HEALTH MATTERS
Nutrition and prostate cancer
By Kepha Nyanumba
Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men . It begins when normal cells in the prostate begin to change and grow uncontrollably .
Approximately 10 % of prostate cancers are inherited . This means that men with one first degree relative with prostate cancer have a two fold risk of developing it ; while men with two or more affected firstdegree relatives , have a 5-11fold risk , and so forth .
In the earlier stages of the disease , prostate cancer rarely causes any specific symptoms . Later , it can present the following symptoms in the lower urinary tract : difficulty passing urine , poor flow when passing urine , incomplete emptying of the bladder , increased frequency and urgency to pass urine , excessive urination at night and erectile dysfunction .
A locally advanced case of prostate cancer may obstruct the kidneys and cause renal failure . Prostate cancer usually spreads to the bones and may cause bone pain , or fractures .
What are the Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer ?
Risk factors are conditions that increase your risk of developing a disease . Risk factors are either modifiable , meaning you can take measures to change them , or nonmodifiable , which means they cannot be changed .
Different cancers have different risk factors . Examples of modifiable risk factors of prostate cancer include smoking and unhealthy diet while non-modifiable risk factors include age and family history .
But having a risk factor , or even several , does not mean that you will get the disease . Many people with one or more risk factors never get cancer , while others who get cancer may have had few or no known risk factors . Researchers have found the following factors that increase a man ’ s risk of getting prostate cancer .
Unhealthy Diet : Poor eating habits that heavily rely on saturated fats and animal proteins can cause DNA damage and lead to prostate cancer . Even men who are already at greater risk can reduce their chances of developing prostate cancer by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle .
Smoking : Cigarette smoking increases the risk of prostate cancer by affecting circulating hormone levels or through exposure to carcinogens . Many people believe that smoking a cigar is safer than smoking a cigarette . But , cigar smokers face many of the same potential risks as cigarette smokers , including prostate
“ Prostate cancer is potentially curable when it is diagnosed early and prostate cancer is localized to the prostate gland . In the last two decades , earlier diagnosis and treatment , has led to marked decrease in fatalities caused by prostate cancer .” cancer . Chewing tobacco or smokeless tobacco products are not safer than cigarettes , either . Smokeless tobacco contains almost 30 cancer-causing chemicals .
Age : The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age . Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than 40 , but the chance of having prostate cancer rises rapidly after age 50 . About 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men older than 65 .
Family History : Prostate cancer seems to run in some families , which suggests that in some cases there may be a
genetic factor . Still , some prostate cancers occur in men without a family history of it . Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man ’ s risk of developing this disease .
Ethnicity : Prostate cancer develops more often in African-American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races . And when it does develop in these men , they tend to be younger . Prostate cancer occurs less often in Asian-American and Hispanic men than in non-Hispanic whites .
Gene Changes : Several inherited gene changes ( mutations ) seem to raise prostate cancer risk , but they probably account for only a small percentage of cases overall .
Chemical Exposure : Men who are exposed to certain chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides may have higher than average rates of prostate cancer .
Early Detection of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is potentially curable when it is diagnosed early
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