Prostate Surgery Center

by Brandon Cornett

Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence to date that shows how you can prevent prostate cancer entirely. But while preventing prostate cancer may be out of reach, you can certainly do things to lower your risk.

Dietary Factors

In medical circles, it is widely believed that a diet low in fat and rich with fruits, vegetables and grains may lower the risk of prostate cancer. Specifically, foods that are high in fat from animal sources should be limited. You’ve probably heard for many years that you should eat five or more fruit and vegetable servings per day. That rule of thumb still holds true today. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and healthy grains can help lower your risk of prostate cancer.

While this type of diet may not help in preventing prostate cancer entirely, it can still lower your risks and make you healthier overall.

Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention

Antioxidants have become increasingly popular over the years, in tandem with new research that shows how beneficial they can be. Antioxidants occur naturally in certain foods, especially fruits and vegetables.

How do antioxidants help with preventing prostate cancer and other forms of cancer? Well, again, there is not evidence to support the possibility of preventing prostate cancer entirely. But antioxidants can play a role in reducing your risk for this and other forms of cancer. Antioxidants make the DNA within our cells more resistant to damage, which in turn can reduce the risk of certain cancers such as prostate cancer.

Past and current medical research suggests that lycopenes (a type of antioxidant) can lower the risk of prostate cancer. Lycopenes occur naturally in a number of fruits and vegetables [here’s that fruit and vegetable plug again] such as spinach, oranges, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and various types of beans.

Do Vitamins Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer?

These days, it seems there is a vitamin or mineral supplement that can help reduce just about any type of ailment — or so says the supplement industry. But can vitamins help in preventing prostate cancer and other forms of cancer?

Recent studies have shown that vitamin E (found in leafy green vegetables, nuts and fortified cereals) may lower a person’s risk of prostate cancer. Of course, as with most studies of this nature, there are other studies that claim vitamin E does not affect risk of prostate cancer. This research is still “young,” so we will undoubtedly learn more about it in the coming years.

Selenium is another mineral that has been linked to a reduction in prostate cancer risk. At the time of this writing (October 2007), comprehensive studies were underway regarding the ability of selenium to lower the risk of prostate cancer.

The thing to remember here is that, while these vitamins and minerals have been shown to lower risk factors associated with prostate cancer, none so far have been shown to prevent prostate cancer entirely.

Preventing Prostate Cancer With Drugs?

In the future, there may very well be a drug capable of preventing prostate cancer. But here in the present, that is unfortunately not yet the case. With that being said, there are numerous studies currently underway that hope to identify such a “miracle” drug.

Proscar is one of those drugs currently being studied. But does it help in preventing prostate cancer entirely? As is usually the case, Proscar research is still relatively young, so definitive answers on its capabilities are forthcoming.

Recent studies have shown that men taking this drug were approximately 25% less likely to get prostate cancer (as compared to men taking a placebo instead). Regardless of early signs of promise, there is no current evidence that Proscar can prevent prostate cancer.

Screening and Detection

Because the full-scale prevention of prostate cancer is still out of reach, proper screening is still the first line of defense. When cancer is detected early, the chances of successfully treating the disease are much greater. Learn more about detecting prostate cancer.