Courtesy of Brain, Brawn, & Body
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States.
While it isn’t known why African American men have higher rates of getting and dying from prostate cancer, CDC believes that what you know can help you.
African American men should know the facts about prostate cancer.
Some medical experts believe all men should be offered regular screening tests for prostate cancer.
Other medical experts do not. Given the uncertainty about the benefit of screening, CDC supports informed decision making about screening.
When a man understands the nature and risks of prostate cancer and the risks, benefits, and alternatives to screening, he can make a decision consistent with his preferences and values.
It may be helpful to know these basic prostate cancer facts, which are listed on the Centers for Disease Control’s website (CDC):
• About one in seven men over the age of 60 will suffer from prostate cancer.
• African American men are among the most likely racial demographics to contract the disease.
• In Wisconsin, 103 out of 100,000 men will get prostate cancer,
• Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among men in the United States.
• Between 2002 and 2011, the incidence of prostate cancer went down considerably in African American men — by 2.9 percent