One out of six men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The odds are one will be your husband, father, brother, or someone else close to you. The key to surviving it is catching it early. Don’t let your guy shrug off the risk. In recognition of Prostate Cancer Month, learn 11 risk factors so you can help protect your guy from this disease...
Does your man have trouble urinating? Maintaining an erection? These are some of the signs of prostate cancer.
Trouble is, many men won’t see a doctor unless they’re bleeding from the gut. So it falls to their wives, daughters and sisters to take charge of their health.
Why should women care about such a small gland? For one thing, it can affect your sexual relationship. Second, it’s a widow-maker.
More than 200,000 American men get a prostate cancer diagnosis every year; nearly 30,000 die.
“Virtually every guy over 70 has some prostatic enlargement,” says Edward Geehr, M.D., chief medical officer.
"It's a troublesome gland and, for many men, a royal pain," says Janet Farrar Worthington, co-author of The Prostate: A Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them (Grand Central Publishing) and Dr. Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer (Wellness Central).
It may be a common health problem for men, but it’s their women who pay attention to it.
"It’s often the women who get their husbands, boyfriends, brothers and fathers through every step of this disease," Worthington says. "Be the advocate, ask the questions, learn about the side effects and what to expect.”
It’s an effort that pays off, since the key to surviving prostate cancer is to catch it early.
“If men are going to reduce their preventable risks, they’ve got to get to the doctor sooner rather than later,” says Will Courtenay, Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychotherapist and author of Making Health Manly: Social Marketing and Men's Health (The Journal of Men’s Health).
Common symptoms include trouble urinating, difficulty getting an erection, painful ejaculation, blood in his urine or semen, or pain or stiffness in his hips, lower back or upper thighs.
But chances are your man may not experience any of these because prostate cancer often shows no signs.
Doctors use two tests to detect the disease: a digital rectal exam and a blood screening that detects a substance made by the gland called prostate-specific antigen. That’s why routine screenings are important.
"The greatest blessing of early detection is the gift of time," Worthington says. "Men are being diagnosed an average of five years earlier than they used to be."
But first, you may have to convince him that the risk is real. Put a little fear in him, Courtenay advises.
“Don’t terrify him with scary facts about men who died because they waited too long to get help,” he says. “But frightening him a little is OK,” because it may encourage him to act.
Also, learn who’s at risk for prostate cancer, when to undergo screening and the dietary and lifestyle changes that can save his life.
Here are 11 risk factors you both should know:
1. He's African-American.
Black men have the highest rate of prostate cancer diagnosis and death in the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"Worse, black men seem to get more severe forms, are more likely to have the cancer come back after treatment and are more likely to die of this disease," Worthington says. She recommends tests every year, starting at age 40.
Caucasians have the second-highest rate of diagnosis and death; Asian/Pacific Islanders have the lowest death rate.
2. His family has a history of prostate cancer.
Your man is twice as likely to get the disease if he has one first-degree relative — father, brother, son — with a history of it, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
The risk goes up if more relatives are affected, Worthington says.
It may be as high as 50% if three family members (father and two brothers, for example) have had it, if it occurs in three generations (grandfather, father, son) or if two relatives developed it younger than 55 years old.
And don’t forget the women in his family.
"Prostate cancer risk can be inherited from the mother as well," she says. So ask about his maternal family history.
3. He's over 50 years old.
The older your man, the higher his risk: "In men 40-49, the risk of developing prostate cancer is one in 50," Worthington says. From 60-79, it's one in seven.
But don't put off tests until he's blowing out 60 candles on his birthday cake.
"Prostate cancer screening should start at age 40," Worthington says.
4. He's too fat.
Excessive weight raises prostate cancer risk, according to many studies.
In fact, when they pack on the pounds makes a difference, according to a University of Hawaii study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Researchers found that Caucasian men who put on extra weight in their 20s and 30s faced a higher risk.
Another study by the American Cancer Society found that men with a BMI greater than 30 were 20%-25% more likely to die of prostate cancer than thinner men, Worthington says.
Experts believe that too much body fat throws off the body’s normal production of insulin and testosterone, which may fuel growth of prostate cancer cells.
But that’s not your man’s only worry: Too much belly fat and a high-fat diet can also raise his risk of heart disease and diabetes.
5. He eats too much fat.
Body fat isn’t the only kind to worry about; the fat he consumes makes a difference too.
"Dietary fat may not only help cause prostate cancer, but also may affect the way it progresses – how fast cancer cells proliferate, their ability to spread and the body's ability to fight off this invasion," Worthington says.
Foods high in saturated fats, especially from animal products (red meat and dairy), appear to be the worst dietary trigger for prostate cancer, Worthington says.
6. He smokes.
Smoking cigarettes gives cancer cells a comfy place to grow, Worthington says.
Research doesn’t yet show that smoking causes prostate cancer, but it has proven that a nicotine habit can help it grow faster and more aggressively.
Tell him to stop smoking now, Worthington advises.
7. He's having urinary troubles.
“If he gets up frequently in the middle of the night to urinate, he could have problems with his prostate,” Courtenay says.
This is because the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen, runs right through the middle of the prostate like a straw, Worthington says.
Urinary troubles often signal benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-cancerous enlargement of the gland that’s common in men older than 40.
Still, any changes in urination – including pain, weak flow, difficulty starting or stopping, frequent nighttime urination, or blood in the urine or semen – should be evaluated by a doctor.
8. He has pain with bowel movements.
Because the prostate lives on the other side of the rectal wall, prostate enlargement or cancer can often cause pain during a bowel movement. This, along with a bloody stool, may also be a symptom of colorectal cancer.
9. He complains of pain or stiffness in his hips, lower back or upper thighs.
Sure, it could be a general ache or pain, but it may also point to prostate cancer that has spread beyond the gland and into surrounding areas.
10. He has swollen legs.
This indicates that the cancer has spread into nearby pelvic lymph nodes. If he presents with any of the above symptoms, schedule his doctor's visit right away.
11. He has had an STD.
If your man has a common STD, Trichomonas vaginalis, he’s 2.7 times more likely to develop the most fatal form of prostate cancer, according to a study reported in the Journal of the American Cancer Institute.
He’s also three times more likely to die from it.
Trichomonas is curable and treatable with antibiotics.
Taking Charge
If you've made it to the end of this list and your man passes with flying colors, don't rest easy yet. All men face risk of prostate trouble, simply because they’re guys.
"You don't just have to sit around and wait to see if your husband or boyfriend gets the disease," Worthington says.
You can take action too, including getting him screened for prostate cancer.
The test, a simple blood diagnostic, checks for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a chemical made by the prostate that shows up in the bloodstream. Cancer tumors can boost the normal levels of PSA.
While the PSA test is widely used, its effectiveness at detecting cancer has also led to more men getting treated for tumors that are growing so slowly that they actually didn’t require medical attention.
Still, it’s a risk that most men are willing to take. Coupled with a digital rectal exam, the PSA test can be an essential early detection tool.
Remember that knowledge is power. Courtenay advises snipping health articles for your man to read, turning him on to health Web sites and getting him a subscription to a men's health magazine.
Even if all the material isn’t prostate-centric, it can help him tune in to his body.
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