Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among American men, and the second deadliest for males, after lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, each year about 215,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and over 30,000 die. This makes it important for men both to take steps to lower their risk of prostate cancer, as well as to get regular medical screenings to check for the disease. Because prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing cancer, if it is detected early the chances of treating it successfully are very good. Obviously, however, preventing the disease entirely is a much better alternative.
Unfortunately, there are some risk factors about which men can do little or nothing. The most important risk factor in prostate cancer is aging. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, one in 15 men in their sixties are diagnosed with prostate cancer, but just one in 40,000 men in their twenties and thirties. In addition, African-American men are at slightly increased risk compared to Caucasian men and, in both cases, a family history of prostate cancer is also an indication of increased risk, suggesting that there may be an inherited genetic component to the disease.
However, there are also a number of risk factors for prostate cancer which can be mitigated or eliminated. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most important method of reducing prostate cancer risk (as well as risk of a number of other cancers) is healthy diet. Prostate cancers are most common in countries which have high-fat diets rich in red meat.
In contrast, a diet low in salt and including adequate fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods (like brown rice), omega-3 fatty acid (found in seafood and especially salmon), and Vitamin D reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Soy products and green tea may also help. In past years, selenium and Vitamin E were both regarded as useful supplements, although the Mayo Clinic now believes their usefulness may have been exaggerated.
Other, occasionally more exotic risk factors may or may not play a role. For instance, the Mayo Clinic states that heavy alcohol consumption increases prostate cancer risk - but the Prostate Cancer Foundation states that there is no connection between the two at all. Studies do suggest that men with a more active sex life, as well as man who take aspirin regularly or are prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol levels, have a slightly lower risk of prostate cancer, although in all three cases the reasons for this are not fully known.
If you are concerned about prostate cancer, and particularly if men in your family have a history of prostate cancer, you should discuss your concerns with your doctor, who can offer professional medical advice tailored to your specific situation. Your doctor may recommend a regular annual checkup to check for enlargement of the prostate. Many men avoid or put off this test because of the obvious discomfort of undergoing a rectal exam.
- Sources and More Information -
Mayo Clinic. "Prostate Cancer Prevention: What You Can Do."
Prostate Cancer Foundation. "Prostate Cancer Risk Factors."