Prostate Cancer Health Center

Almost all prostate cancers are discovered in their early stages, when the cancer cells are only in the prostate. The 5-year survival rate is almost 100% when the cancer is found at this stage.¹ The 5-year survival rate is the percentage of men who are still alive 5 years after they have been diagnosed. It is just an average. Everyone's case is different, and this number may not show what will happen in your case.

Prostate cancer is a common cancer affecting older men. About 17 out of 100 men living in the United States will get prostate cancer. Out of these 17 men, 3 will die of prostate cancer. This means that 97 out of 100 men will die from something other than prostate cancer.²

It usually is a very slow-growing cancer that takes years to grow large enough to cause any problems. Sometimes, though, it grows quickly. When prostate cancer spreads, it goes first to surrounding tissue, then to lymph nodes in the pelvis, and then on to the bones, lungs, or other organs. For more information, see the topic Prostate Cancer, Advanced or Metastatic.