What Every Guy Needs to Know About Prostate Cancer
July 25, 2011, By Charles Manley 0 comments
Most men engage in a willful ignorance about prostate cancer. It's usually considered an old man's disease not to be worried about until late in life. Most men learn very little about the prostate or prostate cancer until the doctor calls late in the evening with the bad news. It's all very understandable. The prostate is not a particularly glamorous topic of conversation. And the deeper one delves into the details, the less comfortable everyone starts to feel.
Despite the taboo, the National Cancer Institute estimates that 217,730 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year. And 32,050 fathers, brothers, husbands and uncles will die from the disease. Add to that the fact that the American Cancer Society estimates as many as one in six men will develop prostate cancer by age 80. With those types of numbers, ignorance starts to look irrational.
What Is the Prostate Anyway?
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland in the male reproductive system of most mammals. The main reason for its exclusion from dinner table banter and water cooler chit-chat is its close proximity to just about everything taboo in polite conversation. The prostate sits below the bladder and in front of the rectum. And the urethra travels through the prostate, as well as sperm and seminal fluid, before exiting through the penis.
The prostate is not necessary for life, but it is for procreation. The prostate secretes a white, milky, alkaline fluid that helps supply sperm with the food and tools necessary to make the journey to fertilize an egg.
The other largest reason for men's distaste of prostate-based conversations is that complications, problems and treatments can involve urinary, bowel and sexual malfunction.
Who Is at Risk?
The most common risk factors are age, race, family history, location and diet. While only 1 in 10,000 men under the age of 40 develop prostate cancer, there are men in their 30s with prostate cancer. The chances of developing the disease increase significantly with age. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, more than 65 percent of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65.
African American males are 60 percent more likely to develop the disease than Caucasians. Increasingly, more and more studies are finding that diet plays a significant role in the development of prostate cancer. Asian males that live in Asia are significantly less likely to develop the disease than Asian males that live in the Western part of the world.
Other risk factors include family history and genetics. Individuals that have a history of prostate cancer in the family are far more likely to develop the disease. Additionally, men that live north of the 40 degree parallel are more likely to develop prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation attributes this to lower amounts of sunlight, UV exposure and vitamin D.
NEXT: How to Prevent Prostate Cancer
