Prostate cancer occurs when your body can’t control the growth of cells in a male-only gland known as the prostate gland. It rarely causes symptoms early on but may lead to slow, weak, or frequent urination at night or blood in the semen or urine. If prostate cancer grows slowly in older males, monitoring symptoms and testing hormone levels might be enough to control growth. Surgery to remove part or all of the prostate or different therapies to kill cancer cells can treat faster-growing prostate cancer.
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What's the most challenging side effect of prostate cancer treatment?
What Is Prostate Cancer? Symptoms, Stages, Diagnosis, Treatment, and MoreMedically Reviewed by Tawee Tanvetyanon, MD, MPH | February 28, 2026
FAQ
What is the life expectancy of someone with prostate cancer?
More than 99 percent of people with prostate cancer that doesn’t spread from the original site of growth live for five years or longer compared to those who don’t have cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
What are the five warning signs of prostate cancer?
Warning signs of early prostate cancer include needing to urinate often (especially at night), weak, painful, or burning pee, and blood in the pee or semen. However, prostate cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms. Regular testing can rule it out.
What happens if you refuse treatment for prostate cancer?
This depends on the stage and type of cancer. Delaying treatment for lower-stage prostate cancer that has not spread may not increase the risk of death. Cancer that spreads from the prostate has risks affecting other organs.
What are the four stages of prostate cancer?
Stages track prostate cancer’s spread and severity. Stage 1 and 2 cancers have stayed in the prostate, stage 3 means cancer has reached nearby structures, and stage 4 has spread to other organs near the prostate.
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Walter Tsang, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist, hematologist, and lifestyle medicine specialist. Inspired by the ancient Eastern philosophy of yang sheng ("nourishing li...
Christopher Wolter, MD, is an assistant professor in urology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been in practice since 2008, specializing in the areas of urinary incontinen...
Tawee Tanvetyanon, MD, MPH, is a professor of oncologic sciences and senior member at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florid...
Thomas Marron, MD, PhD, is the assistant director of early phase and immunotherapy clinical trials at the Tisch Cancer Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in N...
Conor E. Steuer, MD, is medical oncologist specializing in the care of aerodigestive cancers, mesothelioma, and thymic malignancies and an assistant professor in the department of ...
Daniel Landau, MD, is a distinguished board-certified hematologist-oncologist with a career that has spanned two eminent institutions: the Orlando Health Cancer Institute and the M...
Ryland Gore, MD, MPH, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeon specializing in breast surgical oncology in Atlanta. She completed her general surgery residency at Rush Univ...
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