Just What Are The Chances Of Developing Prostate Cancer And What Can Be Done By Way Of Prevention
Over the past few years there has been a great deal of argument about prostate cancer and the subject of preventing prostate cancer in particular is still somewhat controversial. Even though, as with many cancers, men do not themselves cause the onset of prostate cancer, there are clearly many risk factors for developing the disease and there is a great deal which can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then without question to lower your risk of developing it.
The initial step in prostate cancer prevention is simply to understand that you are at risk of getting the condition and to understand precisely what the various risk factors are.
There is no doubt that men with a family history of prostate cancer are at greater risk and that the risk for somebody with one close relative having the disease is roughly twice that of somebody without any family history. With two close relatives the risk increases to approximately five times that of somebody without any family history and with three close relatives the risk reaches a staggering ninety-seven percent.
One problem here is that many men are unaware of their family history, often because many grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died as a result of other illnesses without ever being aware of the fact that they had prostate cancer. This happens because prostate cancer will frequently develop late in life and can be a very slow growing form of cancer. As a result there is a very good chance that individuals will develop other conditions at the same time as their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately result in their death.
Accordingly, if you do not know your family history, then a good point at which to start is to try to check things out if at all possible. If this is not possible, then it is probably best to err on the side of caution and to believe that you might be at risk rather than simply assume that you are in the clear.
Another very important factor is that of race. African American men for instance are at higher risk than Hispanic men who, in turn, are at greater risk than Caucasian men. The risk for an African American man is roughly sixty percent higher than that for a Caucasian man.
Yet another risk factor is diet and men who live in Western countries such as the UK or the US are at higher risk as a result of the high levels of fat in many Western diets. Here at last is a risk factor, which you can actually do something about, and reducing the fat in your diet and eating such things as more fresh fruit and vegetables can reduce your risk quite considerably.
Now, at this point we begin to run into difficulty as, beyond the principle of lowering levels of fat in the diet, views begin to differ when it comes to other areas of the diet, which might be helpful in preventing prostate cancer.
There is very little doubt that levels of such things as vitamins and minerals in your diet can have a significant affect on your health generally and will certainly have a part to play in prostate health. But, working out precisely which vitamins and minerals have a role to play is not a simple matter and is a subject all of its own.
ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on many prostate problems and their solutions including the problem of an enlarged prostate gland.
Strategies for Prevention of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a very common disease among males in the United State. If skin cancer is excluded, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men living in the United States. Prostate cancer may have much variation in the stage and extend of disease at presentation and in many people the cancer might linger for a long period of time without causing any significant problems to the person. Because of this reason, number of men who would die from prostate cancer is much smaller than the number of men who would be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
There are several factors that might increase the risk of developing prostate cancer and by modifying some of these factors it might be possible to decrease the risk of this disease in some people. Also some attempts at modification of the external environment may also reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Chemoprevention: The term chemoprevention is generally referred to the use of synthetic drugs, vitamins, or other agents to prevent the development of a cancer. Several drugs have shown potential benefits as prostate cancer prevention agents. These drugs are still in early stages of clinical trials and much more studies are required to authoritative state that these drugs indeed prevent the development of prostate cancer. Some of the drugs which are in active clinical trial for prevention of prostate cancer include, difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), isoflavonoids, selinum, vitamin D, vitamin E and lycopene.
Changes in diet and life-style: Diets rich in animal fats might increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, so theoretically decreasing the amount of animal fat in the diet might decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer. Active clinical trials are ongoing focusing on the issues of dietary modification as a way of prostate cancer prevention. Some of the ongoing studies might answer the question if food low in animal fats and high in fruits and vegetables would ultimately decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Some recent studies have shown that dietary products and diets rich in calcium might increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Future studies may answer the question with regard to benefit of dietary modification in the context of prostate cancer.
Hormonal prevention: Prostate cancer is treated with suppression of male hormone testosterone. In theory drugs that would cause a decrease in the testosterone levels might decrease the risk of prostate cancer development. Studies are undergoing using some of the male hormone blocking drugs to see if this strategy would be effective in prostate cancer prevention. An example of one such drug is finasteride, which causes a decrease in the amount of male hormone (testosterone) produced by the body.
In summary there are several strategies that might be effectively used to prevent the development of prostate cancer. Some of these strategies are more promising than other ones and only more work and research would ultimately show us, which of these strategies are better and if so if these strategies could be used in combination.
Author of this article is a freelance health information writer. Author contributes articles to various websites including Medicineworld.
