Will I get prostate
cancer?
Factors such as diet, heredity and physical
activity appear to play a role in who gets prostate cancer and who doesn’t,
but we are not sure to what extent.
We do know that the older you are, the more your chances
increase. For every 100 men over
the age of 50 who undergo a biopsy of their prostate, 30 of them will be
found to have prostate cancer. Many
men who have it never even know and many will remain healthy and unaffected
by it.
There is no single cause but identified
risk factors include:
Age:
The risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age. It is rarely seen under the age of 40,
and uncommon until men are in their 60’s and 70’s. As the life expectancy of a population
increases the risk of dying of prostate cancer also goes up.
Race: The likelihood of being diagnosed with
prostate cancer and of dying from the disease varies drastically among
different races and countries. The
disease is more common and more lethal in Blacks, intermediate in
Caucasians, and lowest in Asian men from China and Japan.
Family History:
Someone with a family member who has had prostate cancer has a
higher risk of getting the disease than someone with no family
history. For example if your father
or brother has had prostate cancer, you have twice the usual chance of
getting it. If you have 2 close
relatives with it, the risk goes up 8 times.
Hormones: It
is thought that advanced age may be an important factor in the incidence of
prostate cancer because of the long-term exposure of the prostate cells to
the male hormone testosterone. It
stimulates the prostate to grow and, particularly in men over 40, is a
factor in the development of benign prostatic
hyperplasia, as well as cancerous growths. Both BPH and prostate cancer feed off
testosterone.
Diet:
Studies comparing men with and without prostate cancer have consistently
shown that there is a relationship between fat intake and the risk of
prostate cancer. High intake of
animal or saturated fats increases the risk of prostate cancer by about 2
times.
Foods such as raw broccoli and tomato
sauces (especially when cooked in olive oil) may be helpful in decreasing
the growth of prostate cancer.
Men who eat a high-fibre diet are less
likely to develop prostate cancers, possibly because of the loss of some
sex hormones through the intestinal tract.
Soya protein products (tofu) may be protective as well.
Vitamin D:
There is evidence that a lack of vitamin D may increase the risk of
prostate cancer. Vitamin D is
converted into an active hormone, Vitamin D3. This conversion happens when the skin is exposed to
sunlight. Men with reduced exposure
to sunlight are at increased risk for this reason.
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