Prostate Cancer

About 218,000 men were diagnosed last year with prostate cancer, and about 27,000 men died from the disease, according to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Although doctors continue to debate the best approach to detecting early-stage prostate cancer, men age 50 and older (or younger for those who are at risk) should be screened annually for prostate cancer, says Dr. Ira Hantman of the Urology Center at Mercy Medical Center. Who should be screened for prostate cancer? The general guidelines still are that men 50 and older should have both a PSA screening (blood test)

If you have several male relatives who developed prostate cancer, or one who got it before age 55, you may be carrying a gene that may give you prostate cancer before you're 55, researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital have found.If you did inherit the gene, there's an 88 percent chance you'll have prostate cancer before age 85, the scientists say, and they strongly recommend that you seek annual screening for prostate cancer beginning at age 40.Researchers at Hopkins' Brady Urological Institute say genetic testing cannot yet identify the responsible gene.

Researchers have found a previously unknown virus in some men with prostate cancer, a discovery that could lead to better understanding and treatment of the disease, the most common type of cancer among men. The discoverers do not know exactly why the virus is present in the men, but "there is now a suggestion that prostate cancer could be caused by an infectious disease," said Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic, who reported the discovery yesterday at...

An estimated 30,000 men who have had prostate cancer surgery will relapse this year, and half of them will die. But many of those patients can be saved, a new study says, if doctors treat them with radiation therapy at the earliest signs of recurrence. In cases where prostate cancer appears to be returning after surgery, doctors usually forgo using local radiation treatment altogether because they assume the disease has spread. Hormones, which are helpful but cannot cure the disease, are typically given instead.

Which would you rather have . . . filet mignon and broccoli or prostate cancer?According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, 120,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. And 32,000 will die from it.Several studies indicate that high-fat diets might be associated with an increased death rate of men with prostate cancer, according to AICR's latest brochure, "Diet, Nutrition, and Prostate Cancer."So, for some men, the deciding factor in development of prostate cancer may be as simple as choosing smaller portions of meat (3 ounces per meal)

Q: My brother was operated on for prostate cancer. Does that mean that I have an increased danger of getting prostate cancer?A: A number of studies have shown that men have a significantly higher risk of developing prostate cancer if other family members have the disease.The magnitude of the increased risk depends on three factors: the number of family members affected, the closeness of the family relationship, and the age of diagnosis of prostate cancer in the family member. The risk is greater if the affected family member is a first-degree relative (father or son)

Concerned about the high rate of prostate cancer among men in the black community, Liberty Medical Center and 100 Black Men of Maryland will offer free prostate cancer screenings in the Baltimore area.The screenings, which begin today at Liberty Medical Center in Northwest Baltimore, will be held at several locations throughout the metropolitan area for a year.Everard O. Rutledge, president and CEO of Liberty Medical, said that prostate cancer is an often deadly disease for black men that can be cured with early detection, and treated effectively when detected later.

WASHINGTON -- Government medical researchers said yesterday that they would spend $14 million over three years to probe the genetic causes of breast and prostate cancer. The "Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility" project will first review 2,500 DNA samples to identify the mutations that cause most cases of prostate cancer, the National Institutes of Health said in a news release. The project will later study breast cancer. The findings will be followed by bigger studies to confirm the results, NIH said.

THE RECENT debate over early detection of prostate cancer rekindles the words of Winston Churchill during World War II: "Action in pursuit of perfection equals paralysis." Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in American men; two every five minutes in this country are told they have it, and more than 30,000 will die from it this year alone. Millions of men and their families have already been devastated by prostate cancer. That's why millions of others don't need another excuse to avoid taking care of their health.

The Orioles' Mike Bordick and Ray Miller are among the more than 70 major-league players and managers promoting a home run challenge to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer research.From June 20 through June 25, every home run hit in major-league games will raise money for research to cure the disease, which affects one of every six American men. Individuals can pledge from 25 cents to $10,000 for each home run hit, and donations benefit CaP CURE, the Association for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate, as well as the Cancer Research Institute and the National Prostate Cancer Coalition.