The Risks of Prostate Cancer and What Can You Do to Prevent Them

For many years now there has been considerable discussion about prostate cancer and the subject of preventing prostate cancer specifically is still somewhat controversial. Even though, as with the majority of cancers, men do not themselves cause their own prostate cancer, there are clearly a variety of risk factors for developing the disease and there is a lot which can be done, if not to prevent it, then without question to lower the risk of developing it.

The initial step in prostate cancer prevention is simply to understand that you are at risk of getting the condition and to know exactly what the different risk factors are.

There is no question that men who have a family history of prostate cancer are at higher risk and that the risk for a man with one close relative having prostate cancer is roughly twice that of a man without any family history. If you have two close relatives then this risk rises to around five times that of somebody without any family history and if you have three close relatives the risk reaches a staggering ninety-seven percent.

The problem here is that a lot of men are not aware of their family history, often because a lot of grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died from other illnesses without even knowing they were suffering from prostate cancer. This happens because prostate cancer often develops late in life and can be a very slow growing cancer. As a result there is a very good chance of individuals developing other conditions together with their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately result in their death.

So, if you are not sure about your family history, then a good point at which to start is to check things out if at all possible. If this is not possible, then it is probably best to err on the side of caution and believe that you might be at risk rather than simply assume that you are in the clear.

Another important factor is that of race. African American men for example are at higher risk than Hispanic men who, in turn, are at more risk than Caucasian men. For an African American man the risk is roughly sixty percent higher than that for a Caucasian man.

Another risk factor is diet and men who are living in Western countries such as the the US or the UK are at greater risk because of the high fat levels in many Western diets. Here for the first time we have a risk factor which you can do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating things like more vegetables and fresh fruit can reduce your risk quite considerably.

At this point we begin to run into difficulty because, after the principle of reducing levels of fat in the diet, views start to differ when it comes to other aspects of the diet which could be helpful in preventing prostate cancer.

There is little if any doubt that levels of things like minerals and vitamins in your diet can have a dramatic affect on your general health and will certainly have a role to play in your prostate health. But, determining exactly which minerals and vitamins play a role is a difficult matter and is a subject all of its own.