Nearly 250,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men. While some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or even no treatment, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly. 

Providers at Ascension Saint Thomas want to increase public awareness for the importance of prostate health and screenings, educating about risk factors and symptoms, and advocating for further research on prostate health issues. 

Here are five things Ascension Saint Thomas
physicians recommend men know about prostate cancer:

1.) Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk of developing the disease.

2.) Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than age 40, but the chance of having prostate cancer rises rapidly after age 50.

3.) Prostate cancer occurs more often in African-American men than in other ethnicities. African-American men are also more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer than Caucasian men.

4.) Prostate cancer can often be found before symptoms start by testing the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a man’s blood.

To lower the risk of cancer, including prostate cancer, men should focus on eating a diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables,  whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meats and non-meat protein sources such as nuts and beans.