William Morgan
If you know eight men, one of them will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives. But although it is the leading cancer in men, if spotted early it can be treated and cured.
Despite having a close to 100 percent survival rate within 10 years of diagnosis, thanks to the success of early detection and treatment, over 35,000 Americans die with prostate cancer every year.
But new research suggests that all men can lower their risk of dying from the common cancer by doing one simple thing that many men will avoid or put off doing, with sometimes deadly consequences.
The European Study of Prostate Cancer Screening (ESPCS) has been studying the incidences of the disease in over 70,000 cases since it started in 1993, tracking the health outcomes of thousands of men who were diagnosed with the cancer.
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Men between the ages of 55 and 69 were assessed in the multi-decade study spanning eight countries and their findings confirmed that the one singular thing that all men can do to massively lower their risk is to just up to screenings.
Astonishingly, this simple thing lowered participants risks of dying from prostate cancer by 45 percent.
Researchers came to this conclusion after roughly one in six of the study's participants made the mistake that many older men do, failing to attend or skipping entirely prostate cancer screenings.
The findings of the lengthy study also stated that screening programmes in general lower a population's risk of prostate cancer death by 20 percent.
Analysis of the data by scientists at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Rotterdam, showed that failing to turn up to screenings was strongly linked to an increased risk of death.
Comparisons with a control group of men who were not invited to screenings showed that non-attendees faced a shocking 39 percent higher risk of dying from prostate cancer. People who turned up were 23 percent less likely to die from the disease.
Digging into the findings, study lead author Renée Leenen MD, said: "It may be that men who opted not to attend a screening appointment are care avoiders, meaning they’re less likely to engage in healthy behaviours and preventative care in general.
"This is the opposite behaviour of people who are perhaps more health conscious and are more likely to attend a screening appointment."
But she also pointed out that the data showed that further research was needed into the factors that cause men to not attend, adding: "We need to better understand who these men are, why they choose not to attend appointments, and how to motivate them.
"This will help us to design population-based prostate cancer screening programmes that encourage higher rates of informed participation.
"Tackling attendance rates in this way could be a big factor in the long-term success of a national prostate screening programme."