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Previous page: Prostate cancer questions and answers (2)
Whatever treatment you receive, you will be closely monitored while you're having it and afterwards to see how well the treatment is working. This may include
Through research, doctors are trying to find new, more effective ways to treat prostate cancer. These include using a team approach, keyhole surgery (laparoscopic prostatectomy), cryotherapy, chemotherapy, biologic therapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound. They are also exploring new ways to schedule and combine various treatments.
More on these approaches here: New treatments and techniques for prostate cancer
Men with close family members (father or brother) who have had prostate cancer are more likely to get it themselves, especially if their relatives were young when they got the disease. In addition, if several women in your family have had breast cancer (especially if they were diagnosed at under 40 years of age) an inherited faulty gene may be present, and that gene may also increase the risk of the men in that family getting prostate cancer.
Some people get cancer because of changes to their DNA. A small percentage (about 5% to 10%) of prostate cancers are linked to such changes.
But at the moment, no genetic risk has been firmly established.
A high fat diet may increase your risk. Men who eat a lot of red meat (especially in a barbeque) or high-fat dairy products seem to have a greater chance of getting prostate cancer. But note, these men also tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables, and no-one's sure which of these factors causes the risk to go up. Diets high in cooked tomatoes and high in phyto-estrogens found in soy products, lentils, beans and wholegrain cereals have also been reported to have a protective effect against prostate cancer but the evidence is not conclusive.
In any event, a low fat diet is generally accepted to be better for your heart, so the best advice is to eat 5 or more servings of vegetables and fruits each day and to eat less red meat and high-fat dairy products.
Studies to find out whether men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer by taking certain dietary supplements are ongoing. The commonly suggested prostate health nutrients are selenium, calcium D-glucarate, green tea, broccoli, grape seed, maitake mushroom,lycopene, fish oil, garlic, vitamin D, vitamin E, pomegranate juice, red clover, Quercetin and Zyflamend (and also red wine!).
At the moment, no dietary factor has been proven to change your risk of developing prostate cancer or to alter the course of the disease after diagnosis.
More details here: Prostate health supplements