Physicians Promote Prostate Health During This Year’s Men’s Health Month

American doctors want all men know all about prostate cancer prevention this Men’s Health Month. Hopefully the tips provided in this list can help you or a loved one avoid having to face this devastating diagnosis.

Although it’s not exactly a “hidden secret,” the best way to avoid all kinds of cancers is to exercise regularly. Men who have a healthy weight and eat a low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and veggies have a better chance of avoiding cancer completely.

You might want to consider adding some foods with high selenium levels into your diet. Selenium is a mineral that helps with maintaining healthy digestion and protecting cells. A few foods with tons of selenium include Brazil nuts, eggs, grass-fed beef, and turkey.

Wild salmon is another amazing food for prostate health. The main reason salmon is so good for you has to do with the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. If you don’t like salmon for whatever reason, don’t worry. You can always get the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in capsule form.

Now that you know all about the preventative measures you can take, let’s move on to the risk factors. Obviously, smoking is the top preventable risk factor when it comes to developing any cancer. A few other products you’ll want to avoid include processed meats, dairy products, and refined sugars.

Doctors recommend every man over the age of 50 get yearly prostate screenings to check for tumors. While some patients may experience symptoms like painful/difficult urination, sometimes prostate cancer presents no symptoms. That’s why it’s so important for men to get regular prostate screenings, especially as they get older.

If a doctor can catch prostate cancer early enough, it’s more likely that a patient will make a full recovery. A few of the more common treatment methods include cryotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.

There’s also a new surgical procedure called high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) all men should be aware of. In this non-invasive treatment, doctors use an ultrasound probe to send beams and sound waves to the affected areas in a person’s prostate. However, doctors can only use this therapy if they catch prostate cancer early on.

Prostate cancer now affects around 200,000 Americans each year. African Americans are more likely than any other ethnic group to suffer from this disease. Also, it’s more likely for a man with a family history of prostate cancer to get the disease.

Be sure to talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this disease.