Page 1 - Prostate Cancer Prevention
P. 1

Urological Health


                                 Prostate cancer prevention








        Prostate cancer is common in men. There are some steps you can take to try and reduce
        your risk of prostate cancer.


             rostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed        What is cancer?
        Pcancer in Canadian men. One out of six
        Canadian men will develop prostate cancer during          Cells in the body normally grow in an organized,
        their lifetime. Prostate cancer is usually curable if     controlled manner. There is a balance between
        diagnosed early. Even when the disease is advanced,       new cells being produced and old cells dying. The
        treatment can relieve symptoms and make one live          number of cells is approximately the same because
        longer. This brochure will will explain many facts about   of this balance. When control of this balance is lost,
        prostate cancer and suggest some methods for              new cells grow more rapidly than old cells die. These
        preventing it.                                            cells become abnormal and can form a tumor or
                                                                  growth. Some of these tumors are called benign (not
                                                                  cancer) because they grow slowly and do not spread
                                                                  elsewhere in the body. Other tumors invade and
                                                                  destroy normal tissue and are called malignant tumors
                                                                  or cancer. These tumors can spread to other parts
                                                                  of the body where they can grow (these are called
                                                                  metastases).
                                       bladder
                                       prostate                   What is prostate cancer?
                                       urethra
                                                                  Prostate cancer occurs when cells within the
                                                                  prostate gland continue to grow uncontrollably
                                                                  and they may spread to other areas of the body.
                                                                  Prostate cancer should not be confused with benign
                                                                  prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is a very common
                                                                  noncancerous growth of the prostate and which
                                                                  can compress the urethra, causing urinary symptoms.
                                                                  Most prostate cancers do not cause any urinary
        What is the prostate?                                     symptoms. A man’s prostate gland naturally grows as
                                                                  he ages and he may experience difficulty emptying
        The prostate is a small gland about the size and          his bladder from this process. BPH is not related to
        shape of a chestnut. It is situated just below the        prostate cancer.
        bladder and surrounds the urethra, the passageway
        that carries urine from the bladder through the penis     Who gets prostate cancer?
        during urination. Women do not have a prostate. The
        prostate secretes fluid, which forms part of the semen    There are some things that we cannot change: for
        in which sperm  are transported.                          instance, the genes we inherit from our parents.
                                                                  Currently, we know that some prostate cancers can
                                                                  be inherited from a relative. Men with a first-degree
                                                                  relative (e.g. father, brother) are at increased risk
                                                                  of developing prostate cancer. Certain races and
                                                                  ethnic groups are also at increased risk for developing
                                                                  prostate cancer (e.g. men of African descent).
                                                                  Generally, the risk of prostate cancer is increased as a
                                                                  man ages (>55 years of age).

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