Attention All Men: September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the US behind some skin cancers. In the US, one out of every six men has a risk of developing prostate cancer in their lifetime. This year 27,000 US men will die from prostate cancer. That is 27,000 reasons why September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month.

Only lung cancer kills more men in the US than prostate cancer for those that die of a form of cancer. Prostate cancer does not discriminate. Every man is at risk for it.

The older a man gets the more of a chance he will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Men under the age of 40 have a 1 in 10,000 chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Men that are 60-69 years old have a 1 in 15 chance. In fact 65% of all of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over 65.

African American men also seem to have a higher risk for prostate cancer. They are 61% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a Caucasian male. There are no answers why some men develop prostate cancer and others do not. That is another reason why September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month.

The more people and especially men are aware of prostate cancer then the more men will be diagnosed at an early stage. Also more research will be done to help diagnosis, treat and prevent prostate cancer. That is the real goal behind why September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month.

More research is needed on the causes and the treatments for prostate cancer. Recent studies have found that more than 1 million men have been treated unnecessarily for prostate cancer over the past two decades. Another study just released showed a link of the virus XMRV to prostate cancer. This link may lead to a possible vaccine for prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is often a slow progressing cancer compared to other cancers. So many men may not ever be diagnosed with the cancer even if they have it. That is the reason many men do not go for their annual prostate cancer checkup. That is a dangerous risk to take, since an annual checkup can detect the prostate cancer at an early stage.

In addition to an annual prostate cancer checkup, there are several dietary changes men can do to help prevent or reduce their risk of prostate cancer. Mayo Clinic suggests these dietary habits to help against prostate cancer.

- Do not overeat.
- Avoid high-fat foods
- Eat whole grain foods.
- Limit sweet and salt.
- Drink alcohol in moderation.
- Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.
- Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, herring and mackerel.

Making more men aware of their risks of prostate cancer and to aid in the research on prostate cancer is the reason why September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month. Hopefully one day there will not be a need for the annual checkup, but until then it is important to for each man to do. With the annual checkup and following the dietary suggestions from Mayo Clinic, maybe next year's prostate cancer deaths and diagnosis numbers will be down.