Don's Home Health Cause of Death Cancer Prostate
PSA Screening | Treatments | Radiation | Glossary
last updated 29 April 2026

Prostate cancer is the 2nd most common nonskin malignancy affecting men in the US and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death. The incidence of prostate cancer increases dramatically with age.

Anatomy:


The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut. It's located just below the bladder, and it surrounds the urethra. This is a tube that carries urine and semen out of the body. The prostate is partly muscular and partly glandular. It has tubes (ducts) that open into the prostatic part of the urethra. It's made up of 3 lobes: a middle lobe, left lobe, and right lobe.
The prostate produces and contains fluid that forms part of semen, the substance emitted during ejaculation as part of the male sexual response.
Diagnosis:

Who's too old to screen? Prostate cancer in elderly men | Canadian Urological Assn. in PubMed at NIH, 2009 says,

"We did biopsies of 1,446 men between the ages of 75 and 85.
The incidence of prostate cancer increases dramatically with age. Many health authorities advocate the cessation of routine prostate cancer testing in men older than 75 because of the belief that most patients will have a clinically insignificant cancer and will not benefit from therapy.
When I read this article and others recommending PSA testing be stoped after age 60 or 70, I did NOT agree with the conclusion, just by their data.
My case would also argue against their logic. I'm 81 and still ski advanced slopes. I was still running half marathons at 70 and am generally fit. I was tested and had a PSA of 69. a biopsy had a Gleason score of 9 out of 10 (Group 5 High).
I have a friend in his 90's. His PSA was 40 with a Gleason score of 7 (Group 2), so was slow growing, so he figures something else will get him before prostrate and is leaving it alone.
My PSA must have been rising for some time and should have been tested after the age of 60 to see a trend. (One side recommended against using trends, but I think this means trends between PSA of 4 and 10. When it is over 10 I think it should continue to be tested.
PSA Screening
The American Urological Association recommends prostate cancer screenings starting at ages 45 to 50 and then advises men ages 50 to 69 to be tested every two to four years.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the increase in size of the prostate, without the presence of malignancy. It is much more common with advancing age.

Signs and symptoms of advanced prostate cancer can include:

Links
MAYO Clinic:
> Prostrate Cancer | Mayo Clinic
Symptoms&Causes | Diagnosis & Treatment | Stages | Survival Rates | Doctors & departments | Care at Mayo Clinic

Tom's Summary

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UCSF:
Prostate Cancer Education | UCSF

Trials:
Other treatments (some still in the trial stage)