Don’t ignore prostate cancer

Idaho has the sixth highest death rate from it, and it is one of the cancers projected to increase most between 2010 and 2020 based on statistics collected by the Center for Disease Control.

It’s prostate cancer, and Dr. Timothy O. Taylor, M.D., of Southeast Idaho Urology, says it’s a serious disease.

“I think lot of time people just ignore it because they have heard it is a slow-growing cancer and that many people will just die with it rather than from it,” he said.

And in many cases, he said that’s true; however, there are still many people who will die or have significant problems due to prostate cancer.

Risk factors for prostate cancer include age, diet, race and family history.

Age

“The prostate starts out about the size of a pea, and once puberty starts, it grows a little bit to be about the size of a small walnut,” Taylor said. “In men around age 40, it starts to grow again and just keeps growing until the end.”

Though the growth is normal, some men might be diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a disease which disrupts the prostate’s ability to perform its normal functions.

Once a man turns 40, his risk of being diagnosed with BPH increases, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Twenty percent of men in their 50s, 60 percent of men in their 60s and 70 percent of men in their 70s have BPH.

Although BPH is not an indicator of cancer, “as the prostate enlarges, it makes it more difficult to urinate, and the prostate irritates the bladder,” Taylor said.

Symptoms of BPH can range from urgency to urinate to urine flow obstruction due to the enlarged prostate; however, these symptoms might also indicate prostate cancer.

“For men ages 55 to 69, we would recommend yearly screenings,” Taylor said. “If you were at higher risk, we are going to recommend they start somewhere between the ages of 40 to 45.

Diet

“A diet high in meat and lower in fruits, vegetables and fiber — the typical American and Idahoan men’s diet — is bad for prostate cancer,” says Taylor.

Taylor recommends men nearing the age of 55 should consider a diet change in an attempt to prevent future prostate issues.

Race and Family History

“If you have a first-degree relative or a close relative with prostate cancer—your father, brother, grandfather or uncle—that increases your risk for prostate cancer,” Taylor said. African-American men also have a higher risk.

He recommends anyone with a relative who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, or African-American men, to begin yearly scans at the age of 45.

Screening

Listen up, guys.

There are two parts to the prostate cancer screening, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and the digital rectal exam; however, some men will only have the first portion of the testing done due to embarrassment or discomfort.

“You really need to have both parts of the test,” Taylor said. “Some men will get the PSA test and think that is adequate, but it is not. The most aggressive cancers tend to make very little PSA. Someone could have a normal PSA and a very advanced prostate cancer.”

Just get it done.

Beating prostate cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, the relative survival rate of all stages of prostate cancer when diagnosed and treated is almost 100 percent within five years, and 95 percent in 15 years.

Although survival rates cannot predict what will happen in an individual man’s situation, chances are better when diagnosed and treated early.

“If we can find it early, then it can usually be treated fairly easily, and people do very well,” Taylor said.