Ailments and Situations - Prostate Disorders

 

(also referred to as...)

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Benign Prostatic Hyptertrophy, Enlarged Prostate, Prostatitis

 
Description

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) is the enlargement of the prostate gland with age. (Also see Prostate Cancer for background information on the prostate gland). Before the onset of puberty, the gland attains the approximate size of an almond. It then dramatically increases in size during puberty. In mid-adult life, the gland may begin to grow once again and continue to enlarge throughout old age. Much like prostate cancer, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a condition that affects mostly older men. In fact, by the age of sixty, most men are affected by an enlarged prostate to some degree.

Before continuing though, there are two important things to note. First, BPH is not cancer. And although BPH and prostate cancer share much of the same symptoms, BPH does not make a man more susceptible to developing prostate cancer. The same proportion of men who have experienced BPH develop prostate cancer compared to those without -- about one in ten. Second, BPH is not a life-threatening disorder. Although it can cause discomfort and complication, more men die of sports-related injuries than of BPH.

Prostatitis is prostate inflammation, most often caused by an infective process.

 

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