Prostate Cancer Archive

A new prostate cancer diagnosis can trigger fears about future cancers. Explore how age, genes, treatment, and lifestyle may affect your risk.

A 77-year-old man with a brother who died of prostate cancer weighs the pros and cons of PSA screening with age, health, and risk in mind.

Men with low-risk prostate cancer continue to choose active surveillance as their course of action, meaning they monitor their cancer and don’t seek treatment unless it becomes worse. While this wait-and-see approach may appear passive in nature, it’s an opportunity for men to take charge of their health and make lifestyle changes that could improve their cancer outcome and offer protection against other health risks, like heart disease.

Prostate cancer often develops quietly, with few or no early warning signs, and can resemble normal age‑related prostate changes. When symptoms arise, they usually involve subtle changes in urination. Doctors combine careful questioning, physical examination, blood tests, and modern scans to distinguish harmless enlargement from serious disease.

Saw palmetto is a popular "natural" choice for urinary symptoms from an enlarged prostate, but high-quality studies show little or no real benefit. Men are urged to talk with a doctor first, both to rule out serious causes and avoid misplaced hope.

With advances beyond blood tests to screen for prostate cancer, men and their doctors now have additional-and better-information to guide diagnosis and potential treatment. Examples include MRI scans and also urine tests that look for biological markers of cancer.

What happens if PSA levels start rising after surgery or radiation for prostate cancer? Sometimes men live the rest of their lives with a rising PSA without ever developing metastases. Now, an ultra-sensitive scanning technology is raising new questions about biochemical recurrence and how to manage it.

The long-term outlook for men diagnosed with prostate cancer continues to improve. These medical advances, however, have also drawn attention to the mental health challenges many survivors encounter. It's still common for survivors to struggle with loss of masculine self-esteem and changes in body image.

Chronic pelvic pain-medically known as chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome, or CP/CPPS-is one of the more common and challenging conditions older men face. Because the underlying cause may not be identified, doctors often take a trial-and-error approach to managing the common symptoms like throbbing, aching pain, urination problems, and sexual dysfunction. Options include different types of medication, physiotherapy, shock wave therapy, and aerobic exercise.

More men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a 2025 study. Black men have a higher incidence of cancer and are twice as likely to die from the condition compared with white men.