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Cancer Explained

Understanding Prostate Cancer

A calm path through prostate cancer basics, screening and diagnosis, staging, treatment choices including active surveillance, and life afterward.

11 stepsAbout 62 min total

This learning path is educational only. It is not a treatment plan. Your healthcare team can help you understand what applies to your situation.

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  1. Read6 min

    What is prostate cancer?

    The basics, in plain language.

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  2. Read5 min

    Signs and symptoms

    What people may notice, and when to ask a doctor.

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  3. Read5 min

    PSA test and screening

    How the PSA test is used, and its trade-offs.

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  4. Read5 min

    Getting a diagnosis

    How prostate cancer is confirmed.

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  5. Read5 min

    What a biopsy involves

    The test that confirms the diagnosis.

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  6. Read6 min

    Understanding staging

    What stage and grade mean here.

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  7. Read7 min

    Treatment overview

    Options from surveillance to surgery and radiation.

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  8. Read6 min

    Hormone therapy

    How hormone therapy is used in prostate cancer.

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  9. Tool5 min

    Questions to ask your team

    Build your appointment question list.

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  10. Clinical trials6 min

    Prostate cancer clinical trials

    How research studies fit into care.

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  11. Read6 min

    Living well afterward

    Survivorship and follow-up care.

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Helpful words to know

Plain-language definitions in our glossary.

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Save questions for your doctor

Build a personalized list of questions to bring to your next appointment.

Open the tool

NCI: Prostate Cancer (opens in a new tab)

Read the source material at the National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov).

Visit cancer.gov