As with all cancers, early detection provides the best chances at survival and recovery. Affecting over 230,000 men nationwide, prostate cancer, considered the most curable cancer, has an almost 100 percent chance for cure if found in the early stages. Unlike some cancers, there are some simple screening tests that can provide very early information, even before any symptoms arise.

For most men prostate screening is recommended at age 50 and annually thereafter. For individuals with one or more risk factors, being African-American or having any family history of prostate cancer, (relatives such as father, brother or son), routine prostate screens are recommended starting at age 45.

For a thorough screening, two procedures are conducted.

The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Test is a simple blood test measuring a biological indicator. During a routing physical, men have a rectal exam that checks for physical signs of enlargement in the prostate area. Physicians may counsel men on the importance of understanding risk factors and submitting to an annual prostate screening.

In prostate cancer, cells in the prostate grow and regenerate in an uncontrolled manor, which damages surrounding tissue and can interrupt normal prostate function. When these cells spread to other parts of the body, it is still referred to as prostate cancer, after its place of origin.

Treatments – Conventional and Unconventional

Surgery to remove a cancerous prostate is often performed. The use of laparoscopic surgery has eliminated the need for a large incision and an extended recovery period. An even newer technology, robotic surgery, may be the next leap ahead in minimally invasive surgery. With the margin of error between the prostate and the cancerous cells being only millimeters, the precision of robotics is ideal. Important quality-of- life issues associated with prostate surgery are preservation of sexual and urinary function, and reducing the possibility of surgical damage to key nerves is important.

Most patients with prostate cancer die when the cancer spreads to the bones. In an effort to increase survival and prolong remission for patients whose cancer has spread to the bone, studies are investigating chemotherapy in combination with insertion of a radioisotope (radiation emitting agent) directly into the bone. Though traditional chemotherapy is the standard treatment, remission is short. The use of the radioisotope with chemotherapy targets bones with the isotope compound and radiates the tumor inside the bone.

When bone cancer can be subdued, and pain is reduced, patients report a better standard of living. This combination prolongs survival for some months, but as important, gives the patient a much better quality of life.

Some chemotherapeutic agents are so specific they can cut the blood supply to the tumor, trigger programmed cancer cell death.

Like some breast cancers in women, the majority of prostate cancers are hormone-affected. Prostate tumors use the male hormone, testosterone, to fuel tumor growth. Of the 230,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, about one-third need hormone therapy, removal all testosterone from the body, to shrink the tumor.

Though treatment of onset stage of prostate cancer is highly successful, the need for early diagnosis is just as critical. PSA testing has made early diagnosis and cure rate for prostate cancer the highest of any cancer.