U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center
Hope, Innovation, Support
There is hope, innovation and support available for those with prostate cancer here at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Prostate cancer is cancer that occurs in the prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland that is part of a man's reproductive system. The gland wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.
According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015, about 220,800 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and 27,540 men will die of this disease. The good news is that most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it.
Early prostate cancer generally has no symptoms. That’s why discussing with your doctor when to begin and how often to have a digital rectal exam and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is so important. By the time symptoms are noticeable, like blood in the urine, pain, problems passing urine or even loss of bladder or bowel control, the cancer is in an advanced stage making treatment outcomes less doubtful.