Technically, it's part of your sex organs. It's a small gland, about the size of a walnut, that surrounds your urethra, a tube that takes urine from the bladder to the penis. The urethra also carries semen during ejaculation. The prostate gland grows quite a lot during puberty and then doesn't change much until about age 40, when it slowly begins growing again and, in many men, doesn't stop. Half of men aren't bothered by their growing prostate. But the others will develop one of three prostate diseases; enlarged prostate, prostate cancer, or prostatitis, or may have more than one.
Do you know that ...
- More than 30 million men suffer from prostate conditions that negatively affect their quality of life.
- Over 50% of men in their 60s and as many as 90% in their 70s or older have symptoms of an enlarged prostate (BPH).
- Each year over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 30,000 will die of it.
- Prostatitis is an issue for men of all ages and affects 35% of men aged 50 and older.