Prostate cancer strikes 1 in 6 American men. If the cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms.

Knowing more about the prostate and prostate cancer is the first step in coming to terms with a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

While age, ethnicity and family history help determine who will get prostate cancer, other causes are poorly understood. Diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and obesity have been associated with prostate cancer but the evidence has not been consistent.

Day after day, the effects of dietary and lifestyle changes on the development and progression of prostate cancer are being discussed and explored by leading researchers in the field.

The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. In fact, more than 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65.

As men age, the prostate may become a source of various problems of which cancer is only one. The three most common problems are inflammation (prostatitis), prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia), and prostate cancer.

The most common misconception about the risk of prostate cancer is that the presence of non-cancerous conditions of the prostate increase the risk of prostate cancer. Even high levels of sexual activity or frequent ejaculation have been rumored to increase prostate cancer risk. This is untrue.

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer can be a life-altering experience. It requires making some very difficult decisions about treatments that can affect not only the life of the man diagnosed, but also the lives of his family members.

Copyright Glenda Erceg.

For more prostate cancer resources visit http://www.cancerofprostate.com.

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