The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits below the bladder and wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. Its job is to produce part of the fluid in semen. It is small in youth and grows slowly throughout adult life, under the influence of testosterone and its more potent derivative, dihydrotestosterone.
That growth is the origin of most prostate problems. By 60, about half of men have some degree of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) — non-cancerous enlargement — and by 80, most do. As the gland grows it squeezes the urethra and irritates the bladder, producing a weak stream, hesitancy, dribbling, urgency and trips to the toilet at night. Prostatitis, inflammation of the gland, causes pain and urinary symptoms at any age. Prostate cancer is common in older men, usually slow-growing, and detected mainly through the PSA blood test — a test whose interpretation is more nuanced than most people expect.
The guides in this hub explain each of these, what the tests mean, and which treatments have evidence behind them.