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Men’s Health Month: Treating and Preventing Prostate Cancer

Posted on by angelo
Men’s Health Month: Treating and Preventing Prostate Cancer

June is National Men’s Health Month and prostate cancer remains a major health challenge. It is estimated that one in eight men will be diagnosed with this condition in their lifetime. Adding to this challenge is the reluctance of men to talk about their health problems, particularly their family history. Learning more facts can help you better understand the disease and share information with others.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in men in the United States, excluding skin cancer. In 2024, the American Cancer Society predicts more than 299,000 new diagnoses and more than 35,000 deaths from the disease, highlighting the critical need for awareness and early detection since early prostate cancer typically causes no symptoms.

All men are at risk of developing prostate cancer, but each man’s risk can vary depending on his age, race, ethnicity, and other factors. Researchers have found that these factors can increase your risk:

  • Age: About 6 out of 10 prostate cancers affect men over 65 years old.
  • Family history: Having a parent, sibling, or child diagnosed with prostate cancer more than doubles the risk of developing prostate cancer.
  • Race/ethnicity/communities: For example, increased risk is seen among black men, where one in seven are likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and one in five veterans are likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer .

However, having one risk factor, or even several, does not mean you will get the disease. Despite its prevalence, the disease often has no symptoms, making regular screenings essential for early intervention. Knowing your risk helps you inform yourself about the screening schedule, discuss regular checkups with your doctor, and when you should start annual screening.

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If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is important to know that there are many prostate cancer treatment choices to consider. Your treatment options will depend on several factors, including stage, tumor grade, age, general health, and personal preferences. Understanding these options, their benefits and potential side effects is essential in the decision-making process.

For most patients with prostate cancer, radiotherapy is a treatment option. Swedish CyberKnife is a type of radiation therapy that can reduce the risk of damage to surrounding healthy tissue. It is the only radiotherapy device capable of tracking, detecting and correcting the movement of a tumor in real time.

The prostate can move unpredictably during treatment, making the ability to detect and correct movement critically important. These capabilities allow the Swedish CyberKnife team to deliver radiation with sub-millimeter precision, helping to minimize the risk of side effects with as little impact on your love life or urinary and bowel functions as possible.

Other key benefits of the CyberKnife include a short treatment with only five treatments, each lasting less than an hour. Most patients can continue normal activity throughout treatment and report better quality of life during and after treatment, compared to other treatment options.

For more information on this cutting-edge technology and its benefits, visit the Swedish website.