Download What is prostate cancer?

Prostate Cancer
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate Cancer
• Prostate cancer is the most
common cancer in men
• In the UK, 35,000 men are
diagnosed with prostate cancer
every year
• In the UK, 11,000 men die of
prostate cancer every year
Prostate vs Breast Cancer
• Breast cancer is the second most
common cancer in the UK
• There were 12,082 deaths from breast
cancer in the UK in 2007
• 11,990 (99%) of these were in women
and 92 (1%) were in men
Where is the prostate gland?
Prostate Gland
The main types of
prostate problems
• a non-cancerous enlargement of the
prostate called Benign Prostatic
Hyperplasia (BPH) – this is the most
common prostate problem
• inflammation or infection of the
prostate (prostatitis)
• prostate cancer
Most common symptoms
• A weak or reduced urine flow
• A need to urinate more often, especially at
night
• A feeling that your bladder has not emptied
properly
• Difficulty starting to pass urine
• Dribbling urine
• Needing to rush to the toilet – you may
occasionally leak urine before you get there
If you have any of these
symptoms, visit your GP!
What are the risk factors
for prostate cancer?
Who is most at risk?
• Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50
• Younger men can be affected but this is rare
• The risk of developing prostate cancer rises with age
• Your risk increases if a close family member (father or
brother) has prostate cancer
• Your risk increases further if more than one close
relative has prostate cancer, or if your relative was
under the age of 60 when they were diagnosed
• In the UK, Afro-Caribbean men are three times more
likely than white men to develop prostate cancer
What can I do to help
prevent developing prostate
cancer?
Improve your diet
• You cannot alter most risk factors; but you
can control your diet. This will also have
other health benefits such as reducing your
risk of heart disease and diabetes
• Research suggests that some foods not only
help to prevent prostate cancer, but may also
slow down the growth of prostate cancer in
men who already have the disease, or reduce
the chance of prostate cancer returning after
treatment
What should I eat?
What should I eat more of?
What does it do?
How do I include it in my diet?
Fruit and vegetables
Reduces your risk of cancer and
other medical problems
Eat at least five portions each day
Try to include a ‘rainbow of colours’ in your diet
Cruciferous vegetables
May reduce your risk of getting
prostate cancer
Eat more cabbage-like vegetables such as broccoli,
cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale
Lycopene
May reduce your risk of
prostate cancer and slow down
its spread
Lycopene is found in tomatoes (particularly cooked and
processed tomatoes), watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava and
papaya
Green tea
May protect against
development and growth of
prostate cancer
Try drinking green tea in place of any hot drinks you have
throughout the day
Oily fish
Fats in oily fish may help
prevent prostate cancer
developing and growing
Eat fresh, canned or frozen oily fish two or three times each
week
Examples of oily fish include sardines, pilchards, mackerel,
salmon, tuna (fresh or frozen tuna only) and shrimp
Soy
May reduce the risk of prostate
cancer
Choose traditional forms of soy such as tofu, miso and
tempeh, available from supermarkets and health food shops
Pulses
May help to prevent prostate
cancer
Include more beans, peas and lentils in your diet
Whole grains
May reduce your risk of several
cancers, including prostate
cancer
Whole grain foods include brown bread, whole grain cereals,
whole grain pasta
A Rainbow of Colours
Red
Tomatoes, raspberries, watermelon, kidney beans, strawberries,
red onions, radishes, red peppers
Purple
Aubergines, grapes, aduki beans, blueberries, red cabbage, plums
Orange
Carrots, oranges, mangoes, apricots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin,
orange peppers, butternut squash
Yellow
Pineapples, sweetcorn, peaches, chicory, bananas, yellow peppers
Green
Spinach, broccoli, avocados, peas, pears, kiwi fruit, lettuce, green
peppers, courgettes, marrows, fresh herbs, watercress
What happens at the doctor’s?
• You can talk to your doctor about your
symptoms and you can ask any him/her any
questions you may have
• Your doctor may ask you to fill out a
questionnaire about your symptoms to see how
much bother they are causing you
• There are a few tests that your doctor may
carry out to find out if you have a prostate
problem
What are the tests?
Common tests are:
• A urine ‘dipstick’ test to check for infection
• A blood test called a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
test – usually done once an infection has been ruled
out
• A physical examination called DRE (Digital Rectal
Examination) – usually done after the urine and blood
tests
• A test to measure the force of your urine flow
• An ultrasound scan to check whether your bladder is
emptying properly
The PSA Test
• The prostate gland makes a protein called
PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen). It is normal
to have some PSA in the blood. The PSA level
rises as you get older, so a man aged 70 will
have a higher PSA than a man aged 50
• Your GP can measure the amount of PSA in
your blood by taking a sample of your blood
and sending it to a laboratory to be tested.
If there is a problem in the prostate caused
by BPH, prostatitis or prostate cancer, the
levels of PSA in the blood can go up
New Treatments
• Abiraterone, the wonder drug that had
amazing trial results two years ago
• It shrunk tumours in 80% of men whose
cancer had spread throughout their
body
• The reovirus, injected into patients,
found it killed off cancer cells but
spared normal tissue
New Treatments
What support is available?
The Prostate Cancer Charity provide support and information to
partners, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends of men
affected by prostate cancer.
As well as offering support either by telephone or via e-mail, they
also signpost callers to support groups and other sources of valuable
information.
Telephone Support Helpline: 0800 074 8383
Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm / Wednesday 7pm - 9pm
Website: www.prostate-cancer.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Real Man Campaign
M&S & the Prostate
Cancer Charity join
forces every year to
promote prostate
cancer awareness with
their blue, ‘Real Man’
pin badge
Any questions?
Contact: Andrea Vickers
[email protected]