Having a child is both a joy and a blessing. And the special bond that parents form with their children is something that undeniably goes beyond words. But what if having children could possibly lead to prostate cancer?

A recent study shows that fathers who have daughters just might have greater risk compared to those who have sons. From www.TV3.co.nz:

Research shows men who father daughters have higher risk of cancer
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:00p.m.

New research indicates that men who father daughters, not sons, may be at a greater risk of developing prostate cancer.

Israeli scientists found that compared with men who had at least one son, men with only daughters were 40 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer.

Men with three daughters and no sons were up to 60 percent more likely.

Experts think a common genetic cause may affect both the risk of cancer, and the chance a man will father girls.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer.

Photo credits: Simona Balint

The ill-effects of excessive x-ray exposure has been known for quite sometime and researchers have found that unnecessary ones do heighten the risks of prostate Cancer. Medical professionals have long debated the importance of x-rays as a diagnostic tool which was of course the revolution of its day and was considered to be part of every medical exam. Today however as more and more knowledge about the mutating effects of radiation on cells of the human body are discovered and links are put together, they are now used only when necessary. Getting a medical exam which necessitates an x-ray should be considered only as necessary and the recommendation that one should get exposed to them only at least once a year is based on current trends.
Other tests which also use one form of radiation or another such as MRI’s and CT-Scans have also attained notoriety as a contributory factor that can lead to cancer so be sure to ask your doctor if it is necessary and do tell them of any underlying medical conditions to belay any untowards side-effects should you have it done.

It has been accepted that being overweight is grounds enough to assume that there is a higher chance of some medical condition. Much so that obesity has been blamed to be a cause of some of the world’s most deadly diseases such as colon cancer and other forms of the killer disease that it has received much attention from the medical field with custom treatments being formulated to prevent and manage obesity. If you have a high cancer probability, then lifestyle changes might be necessary to delay or prevent future manifestations of such debilitating diseases such as cancer. A little weight gain is good for those found to be underweight which might explain the utter inability of their bodies to counter the disease. Changing your lifestyle to a healthier one is indeed better than having to go under invasive or prolonged therapy and it is also helathier for you and your family’s well being.

Among the factors that determine the risk of having prostate cancer are age, diet, genes, and race. We have stated that it is the rate of incidence tends to increase along with age. That is why older men should be more proactive in learning about its symptoms in order to recognize the disease and take the necessary steps for treatment as early as possible.

If you belong to a race prone to having prostate cancer or if your family has history of it, you should be proactive as well.

Fatty diet is also associated with prostate cancer. Further studies are being performed to confirm the exact relation between the two.

The belief that prostate cancer occurs only among old men is without any basis. While it is true that the rate of incidence increases among old men, the fact remains that this disease can be acquired by younger men as well. Also, the number of men aged between 40 to 50 years old who are diagnosed with prostate cancer is increasing.

You may still be in your 40s but you are not superman, you have a long life to enjoy. In this situation, what is old or what is young anyway? If you are diagnosed to have prostate cancer, remember this: it is as fatal to a younger man as to a relatively older one. Do not dillydally in getting treatment, this disease does not wait.

image source: www.ibspro.net

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. When detected early, before it has spread to other organs, prostate cancer may be curable. A man’s risk for prostate cancer increases with age, and most cases develop in men over age 65 but many older men with prostate cancer die of another cause like heart disease before the cancer has grown enough to cause problems. There is controversy about the value of using digital rectal exams and prostate-specific antigens (PSA) blood test to screen men for prostate cancer. Detecting early prostate cancer may not improve quality of life or prolong life, especially in men who are older or have other serious problems. Therefore many experts are uncertain whether routine screening is appropriate for all men. Since it’s really that much helpful to men, go and talk to your doctor to learn about your risk in getting prostate cancer and whether if screening test are still appropriate for you.

Men who have strong occurrence of breast and ovarian cancer have been found to have a higher risk of developing Prostate Cancer according to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition of Australia. The most aggressive genes responsible for the diseases in women will get a higher risk of contracting it for the link between the BRCA2 gene and its manifestation in males of the same bloodline has long been suspected but till now no direct link has been established. This new study has determined that the occurrence of the gene in males from families with women who have had the diseases do get prostate cancer than those with no family history of the disease. Current tests such as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) have the ability to detect both benign and malignant form of the disease, the earlier being of no serious threat to the health of the individual.

“Men can have prostate cancer and it won’t cause a problem, or they can have prostate cancer and it will kill them,” Dr Suthers said. “We have tests, but they don’t distinguish between those two types. It may well be that the men with the BRCA2 gene have a more malignant type … If that’s confirmed in the next few years, it may mean there’s sufficient information to say that although PSA screening for the general population is not recommended, screening for men with the BRCA2 mutation may be warranted.”

The links between diabetes and Prostate cancer has been strengthened by the discovery by researchers of six genes that are associated with prostate cancer. One gene called JAZF1, in particular of the 16 now associated with diabetes has been shown to have a definitive cause of prostate cancer which is broadening their view of possible genetic cures for the disease. A variant of the diabetes causing gene, JAZF1 is undergoing further studies to show the relationship with diabetes for they occur at different parts of the gene.

“The remarkable recent progress in identifying regions of the genome that increase risk to diabetes—from 3 to 16 in only a year—will help us unravel the complex basis diabetes and may suggest new and better tailored methods to prevent or treat this disease.,” said U-M’s Michael Boehnke, the lead scientist on the Finland-United States Investigation of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Genetics (FUSION) study group, one of the three lead groups in the study.”

These are just some of the new medical marvels that are being revealed by studying the human genome and the roles genes and other particles within our DNA and the role’s they play that results in the disease.

Danish scientists have found through a 35 year study that the risk of developing prostate cancer in married men is higher that in unmarried ones. The study started through interviews and exams followed by the extensive 35year follow ups that showed, men with less children having the highest risks of developing prostate cancer. Unmarried men and those with more than one children have lower Prostate cancer risks but the idea that becoming a father increases you risk of getting the disease is a controversial one. More studies are being conducted to understand other factors that might have affected the study such as underlying biologic, environmental, social and behavioral factors that may have caused such results for linking fatherhood with prostate cancer is a very controversial claim.

The staging is referred to the process of determining how far the cancer has spread within the body. For prostate cancer, there are four stages.

Stage I
At this stage, the cancer is hard to detect. It can be discovered through needle biopsy or even accidentally when the patient is examined for other illness. The tumor is still small and within the prostate.

Stage II
Here, the tumor is still within the prostate but in an advanced level than in Stage I. The tumor can be detected using imaging tests.

Stage III
The cancer has already spread beyond the prostate gland and can be found in nearby tissues.

Stage IV
The cancer is now on the other organs near the prostate gland such as bladder, liver, or rectum.