The Private Pain of Prostate Cancer

It is killing more and more older men. Will early screening with blood tests make a difference?

If there is a single leading reason why middle-age men dread going to the doctor, it is the prostate examination. Routinely recommended for those 50 and over, the procedure calls for a physician to insert a gloved finger into the rectum to probe the chestnut-size prostate gland, which is near the bladder and produces some of the fluids in semen. But however uncomfortable and embarrassing the exam may be, it could be a lifesaver. The rate of prostate cancer in the U.S. has been steadily rising over the past several years. It strikes 1 in 11 American males and kills more...

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