About Prostate and Prostate Cancer

The prostate is located in the pelvis between the penis and bladder. It is located between the pubic bone in the front and the rectum in the back. The lower portion of the prostate is located deep under the skin between the scrotum and anus. The urethra (urine channel) passes through the prostate in this location.

As the urethra exits the prostate, a circular muscle called the urinary sphincter surrounds it. This muscle contracts to close the urethra and keep urine in the bladder.

The function of the prostate is to make semen fluid. This fluid is additionally made and stored in small sacs called seminal vesicles that are attached to the prostate.

Semen comprises the majority of ejaculate fluid volume and provides nourishment for sperm. Sperm cells that are made in the testicle travel from there through a tube called the vas deferens to the prostate where they mix with semen fluid upon ejaculation.

Numerous large veins exist near the prostate, which drain blood from the penis. In addition, a pair of nerves (cavernous nerves) is located very close to back portion of the prostate. These structures are actually bundles of multiple small nerves that are about the diameter of human hair and are very delicate structures that provide the ability to achieve an erection.

Prostate Cancer

Except for skin cancer, cancer of the prostate is the most common malignancy in American men. It is estimated that nearly 235,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer in a year.

In most men with prostate cancer, the disease grows very slowly. The majority of men with low-grade, early prostate cancer (confined to the gland) live a long time after their diagnosis. Even without treatment, many of these men will not die of the prostate cancer, but rather will live with it until they eventually die of some other unrelated cause. Nevertheless, nearly 27,000 men die of prostate cancer in a year.

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