Of prostrate care

Bad news on the health front: the latest Lancet Commission paper has warned that prostate cancer incidence in India will double to about 71,000 cases per year by 2040. It has also been said that prostate cancer cases worldwide are projected to more than double and deaths to increase by 85 percent between 2020 and 2040, with low- and middle-income countries likely to bear the “overwhelming brunt” of this spike. It has also been said that the surge in cases is “inevitable,” with actual numbers likely to be much higher because of underdiagnosis and missed opportunities for data collection. According to experts, prostate cancer begins when cells in the prostate gland start to grow out of control. The prostate is a gland found only in males. It makes some of the fluid that is part of semen. The prostate is below the bladder and in front of the rectum, the last part of the intestines. Just behind the prostate are glands called seminal vesicles, which make most of the fluid for semen. The urethra, which is the tube that carries urine and semen out of the body through the penis, goes through the centre of the prostate. The prostate tends to grow as a man ages. In younger men, it is about the size of a walnut, but it can be much larger in older men. Experts have also said that almost all prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas and that these cancers develop from the gland cells in the prostate, which make the prostate fluid that is added to the semen. Experts, however, suggest that regular screening every two to four years can help with the with the early detection of prostate cancer, which in turn will increase the chances of a cure.