How common is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting 1 in 6 men. In 2009, more than 192,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease. One new case occurs every 2.7 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 19 minutes. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million American men currently living with prostate cancer. Visit the Prostate Cancer Info section for more information.
Of every 100 asymptomatic men, about 10 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, and 3 of the 100 will die from the disease. These numbers may increase as therapies for other illnesses in the elderly improve. It is important to understand that some men with prostate cancer who do not die of the disease will nonetheless have disease progression whether or not they are treated initially, and may have a lower quality of life as a result. It is important to distinguish clinically significant prostate cancer from cancer that is slow-growing and non-life-threatening. “Clinically significant” means that leaving the cancer untreated would result in symptoms requiring treatment or would lead to mortality.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting 1 in 6 men. A non-smoking man is more likely to develop prostate cancer than he is to develop lung, colon, rectal, bladder, melanoma, lymphoma and kidney cancers combined. In fact, a man is 35 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2006, it is believed that more than 234,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease. Currently, one new case occurs every 2.25 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 19 minutes. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million American men currently living with prostate cancer.
