Taking a Look at Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer being a huge cause of mortality and medical expense in men age forty and above has only recently become a topic of general conversation to men in America (Plowden, 2009). African-American men are affected by prostate cancer at a disproportional level than all other men. They are diagnosed up to 65% more frequently and the mortality rate is twice that of Caucasian counterparts (Emerson, 2009). The African-American male is also less likely to take advantage of free prostate cancer screening (Oliver, 2007).

For example, age is the biggest factor. We all know that as men age and get older they run a higher chance of their prostate enlarging and developing cancer. Family history and race are also the other two big ones. If people in your immediate family have had the cancer, then you run a higher risk of contraction because you’re already genetically predisposed to getting prostate cancer. Also, African American men are more likely to be diagnosed with the cancer, with white and Hispanic men following behind. According to the CDC, from the years 1999-2013, black men had higher mortality and contraction rates than men of other races and ethnicities.1 Hormones are also a risk factor; should the male be producing a lot of testosterone could put him at risk.

Prostate Cancer is a disease in which there is an uncontrolled growth of cells that lines the ducts of the prostate gland. The abnormal cells can spread throughout the prostate and nearby organs, such as the seminal vesicles. If not caught early they can spread (metastasized) to other organs of the body through the lymph or blood stream. (“...Treatment...” 13) Prostate Cancer can be like a silent killer. Some may show signs and symptoms of this disease while others may not. Some symptoms may include frequent urination, blood in the urine or semen, delayed or slowed start of urinary stream and dribbling or leakage of urine. Diagnosis testing for Prostate Cancer are digital

* 31% of all male deaths under the age of 75 (48,000) are caused by cancer.

Scientists are sure there are many more they just have not yet been diagnosed. The cancers that are most common in women are breast cancer and cancer of the uterus. The cancers that are most common in men are lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. Lung cancer kills more than 50,000 men a year. More men are likely to get lung cancer because in general men smoke more than women. Along with these leading cancers among women and men there are several other cancers that are common in both. Cancers of the colon, rectum, and large intestine kill more than 45,000 Americans a year (Altman and Sang 78). With numbers like that a person may begin to wonder if anyone survives the cancer

Make this November about prostate cancer and raise awareness with “Movember.” Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of men’s cancer, second to skin cancer. And it is also one of the leading causes of cancer death for men, according to the American Cancer Society. Making medical advice essential this Movember.

The death rates among African Americans for all cancers combined are 32% higher for men and 16% higher for women than white men and women. The most common cancers among African American men are prostate (40%), lung (15%), and colon and rectum (9%). Among African American women, the most common types of cancer are breast (34%), lung (13%), and colorectum (11%). About 1 in 2 African American men and 1 in 3 African American women are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women have a high probability of dying from cancer.

The goal is to educate men about their risks and encourage them to get a screening. Age and race are factors with African American men having an increased risk factor and higher probability. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. Early intervention is key to a successful treatment plan.

The leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States and worldwide is lung cancer. Lung cancer is responsible for thirty percent of cancer deaths in the United States. The deaths caused by breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer combined do not add up to the deaths that lung cancer causes. In 2007, 158,683 people, 88,243 men and 70,354 women died from lung cancer in the United States (Eldridge, 2012). Out of the 158,683 people that died from lung cancer in 2007, 135,000 of them died of lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes. The overall survival rate of those with lung cancer is at about fifteen percent.

Each year approximately 233,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer (Eggener, Cifu, & Nabhan, 2015). In 2015, prostate cancer was the second most common cancer related cause of death among United States men (Eggener, et. al., 2015). While the majority of prostate cancers are slow growing with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 98%, statistics show that when prostate cancer is identified as metastatic, the 5-year survival rate dramatically drops down to 20-25% (Eggener, et. al., 2015). According to these numbers alone, it appears screening for prostate cancer would be a well-accepted practice. However, current methods of screening for this cancer are controversial and has lead organizations like the U.S Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to different guidelines for screening.

The fact is African-American men have the 2nd highest five-year survival rate in the world, after U.S. white men. If race then does not matter, then why do Blacks still have a higher incidence and mortality from prostate cancer? We can break the factors into categories related to incidence and/or

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in African American men and has the highest reported mor¬tality rate, which is 2.4 times higher than in Caucasian men or any racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2014). African American males, including those from Jamaica, a Caribbean Island, have the highest prostate cancer incidence rates worldwide. The reason for this is not clear, but may reflect genetic factors that vary in populations

The graph above shows the Melanoma Incidence and Mortality in the United States. Melanoma is one of the newest type of cancer diagnosis that is the fifth most common type of new cancer in American men and the seventh most common in American women. Whites or Caucasians are more at risk of growing melanoma than African Americans, which makes the incidence and mortality rates for melanoma highest in Whites and Caucasians. Incidence rates are higher in women than in men that are younger than the age of 45 years old. Melanoma incidence rates in men are more than twice as higher of those in women at the age of 60 or older. When a man reaches the age of 80 they are three times more times likely to grow melanoma than women. The yearly incidence rate

Meanwhile, in addition to the male's occupation, radiation exposure and age can lead to breast cancer developments ( National Cancer Institute, 2007). When these risk factors are revealed in a diagnoses of breast cancer, men have more advanced cancerous growths than women (Giordano, 2004). So men may think, how do I get breast cancer? Is it inherited?

Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases in 2012.2 The amount of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades. Cancer which causes nearly 1 in 6 deaths, is the second leading cause of death globally, and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries. In 2012 about 14.1 million new cases of cancer occurred globally (not including skin cancer other than melanoma).3 The most common types of cancer in males are lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.