Lying against the prostate, on both the right and left sides, are sex nerves. Running through the middle of the gland is the urethra, the tube that goes from the bladder out a man's penis for urination. The prostate produces semen, the material ejaculated at sexual orgasm. Prostate cancer begins when, for reasons no one fully understands, one or more normal cells inside the prostate transform into cancer cells. .
The exact cause of prostate cancer is unknown. It is known that prostate cancer is a group of cancerous cells, a tumor, that begins most often in the outer part of the prostate. Early prostate cancer usually does not have any symptoms. If left untreated, prostate cancer may spread from the prostate to nearby lymph nodes, bones, or other organs. This spread is called metastasis. As a result of metastasises, many men experience aches and pains in the bones, pelvis, hips, ribs, and back.
Cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer among American men, excluding skin cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths, after lung cancer. With the combination of herbal treatment, many patients have enjoyed a prolonged time with less side effect of radiation and hormone, such as impotence. .
Typically, the patient is referred to a urologist for prostate biopsy consideration. A biopsy is a 10-minute outpatient procedure that can be performed in any urologist's office. While observing the prostate with an ultrasound machine, the urologist inserts thin, hollow needles through the rectum into the patient's prostate and removes a tiny amount of prostate cells. The biopsy material is then sent to a pathologist who studies these prostate cells under a microscope to determine if cancer is present. The best of the biopsy techniques is the sextant biopsy. During a sextant biopsy, the urologist performs six needle "sticks", taking samples from the top, middle and bottom of the right and left sides of the prostate.
