Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American men. One out of every ten men will develop prostate cancer some time in his life.

Prostate cancer is expected to strike about 200,000 men this year, but it can be cured if it is diagnosed and treated early in the disease. All men age 50 and older should be screened for prostate cancer, says Dr. Thomas Tarter, associate professor of urology, at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield.

SOUND BITE: ". . . the screening tests are a blood test for a protein produced by the prostate called prostate specific antigen. It is a very simple and inexpensive test. And this should be combined with a digital rectal exam preformed by the patient's physician."

Dr. Tarter says if cancer is detected and if it is confined to the prostate gland, it can be cured with either radiation therapy or surgery. He says that there usually are no symptoms for prostate cancer. The symptoms men go to their physicians for are likely to be a benign growth of the prostate gland or problems with aging. Some of the symptoms for these other conditions include:

SOUND BITE: "Men who present with urinary symptoms such as getting up at night to urinate frequently or daytime frequency, or a sense of urgency when they're on the freeway and they've got to pull over before they can get to the rest stop, or a sense of incomplete bladder emptying or a spurting stream instead of a full normal stream, or straining to start the stream."

Prostate cancer screening is available in many communities, especially in September during Prostate Health Month. Medicare and most health insurance plans usually cover prostate cancer screenings, so men in the 50 year or above age group should ask their primary care physician about getting this very important test performed.