Prostate Cancer: What is it? What are its stages?

Prostate cancer is a cancer that starts in the prostate gland. To briefly explain its role, the prostate gland (which men have) helps with male sexual function. It makes a fluid that mixes with sperm to help produce semen during ejaculation. Here is a picture of where the prostate is (in this picture it is in the center of the black circle):

Prostate cancer is when the DNA of prostate gland cells mutates and no longer functions normally. Here are its stages according to TNM staging:

I: The cancer is in the prostate only (the tissue from which it came)

II: The cancer is more advanced, but has not quite spread outside of the prostate. We say it is still "encapsulated," or contained within the "capsule"/outer margins or borders of the prostate.

III. The cancer has spread beyond the outer layers/capsule of the prostate

IV. The cancer has spread to nearby tissues and organs

The TNM staging stops here, but keep in mind that the next step after this would be that the cancer has spread to other body parts, such as the brain, lungs, or bones. I will go into more detail on how a doctor determines the stage and what each one means in another post when the time comes, but this is just an introduction to the concept.

Here is a video about what cancer and prostate cancer is. It talks about some things I have not discussed yet (such as possible causes), so I recommend watching up until that point:

Sources:

AsapScience (June 16, 2012). How Prostate Cancer Works. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_5MnsdQeQs.

National Cancer Institute (September 12, 2014). Prostate Cancer Treatment. General Information about Prostate Cancer. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/prostate/Patient.

Reding, Kerryn. (PhD, MPH, Lecture director) (October 2014). Neoplasia. Lecture conducted from the University of Washington School of Nursing, Seattle.