Select a condition Absence seizures Acne ADHD Age-related macular degeneration AIDS Alzheimer's disease AMD Amebic dysentery Anal tears Angina, stable Angina, unstable Ankle sprain Anorexia Anxiety Appendicitis Arthritis Asthma in adults Asthma in children Athlete's foot Atrial fibrillation Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autism Back pain Bacterial vaginosis Bad breath Bedsores Bedwetting Bell's palsy Benign prostatic hyperplasia Bipolar disorder Bladder infection in women Blood pressure Breast cancer Breast pain Bronchiectasis Bronchiolitis Bronchitis Bulimia Bunions Burning mouth syndrome Burns and scalds Canker sores Cardiac arrest Carpal tunnel syndrome Cataracts Cellulitis and erysipelas Chickenpox Childbirth, heavy bleeding Childbirth, tear or cut Chlamydia Chronic bronchitis Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic prostatitis Chronic tension type headache Cold sores Colic in babies Colon and rectal cancer Colon and rectal cancer screening Colonic diverticular disease Common cold Conjunctivitis Constipation in adults Constipation in children COPD Crib death Deep vein thrombosis Dementia Depression in adults Depression in children Diabetes, type 1 Diabetes, type 2 Diarrhea in adults Diarrhea in children Diverticular disease Ear infection, middle ear Ear infection, outer ear Ear infection with discharge Ear infection with fluid Ear pain during air travel Ear wax Eczema Emphysema Endometriosis Enlarged prostate Epilepsy Episiotomy Erection problems Essential tremor Febrile seizures Fertility problems Fibroids Flu Gallstones Genital herpes Genital warts GERD GERD in children Glaucoma Gonorrhea Gout Group B streptococcus H. pylori infection Halitosis Hay fever Headache, chronic tension type Head lice Heart and circulation problems in diabetes Heart attack Heartburn Heart failure Heavy periods Heel pain Hemorrhoids Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Hernia Herpes, genital Herpes simplex eye infection High blood pressure High blood pressure in pregnancy High cholesterol HIV infection Hyperactivity IBS Incontinence in women Infection in newborn babies Infertility Influenza Insomnia in adults Irritable bowel syndrome Jaundice in newborn babies Jet lag Kidney infection Kidney stones Leg cramps Leg ulcers Lewy body dementia Lung cancer Lyme disease Macular degeneration Malaria prevention Manic depression Mastalgia Measles, mumps and rubella: prevention Melanoma Meniere's disease Meningococcal disease Menopause Migraine in adults Migraine in children MMR prevention Morning sickness Multiple sclerosis Nail infection, fungal Neck pain Nicotine addiction Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Nosebleeds in children Obesity Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD Oral thrush Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Ovarian cancer Painful periods Pancreas cancer Panic attacks Parkinson's disease PCOS Pelvic inflammatory disease Perineal care Peripheral arterial disease Peripheral vascular disease Pneumonia Polycystic ovary syndrome Postpartum depression Postpartum hemorrhage Post-traumatic stress disorder Preeclampsia Pregnancy, nausea Premature birth Pressure sores Prostate cancer Prostatitis, chronic Psoriasis PTSD Raynaud's disease Rectal cancer screening Recurrent cystitis Reflux in children Rheumatoid arthritis Scabies Schizophrenia Seasonal allergy Shoulder pain Sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease SIDS Sinusitis Skin cancer (melanoma) Skin cancer (squamous cell) Sleep apnea Sleep problems in children Slipped disk Smoking Sore throat Stomach ulcers Stress headache Stress incontinence Stroke, emergency care Stroke prevention Sudden infant death syndrome Swimmer's ear Tennis elbow Tension headache Testicular cancer Thrush (oral) Tic douloureux Tinnitus Tonsillitis Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy Trigeminal neuralgia Underactive thyroid Urinary tract infections in children Varicocele Varicose veins Vascular dementia Warts Whiplash Wisdom teeth, impacted Wrinkles Yeast infection, vagina

Select treatment area Bladder & Kidneys Blood Brain & nervous system Cancer Children's health Diabetes Digestive system Ear, nose & throat Eating & weight Eyes Fertility Heart and circulation Hormones Infections Lungs & breathing Men's health Mental health Mouth Muscles & bones Pregnancy & childbirth Sexual health Skin Sleep Staying healthy Travel health Women's health

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may want to find out all you can about what lies ahead. But no one can say for sure what will happen to you.

