Risks Of Developing Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer occurs when the prostate gland cells start to grow uncontrollably. Most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas. They develop from the gland cells in the prostate that are responsible for creating the prostate fluid that is added to the semen. The prostate gland is found only in individuals assigned as male at birth. It is located under the bladder and in front of the rectum.

Understanding prostate cancer risks and getting help from senior home care and family caregivers gives your senior loved one the best defense.

 

Prostate Risk Factors that can’t be Changed

There are risk factors that your aging loved one can take steps to reduce, but for prostate cancer, many of the more dominant risks are things that he can’t change. While it may seem frustrating if you find your loved one has many of these risk factors, they can help you and his senior home care team determine if he needs to approach the changeable risk factors more prudently.

 

Four factors that may increase his risk of developing prostate cancer.

1. Age: Most prostate cancers are detected after the age of 65. Simply by getting older, your loved one increases his risk.
2. Race: African-American men and Caribbean-African men have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. This risk is lower for Asian-American and Latino men.
3. Family History: While most occurrences of prostate cancer occur in men with no family history, men with a brother or a father who has had prostate cancer do have an increased risk of developing the disease.
4. Inherited Mutated Genes:  The inherited variants of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, known for increasing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, can also increase the risk of prostate cancer.

 

Prostate Risk Factors your loved one can work with his senior home care team on reducing.

If your loved one has multiple risk factors that can’t be changed, it’s more important than ever that he strives to make changes in lifestyle and health choices to reduce other factors that may compound with those unchangeable factors and increase his risk of prostate cancer. His senior home care team is a great resource for support and implementation.

 

Three Lifestyle Changes to Make to Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer

Diet Adjustments

Diets rich in calcium and high-fat dairy can increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. While your loved one should still strive to receive the normal daily allowance of calcium his body needs, if he reviews his diet and sees it is extremely high in calcium, he should work with his senior home care team to reduce or supplement the high-calcium items.

Obesity

While obesity doesn’t increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, some studies are showing it increases the aggressiveness of it, causing it to grow faster and be harder to treat. Work with your loved one’s doctor to determine what a healthy weight is, and then work with his senior home care team to help him implement lifestyle changes that may help him lose weight.

Smoking

Much like obesity, smoking doesn’t seem to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, but it does increase the risk that it’ll be more aggressive. It can also reduce his body’s ability to fight off other cancers, putting him in a weakened immune state.

 

The Best Course of Action Concerning Prostate Cancer

Because the main risk factors are unavoidable, your loved one’s best defense is a good offense. Making healthy lifestyle choices with the help of senior home care and family caregivers and getting regularly screened for prostate cancer will help ensure if he does develop the disease, it’ll be easily treatable.

 

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering Senior Home Care in Jericho, NY, please contact the caring staff at Brookville Homecare today. 516-802-7722