Just What Are The Risks Of Developing Prostate Cancer And What Can Be Done By Way Of Prevention

For several years now there has been a great deal of debate about prostate cancer and the subject of prostate cancer prevention specifically is still rather controversial. Even though, as with most cancers, men are not themselves the cause of their own prostate cancer, there are clearly a number of risk factors for developing the disease and there is much which can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then without doubt to lessen your risk of developing it.The initial step in preventing prostate cancer is simply to understand that you are at risk of developing the disease 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 greater risk and that the risk for somebody with one close relative having the condition is about twice that of somebody without any family history. If you have two close relatives then the risk rises to about five times that of somebody with no family history and if you have three close relatives the risk reaches an almost incredible ninety-seven percent.

The problem here is that a lot of men are not aware of their family history, commonly because a lot of grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died from other illnesses without even knowing they had prostate cancer. This happens because prostate cancer will often develop late in life and can be a very slow growing form of cancer. As a consequence there is a very good chance of individuals developing other conditions together with their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately cause their death.Accordingly, if you are uncertain of your family history, then a good starting point is to check things out if you can. If this is not possible, then it is probably a good idea to err on the side of caution and assume that the risk might be there rather than simply assume that you are in the clear.The next very important factor is that of race. For instance, African American men 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 approximately sixty percent higher than that of a Caucasian man.

Another risk factor is diet and men living in Western countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom are at higher risk as a result of the high levels of fat in many Western diets. Here at last we have a risk factor which you can actually do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating things like more vegetables and fresh fruit can lower your risk quite considerably.At this point we start to run into difficulty as, after the principle of reducing fat levels in the diet, views begin to differ when it comes to other areas of the diet which could be helpful in prostate cancer prevention.There is very little doubt that levels of things like minerals and vitamins in your diet can have a significant affect on your general health and will without question have a role to play in your prostate health. However, working out exactly which minerals and vitamins have a part to play is a difficult matter and is certainly a subject all of its own.ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on many prostate problems and their solutions including such question as should I have prostate cancer surgery?