Prostate Cancer: What Happens

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What Happens

Almost all prostate cancers are discovered in their early stages, and the 5-year survival rate is almost 100% when the cancer is found at an early stage.¹ The 5-year survival rate is the percentage of men who are still alive 5 years after they have been diagnosed. It is just an average. Everyone's case is different, and this number does not show what will happen in your case.

Prostate cancer is so common that some experts believe that every man would get it if he lived long enough. Studies of autopsies show that most men older than 85 who die of other causes have tumors in their prostates.⁴ It usually is a very slow-growing cancer that takes years to grow large enough to cause any problems. Sometimes, though, it grows quickly.

When prostate cancer spreads, it goes first to surrounding tissues, then to lymph nodes in the pelvis, and then on to the bones, lungs, or other organs. For more information, see the topic Prostate Cancer, Advanced or Metastatic.

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Last updated:	July 24, 2006
Author:	Ralph Poore
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Christopher G. Wood, MD, FACS - Urology/Oncology
Editors:	Renée Spengler, RN, BSN, Terrina Vail

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