Nutrition in Prostate Cancer Prevention – News, Tips, Recipes and More!
Your one-stop source for information on the optimal diet, the top 15 foods, and the best recipes for preventing prostate cancer.
Although genetics can greatly influence a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, lifestyle factors such as nutritional factors are thought to play a role as well. In this online guide to Nutrition in Prostate Cancer Prevention we provide you with information and tips on how you can reduce your risk of prostate cancer through nutrition.
If you don't know much about prostate cancer yet, start by reading the general information below. If you already know how prostate cancer develops, you can directly move to one of three main sections of this Nutrition and Prostate Cancer Guide:
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in Western countries. A man's risk of developing prostate cancer is 35% higher than a woman's risk of getting breast cancer. In 2009, an estimated 192,000 men in America will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and an estimated 27,000 people will die from this relatively slow-growing cancer this year. If current trends continue, 1 in 6 American men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime.
Under normal conditions, cells within the prostate grow, divide, and die in a controlled manner. Prostate cancer develops when the cells begin to grow out of control. Instead of dying, these cells outlive normal cells, invade adjacent tissues, and sometimes spread to other parts of the body (process called metastasis). Abnormal cell growths are called tumors. Prostate cancer is usually comprised of several very small tumors within the prostate. Provided it has not metastasized to other parts of the body, prostate cancer can often be successfully treated with surgery or radiation. Unfortunately, as it usually causes no symptoms early on, prostate cancer is often diagnosed only at a later stage when it has already spread to other parts of the body.
People with a family history of prostate cancer have a significantly higher risk of developing the disease than men without close relatives diagnosed with the disease. Men with a single first-degree relative (father, brother or son) with a history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease, while those with at least two close relatives affected are nearly four times as likely to develop the disease. The risk increases further if the family members were affected at a young age. Although genetics seem to influence a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, lifestyle factors, such as diet, are likely to have an effect as well. To learn more about dietary factors that may help prevent prostate cancer, continue to section Diet to Fight Prostate Cancer.
