WVU Health
SEPTEMBER IS PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
WVU School of Medicine professor Dr. Zaslau talks about September's National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month efforts.
So September is prostate cancer awareness month. This is the month that we remind men that prostate cancer is important to them. So men who are over the age of 40 who have a family history of prostate cancer, men whose fathers or brothers or siblings have prostate cancer, these are men who are at higher risk of prostate cancer. And men who are of African-American descent are also at higher risk of prostate cancer and should begin screening at age 40. For all other men between the ages of 55 and 69, this is a shared decision making. Men should consult their physician and ask them, "Should I be screened for prostate cancer are there any risks of prostate cancer and what are the different treatment options?" There are a hundred and seventy-five thousand cancers of the prostate diagnosed annually. Approximately 30,000 patients with prostate cancer will die from the disease. Sixty percent of men with prostate cancer are over the age of 65 at diagnosis. Prostate cancer has no symptoms, so for patients with early disease, unless they go for screening with a blood test or with a physical examination, a digital rectal exam, they may not know they ever have the disease.
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