prostate cancer developing risk factors

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Quiz: Find your prostate cancer risk factor

All men are at risk for developing prostate cancer as statistics show that about one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. The good news is, prostate cancer is a slow developing disease, so only one man in 34 will die of it.

This quiz aims to help you to learn about what can affect your risk of developing prostate cancer.

Besides being male, researchers have found several factors that may change the risk of getting it such as such as age, race, and family history. But risk factors don't tell us everything. Many people with one or more risk factors never get cancer, while others with this disease may have had no known risk factors. For some of these factors, the link to prostate cancer risk is not clear, yet.

Age

Age is the strongest risk factor for prostate cancer. The older you are, the greater your chance of developing prostate cancer. This disease is very rare before the age of 40, but the chance of having prostate cancer rises rapidly after age 50.

men under 50, have a 2 in 1,000 chance of having prostate cancer

a man in his 50s, has a 2 in 100 (2%) chance

between the ages of 60 and 69, men have an almost 7% chance

about 80% of men who reach age 80 have prostate cancer.

Race/ethnicity

Men of African descent have the highest percentage of prostate cancer incidence, followed by Caucasians, while Asians and American Indians have the lowest risk.The reasons for these racial and ethnic differences are not clear.

Family history

Prostate cancer seems to run in some families, which suggests that in some cases there may be an inherited or genetic factor. According to the American Cancer Society, having a father or brother with the disease more than doubles the risk for prostate cancer. Apparently, having a brother with prostate cancer increases your risk more than having an affected father does. The risk of developing prostate cancer is even higher when there are multiple family members affected.

Obesity

Some studies have concluded that obese men have a lower risk of getting a less dangerous form of prostate cancer, but a higher risk of getting more aggressive form of it. Studies have also found that obese men may be at greater risk for having more advanced prostate cancer and of dying from it, but this was not seen in other studies.

Diet

Food alone will not cure prostate cancer, but eating a diet high in the antioxidant lycopene (found in high levels in some fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and watermelon) may lower your risk of developing prostate cancer according to several studies. Despite the exact role of diet in prostate cancer is not clear, some studies have suggested that the disease is much more common in countries where meat and dairy products are dietary staples compared to countries where the basic diet consists of fish, rice, soybean products, and vegetables.

Vitamin D and selenium are thought to have protective effects against prostate cancer, calcium suppresses the body's natural production of vitamin. If you are planning to take extra supplements, speak to your doctor first about the appropriate amount.

Exposure

Have you been exposed to asbestos, lead or pesticides (herbicides, PCB) in your home, workplace or school? All of these substances have been known to increase your risk of developing cancer.

NOTE: Issues on this site regarding men's health and their concerns, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment.