Are You or Is Someone You Love at Risk for Prostate Cancer?

A well-deserved effort has been made to promote the awareness and prevention of breast cancer. Thanks to the efforts of a variety of educational programs, women have become much more adept than they were a decade ago about early detection and preventive measures in regard to breast cancer. But many don’t realize that for men there’s an equally prevalent form of cancer that needs attention. Did you know that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for men in the United States? Do you or the men in your life understand how to lower the risk of prostate disease and increase overall prostate health?

Symptoms and Proactive Steps You Can Take

Often, prostate cancer generates no noticeable symptoms. At other times, its symptoms are similar to those of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) or prostatitis. These symptoms include:

• Frequent urination.
• Slow start urination or difficulty emptying the bladder.
• Aches in the groin area sometimes accompanied by flu-like symptoms.
• Bone pain particularly in the pelvic area.

If you or someone you love is experiencing these symptoms, a visit to your healthcare provider is in order. It may turn out to be something more easily managed such as aged-related prostate enlargement or an infection, but treating these types of symptoms is an important form of prevention against prostate cancer. Particularly for men over 40, regular, annual check-ups with their healthcare provider are an important step in prevention, since prostate cancer is typically slow growing and much more easily treated when discovered in its earlier stages.

Do you Know the Risk Factors?

The primary risk factor for prostate cancer is age, since men under 40 rarely manifest the disease. That being said, there are a variety of environmental and lifestyle factors that even young men should consider. For example, known risk factors include:

• Alcohol Use. Men whose consumption of alcohol is heavier are at greater risk.
• Environmental Exposure. Men, like farmers, painters, tire plant workers, and military personnel who are exposed to chemicals such as agent orange, cadmium and other toxic agents incur a great risk.
• Diet. Men who eat a diet high in fat, especially animal fat are at greater risk.
• Genetics. Men who have a family history of prostate cancer are at risk, as well as African American men, who have a higher overall risk of all types of cancer.

Do Diet and Supplements Help?

While there is, not surprisingly, disagreement as to the value of certain preventive steps, many healthcare professionals stress the importance of a variety of simple, but potentially effective steps, including:

• Staying well-hydrated.
• Maximizing fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Eating fish several times a week.
• Considering a wheat-free diet.
• Using probiotics.
• Choosing plant proteins over animal proteins more regularly.
• Consuming green tea.
• Taking supportive supplements such as Saw Palmetto, Beta Sistosterol, Zinc, Vitamin D3, and the new, in demand Pomi-T plant phytonutrient supplement.

While many of us have heard of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the prevention of breast cancer, did you know there was also a foundation for the prevention of prostate cancer? For more information about prostatitis, prostate cancer, and overall prostate health, check out the detailed facts and helpful tips at the Prostate Cancer Foundation page. As is so often the case, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.