Some of the specific risk factors for prostate cancer include age, race, and family history. Most of the time prostate cancer is found in men who are over the age of 50 and about eight out of 10 men who have prostate cancer are older than the age of 65.

For reasons that are unknown, African-American men have a higher risk for prostate cancer than Caucasian men. And men who have male family members, such as their son, father, or brother who have had prostate cancer, also have a higher risk of developing the disease.

Another risk factor is being overweight and/or consuming a high fat diet. Men who eat high fat foods often and who are obese have a higher risk for getting prostate cancer.

Symptoms

There are a lot of different symptoms that someone with prostate cancer could experience. A man may experience pain during urination, or he may have pus or blood in his urine, he could dribble before or after he is done urinating, and he may have frequent and urgent needs to urinate. He may also have a hard to beginning to urinate or have less force in his stream of urine.

Some of the other symptoms for prostate cancer appear during sex. A man may have pain during ejaculation or have blood in his semen. Some men experience hip, pelvis, and lower back pain. And the pain in the man's hip or their lower back will not go away after awhile. Or the man could loss weight unintentionally or lose his appetite.

Tests

There are two very common tests that are done on a man to see if he does have prostate cancer. Sometimes these tests are just done as a precaution and sometimes they are done because a man has been experiencing symptoms of prostate cancer.

The first tests that a doctor may perform, to see if a man does have prostate cancer, is the digital rectal examination, DRE. During this test the doctor will insert a lubricated, gloved finger into the man's rectum. The doctor will feel the man's prostate gland, searching for any lumps or hardness. This test is simple, and can be easily done, but may not be very accurate. Sometimes a hard prostate gland does not mean cancer. It is important for the doctor, if he suspects cancer, to perform more than one type of test.

Another test that a doctor may perform when looking for prostate cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This test is a blood test that will give the doctor the level of the prostate-specific antigen in the man's blood. The prostate-specific antigen is a protein that is made by the prostate gland cells. Both cancerous and noncancerous prostate gland cells produce this protein, but cancerous cells tend to do so in higher amounts.

Since some of the protein gets into the man's blood, a higher level of PSA in his blood could mean that he has prostate cancer. Once again, this test isn't a perfect indicator of prostate cancer either and a man who has a high level of PSA in his blood may not have prostate cancer.

Treatments

There are a couple different treatments for prostate cancer. A man should do research to decide which treatment is best for him. The choice of treatment can also depend on the man's age and how fast his cancer is growing.

A man may choose the treatment "watchful waiting" if the cancer is not growing very quickly or if he is older. During this treatment the man will visit his doctor often and they will watch the growth of the cancer. If it begins to grow quicker the man may choose to switch to another treatment.

Other treatments of prostate cancer include radiation, surgery, and drug therapy. These treatments do have side effects. Some of the side effects could be incontinence and impotents. But many times these side effects will disappear after the treatment is finished.