- Hello, my name is Lisa Bolton with Nashville General Hospital.

On today's "For your good health," we are going to talk about prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is actually the leading cancer for men.

So men do need to be aware, they need to be aware of their own personal risk factors, and they need to be thinking about, "Is this something that I need to be screened for?"

Prostate cancer, like any kind of cancer, is an overgrowth of cells that should not be there.

The prostate is a small organ in men at the base of the bladder, between the bladder, the urethra goes through it and out the penis.

That's how men pee.

Prostate cancer is common in the sense that the risk increases in age.

So the older a gentleman is, the higher their risk.

It is more common in someone who is African American or Black.

It is more common in someone who has close family, relatives, father, brother who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

So it's important to know your family history because it has to do with your risk.

The place to start is the conversation with your doctor, and then once you've determined, "Yeah, I should be screened "for this, be on the safe side, "think about early detection."

It starts with a blood test called the PSA.

That is the Prostate Specific Antigen, and it is a substance that is made by the prostate and released in semen or ejaculate and in urine, and that can cause you to have an elevated prostate lab.

So if you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and it's thought to be kind of early, what you might do is nothing for three to six months and then check again, do some more lab work, maybe do another sample.

So that is active surveillance.

That's kind of watch and wait and continue to think, "What is the best thing "to do here from terms of treatment?"

It's a very treatable cancer.

Another option is the surgical option, and that is removing the prostate.

So if you're a man with prostate cancer and you are looking at treatment, one of the important things to discuss with your doctor is, "How can I best preserve my sexual function "and my continence after the surgery?"

One positive thing about prostate cancer, compared to other kinds of cancer, it is very slow growing.

So you can live with prostate cancer for a long, long time and be fine.

Again, my name is Lisa Bolton.

Thank you for watching "For your good health."