Prostate cancer is a slowly developing cancer, and because it develops slowly early identification can sometimes be difficult due to warning signs and symptoms not being immediately detectable. Prostate cancer shows up in 200,000 new men each year, and is responsibly for the death of 30,000 men annually. Most men over the age of 50 are susceptible to this cancer, and cases are fairly rare for men in their 30’s and 40’s. For African-American males, this cancer seems to be more common, and is much less common in countries in Asia and Latin America.

The prostate is responsible for the creation of the thick fluid that carries sperm, and when it gets cancer it can slowly grow and eventually spread to other organs and vital tissues in the body. Luckily in its early stages, before it reaches other parts of the body, prostate cancer can be cured, and is usually diagnosed early in 85% of American men. However, once this cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as bones and other organs it is incurable and can only be treated to slow its growth.

Prostate cancer can be caused by a number of factors, one of which being family history. If a man has family members in his past who have suffered from prostate cancer, he is more at risk for developing the cancer and even dieing from it. prostate cancer is affected by hormonal levels, so eating foods high in animal fact such as red meat, which increases the production of hormones, can have a huge impact on the development of prostate cancer. Men who work in environments with high levels of carcinogenic chemicals, such as metal cadmium, have been shown to be at a much higher risk for prostate cancer than males who do not work in these environments.

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