CANCER

CANCER

CANCER

Over 700,000 men are diagnosed with cancer
each year and nearly 300,000 die of it. Over
the course of a lifetime, half of all men will get
cancer at least once. Cancer can strike anyone,
at any age, but the majority of cases happen to
people 55 and over.
A p p roximately 700,000 men are diagnosed with cancer each year
and nearly 300,000 die of it.
The saddest part about all of this is that most of these cancers and deaths are
preventable. At least one-third of cancer deaths are caused by smoking, and
another one-third may be caused by poor diet and/or lack of exerc i s e .
The two keys to beating cancer are early detection and reducing risk.
RISK FACTORS
If any of the following are true, you are at risk of developing cancer. It doesn’t
mean you will, just that you should be in close contact with your doctor.
• You smoke (cigarettes, pipes, or cigars) or chew tobacco.
• You drink more than two alcoholic drinks per day.
• You have a family history of cancer.
• You have had cancer in the past.
• You are 55 or older.
• You get little or no exerc i s e .
• You eat a high-fat, low-fiber diet.
• You are African-American.

EARLY DETECTION

You can’t detect cancers if you don’t know what to look for. Below are a number
of symptoms that could be indicators. Many of them could be caused by other
conditions, but you should notify your doctor if you notice anything unusual or
a b n o r m a l .
• Lumps that you can feel through the skin.
• Sores that don’t heal.
• Changes in the size, color, or texture of a wart or mole.
• Blood in the urine, stool, or saliva.
• A cough, sore throat, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing that won’t go away.
• Persistent back ache.
• Unexpected weight loss.
• Unexplained pain.
• Pressure or tenderness in the chest.
• Unusual bleeding.
• Chronic nausea or gas.
• Fever that lasts more than a few days.

PREVENTING CANCER

Even with early detection and knowledge of the risk factors, there’s no way to
guarantee that you’ll never get cancer. But there are a number of steps you can
take that will go a long way toward minimizing your chances.
A c c o rding to the American Cancer Society, the approximate lifetime risk
of developing cancer is 1-in-2 for men and 1-in-3 for women.
• Don’t smoke. Smoking causes 90 percent of lung cancers and greatly
increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, kidney, bladder, pancreas and
e s o p h a g u s .
• Limit alcohol to two drinks a day maximum.
• Limit your exposure to sunlight. A little bit of exposure will stimulate your
body to produce vitamin D, which researchers think may reduce the risk of
a number of cancers. But too much can cause skin cancer. Between 10 am
and 3 pm—the hottest part of the
d a y — t ryto stay indoors as much as
possible. When you do go out,
always wear sunscreen with SPF
(sunscreen protection factor) 25 or
g r e a t e r. If you don’t have sunscreen,
wear a hat or stay in the shade as
much as possible. Having fair skin or
having had severe sunburn in childhood
greatly increases the risk of
developing skin cancer.
• Eat a low-fat, high fiber diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
High-fat, low-fiber diets are at least partly responsible for most colorectal
cancers. They also increase the risk of pancreatic and bladder cancers.
• Limit foods that are smoked, salted, pickled, or high in nitrates (such as hot
dogs and luncheon meats). These foods are associated with increased risk of
stomach cancer.
• Limit your exposure to PVCs (poly vinyl chloride), tar and creosote (a dark
brown or black flammable tar deposited from wood smoke on chimney
walls). These are linked with a number of cancers, including cancer of the
liver and skin.
• Spend some time getting to know yourself and your body. See your physician
if you notice any significant changes.
• Get screened as recommended in Appendix B. These tests are designed to
detect certain types of cancer (such as colon, bladder, kidney, testicles,
prostate) in their earliest stages. Caught early, these cancers can be treated
s u c c e s s f u l l y.
• Take aspirin. Some recent research indicates that people who took aspirin
16 times a month or more were 40 percent less likely to get cancer of the
esophagus, stomach, rectum, or colon than those who didn’t take aspirin
at all.

Can Men Get Breast Cancer? Absolutely.

Although breast cancer is usually thought of as a women’s disease,
about 1 percent of breast cancers occur in men. No less a man than
R i c h a rd Roundtree, who played Shaft in the 1970s movie has been
diagnosed with breast cancer. The most common early symptom is a
lump in the breast, usually right underneath the nipple. More advanced
symptoms include a bloody discharge from the nipple or a retraction
of the nipple. A lot of men who notice symptoms like these put off
going to the doctor because they believe that a “real man” wouldn’t get
b reast cancer. That kind of attitude could kill you. So if you notice
either of these symptoms, or you just have a feeling that something
i s n ’t right, schedule a medical appointment right away.