Doctors will usually talk about the percentage of men who are likely to be alive in five or 10 years. You may find it easier to cope if you know these figures. On the other hand, you may find this kind of information confusing and frightening.

If you don't want to read about figures on surviving prostate cancer, then skip this page. If you do read on, keep in mind that no statistics can tell you what will happen to you as an individual. There are many different things that can affect the outlook for you personally.

Most prostate cancers grow slowly. Many men live for years without getting any symptoms. So although 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, only 1 in 35 will die of the disease.¹

Most men with prostate cancer will still be alive 10 years after being diagnosed. Around 90 percent will survive their disease for 10 years or more even if no early treatment is provided. And around 70 percent will still be alive 15 years after their diagnosis.¹

There are two factors that doctors use to predict what might happen to you. The first is the TNM stage of your cancer. TNM stands for "tumor, node, metastasis." This staging system looks at how far your cancer has spread and whether any lymph nodes are involved.

The second factor doctors look at is the grade of your tumor. Your cancer grade is determined by your Gleason score, a system that rates how your cancer looks under a microscope. The more your cancer cells look like normal prostate cells, the lower your grade and the better your chances. A low-grade tumor (Gleason score 2 to 4) is likely to be slow-growing, while a high-grade tumor (Gleason score 8 to 10) is more likely to be fast-growing (aggressive) or to have already spread.

• If you have been diagnosed at an early stage of the disease and the cancer has not spread beyond your prostate, there's a good chance that you will live as long as someone who does not have prostate cancer. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that you are cured. Any man diagnosed with prostate cancer is likely to need regular checkups.
• If your cancer has spread to the organs close to your prostate, it is not usually curable. But your chances of surviving the disease are still good.
• Most men who have prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of their body or to their bones (called metastatic disease) will die from their disease. Only one-third of these men will still be alive five years after being diagnosed.²
• Your age and general health can affect whether you will survive your cancer. If you are older and have other health problems, such as heart disease or diabetes, you may be more likely to die from these conditions than from your cancer.

Here is some more detailed information about what might happen to you.

This is known as clinically localized cancer. Doctors classify it as T1 or T2 in the TNM system. Almost 9 out of 10 prostate cancers are found in this stage.³

Around 100 percent of men whose cancer has not spread beyond their prostate will be alive five years after diagnosis.³

If you have early prostate cancer, treating it may not improve your chances of surviving your cancer. Some men choose not to treat their cancer but instead choose to have regular checkups to keep an eye on what's happening (called active surveillance). Men who have radiation therapy or surgery to take out their prostate may not live any longer. Still, these men may feel reassured that they've taken steps to remove a potentially fatal cancer. To learn more, see What treatments work for prostate cancer?

This is called locally advanced cancer. Doctors classify it as T3 or T4 in the TNM system.

• Almost 9 out of 10 men (89 percent) will live for at least five years.³
• You have about a 30 percent chance that your disease will have spread to other organs and bones (called metastatic disease) 10 years after your diagnosis.
• Men whose cancer has spread may develop symptoms such as blood in their urine (called hematuria), problems passing urine and swollen lower legs.

This is called metastatic disease.

• Around one-third (37 percent) of men whose cancer has spread to other sites in their body will live for five years or more.³ Most men will live between two and three years.⁴
• Cancer that has spread to your bones can be very painful. Men with metastatic disease may also develop anemia, which means they have too few red blood cells. This causes extreme tiredness. Advanced cancer may also lead to loss of appetite.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.