Your prostate. Located below your urine sack (the bladder), this walnut-shaped gland has powerful implications in the reproductive system. During intercourse, the prostate secretes whitish fluids that aid sperm, and become, collectively, what we recognize as semen. The prostate also contains muscle that regulates the flow of urine out of the urethral tube.

Within the Billings area, Native Americans have a higher death rate (19.8 per 100,000 males) from prostate cancer than the entire U.S. (15.4 per 100,000). However, according to I.H.S., where these statistics come from, the rates should be used with caution since the rates are from a small number of deaths. It is therefore a major concern for Native Americans to become aware of what the prostate is and the problems associated with the powerful gland.

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)

According to The Prostate Cancer InfoLink, as men become older, the prostate has an increasingly higher chance of going through what is termed benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The gland, in essence, becomes larger, and although it is not cancer, it can cause a problem in a guy's ability to live a comfortable life. A guy with BPH may experience poor urine flow and painful sex upon ejaculation. Importantly, BPH can cause some of the same symptoms of prostate cancer—but BPH is a non-cancerous condition.

Prostate Cancer: the Real Deal

According to WebMD, a reliable health-related internet site, prostate cancer is the number one form of male cancer, and the second leading cause of death in men. Despite these grim statistics, things are not as bad as they seem. The risk for prostate cancer is directly correlated with age. The chance of being afflicted with prostate cancer is not a risk factor until you reach the age of forty. Even then, the prospect of being diagnosed with prostate cancer isn't particularly high until the age of fifty. Environmental factors and, in some research articles, diet have also been implicated as factors for being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Some common advice is to have men over age fifty get their prostate checked annually. When a person is diagnosed with prostate cancer during the early stages, the chances of him surviving are good. Research has found that this is not a fast-growing cancer. Therefore, detection, frequent observation, and the right treatment methods can forestall any undesired effects, such as death.

Probing the Signs & Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Probing isn’t fun, but it will help detect prostate cancer.

This article will help you envision the symptoms of

prostate cancer.

Tools to Detect Your Prostate Gland

This article will explain how doctors check the prostate.

And yes, sometimes tools are required.

Stickin’ It To the Cancer: Prostate Treatments

Learn how we fight

the good fight against prostate cancer.

Regard for the Native Prostate

Yes, the Native prostate deserves some attention. Here

we discuss Native relevancy to the prostate gland.