It's Movember! What do you know about Prostate Cancer?

It’s that time of year again. This month millions of moustaches are being sprouted all over the world for Movember, with the aim of raising vital funds and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health. So we thought, what better time to look at prostate cancer in more detail?

PROSTATE CANCER FACT SHEET

Each year in Australia, close to 3,300 men die of prostate cancer – equal to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually. Around 20,000 new cases are diagnosed in Australian every year.

Prostate cancer can be cured if detected and treated while still confined to the prostate gland. The tests for prostate cancer are the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test and the digital rectal examination (DRE). These tests do not give a conclusive diagnosis of cancer but can indicate the presence of prostate cancer.

While prostate cancer is most common in men over the age of 50, younger men with a history of prostate cancer in their family are at greater risk. What is complicated with prostate cancer is that some cancers grow very slowly and don’t threaten life, whilst others grow more rapidly and do. It is as a result of this dilemma that we recommend you take an active role in your decision on testing, and if you develop cancer, how you choose to be treated. It is your choice.

One in 11 Australian men will develop prostate cancer by age 70. The strongest risk factor is age and the chance of developing the disease rises rapidly after age 50. Family history of prostate cancer is also a known risk factor – and now, thanks to the kConFab research, a family history of breast or ovarian cancer can now be added as a known risk factor. Some families are cancer-prone because one of their genes carries a genetic fault (a mutation) that is passed from one generation to the next. Women who inherit a mutation in the BRCA2 gene are at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and this means they often have a family history of these cancers.

A man with a genetic fault in the BRCA2 gene has almost four times the risk of developing prostate cancer than do men in the general population. The BRCA2-prostate cancers that arise in these men also tend to be more aggressive. This kConFab study demonstrates the importance of men’s family cancer history, especially men who belong to a family with many cases of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Future research may provide evidence to support intensified screening of men at increased genetic risk and may lead to new treatments for this type of prostate cancer

Symptoms

There are four main disorders of the prostate. All can have similar symptoms, which may include one or more of the following:

Waking frequently at night to urinate
Sudden or urgent need to urinate
Difficulty in starting to urinate
Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
Discomfort when urinating
Painful ejaculation
Blood in the urine or semen
Decrease in libido (sex urge)
Reduced ability to get an erection

For more information log onto prostate.org.au

Foods

Vegetables (soy, in particular) may decrease the risk, while a high-fat diet that comprises mostly of animal fat sources (such as dairy products, fatty meats and takeaway foods) may increase the risk. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant found in tomatoes, tomato-based products, watermelon and strawberries that may help lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Foods to limit in your diet or eat less of include:

fatty red meats and processed meats
highly processed foods that are low in fibre
heavily salted and pickled foods.

Foods to eat more of:

The strongest protective anti-cancer effect has been shown with:

vegetables, especially raw vegetables or salads, such as leafy green vegetables and carrots
foods high in dietary fibre, such as grains and cereals
tomatoes
citrus fruits
cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and other Asian greens.

Include more of these vegetables and fruits in your diet along with other varieties.

Facts & figures

The chances of being diagnosed with prostate cancer are:

1 in 1,000 for a man in his 40s
12 in 1,000 for a man in his 50s
45 in 1000 for a man in his 60s
80 in 1,000 for a man in his 70s.
Prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer in Australian men and the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men.
1 in 9 men in Australia will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Around 20,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year in Australia.
About 3,300 men die of prostate cancer every year in Australia, which is equal to the number of women who die from breast cancer each year.
The five-year survival rate for prostate cancer has increased considerably, from 58% in the period 1982-87 to 92% in 2006-10.

Sources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Cancer in Australia 2010: an overview – PDF document, Cancer survival has improved over time in Australia), Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (Prostate Cancer Statistics)