Women against Prostate Cancer, a prostate cancer support group dedicated to supporting women and their families with prostate cancer, wants to make sure every woman knows the facts about the disease. Here are the top 5 things women need to know about prostate health:
1. What is the prostate? The prostate is a male gland the size of a walnut that helps transport sperm. It's just below the bladder.
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2. What is prostate cancer? A group of cells begins to grow out of control in the prostate and invade healthy tissue. Cancer cells can also spread from the prostate to other parts of the body.
3. Who is affected? It doesn't just affect men; this disease can affect the whole family, especially the wife and partner.
4. Who is at risk? According to the National Cancer Institute, 1 in 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, while the percentage is closer to 1 in 4 for African-American men. Nearly 190,000 American men will be diagnosed this year, which will ultimately result in approximately 27,000 deaths.
5. What are the risk factors? Although the exact cause is still unknown, some dynamics can increase a man's risk of prostate cancer, including:
Age: From the age of 50, the probability that a man will develop it increases greatly.
Family history: Those who have a father, brother, uncle, or other male relatives who had it are at increased risk.
Race: African-American men are at the highest risk of contracting the disease, being up to twice as likely to catch and die from the disease.