Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.S. Men younger than 40 are rarely ever diagnosed with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is deadly but can be cured if it’s caught early enough. In most men, prostate cancer grows very slowly: most men will never know they have it.

The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man’s reproductive system; it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. The prostate gland is located directly beneath the bladder and in front of the rectum.

A prostate biopsy procedure involves taking of a minuscule tissue sample from the prostate gland to determine if cancer cells are present. Prostate cancer, without visible manifestations, can be very tricky to detect early on and Prostate Specific Antigen tests (PSA) as well as Digital Rectal Examinations (DRE) may or may not show the cancer’s presence. If your doctor has detected a density increase during a PSA test, or an irregularity during a DRE, the next step to accurately determine a prostate cancer’s presence is a prostate biopsy procedure.

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