About the Prostate and Cancer
What are the costs of Prostate Cancer?
The National Institutes of Health estimate overall annual costs for cancer at $107 billion; $37 billion for direct medical costs (total of all health expenditures), $11 billion for indirect morbidity costs (cost of lost productivity due to illness), and $59 billion for indirect mortality costs (cost of lost productivity due to premature death). Treatments for breast, lung, and prostate cancers account for over half of the direct medical costs. Insurance status and barriers to health care may affect the cost of treating cancer in this country. According to 1996 data, about 19% of Americans under age 65 have no health insurance, and about 26% of older persons have only Medicare coverage. During 1996, almost 18% of Americans reported not having a usual source of health care. Also, 12% of American families had members who experienced difficulty or delay in obtaining care or did not receive needed health care services.
What is the Prostate?
The prostate is a gland of the male reproductive system. It is located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder, the organ that stores urine. The main purpose of the prostate is to produce fluid for semen, which transports sperm during the male orgasm.
When do Prostates develop problems?
For men under 40 years of age, it is likely that the prostate has not caused any problems. But for men who are 40 and over, the prostate may become a source of problems. For instance, 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer. Early stages of prostate cancer may not cause any symptoms; thus, yearly medical checkups are important. Other problems, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) may cause bothersome symptoms, such as difficulty in urinating.
