared to looking at the inside of a loaf of bread by slicing it. Unlike a CT scan, MRI does not use x-rays. Instead, it uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce...

Read the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) article »



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