Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer that develops in males, other than skin cancers. This year, more than 1 million men will be diagnosed worldwide. It has become the second leading cause of cancer deaths among male Americans. WebMD states, “In 2016, the American Cancer Society estimated that 180,890 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and 16,120 U.S. men will die from the disease – though many of them had lived with the disease for years prior to their deaths.” Most men are diagnosed after the age of 60.
What then is the prostate? The prostate, itself, is a walnut-sized gland found in the male pelvis, which is wrapped around the urethra tube where urine exits the body. The gland also secretes part of the liquid portion of the semen (seminal fluid), the fluid necessary for human reproduction.
WebMD states that while the exact causes of prostate cancer are unknown, several risk factors for developing this specific cancer have been identified. Like all cancers, it is known that its development occurs through the changing of the cell’s DNA chemicals causing abnormal cell growth and/or death.
1. Several inherited genes have been identified as a future risk for prostate cancer. In fact, when men with a family history of prostate cancer develop the disease, they are twice as likely to die from it.
2. Gene changes that occur during the aging process may also be acquired.
3. According to AARP Bulletin April 2017, African American men are twice as likely to get the disease, and more likely to develop a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. As a result, they are 2.4 times more possible to die from this cancer.
Men should heed certain symptoms and set up an immediate visit to his urologist. According to AARP, the symptoms consist of “difficulty urinating, including a slow, weak or interrupted urinary stream; a need to urinate more often, especially at night; blood in the urine or semen; and discomfort in the pelvic area or lower back, or bone pain.”
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