A Deadly Trend in Prostate Cancer May Be Slipping By Us

3 million+ cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in America. The bad news is it’s hitting younger men and hitting them hard.

In a 2014 paper, Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found:

“the number of younger men diagnosed with prostate cancer has increased nearly 6-fold in the last 20 years, and the disease is more likely to be aggressive in these younger men.”

Prostate cancer risk typically increases as men age and researchers are unsure why they are seeing the increase of cases in younger men. The are looking at a variety of factors from genetics to the rise in obesity rates.

Early onset prostate cancer tends to be fast-growing and thus deadlier. The speed at which it develops often means it can slip by screenings.

Potential symptoms include: trouble urinating, decreased pressure in urination, blood in semen, erectile dysfunction, bone pain and general discomfort in the pelvic area according to the Mayo Clinic.

Prostate cancer is often associated with much older men leading younger men not to check with doctors if troubling symptoms arise.

If obesity turns out to be a leading cause of the higher rates in younger men, it’s one more reason to eat a balanced diet that’s high in fiber, exercise, and maintain a healthy weight.

Sources:
Science Daily, Mayo Clinic