Be prostate aware
Most people in Ireland know someone who has been affected by prostate cancer. We want to encourage men to be more comfortable with an area of their health that is often neglected or ignored:
• Over 2,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Ireland each year.
• After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer in men.
• Prostate cancer is often a slow growing cancer, particularly in older men, and symptoms may not occur for many years.
• Prostate cancer is 90% curable if it is treated in its earliest stages.
• The cumulative risk of a man developing prostate cancer before the age of 50 is 1 in 485. Before the age of 70 is 1 in 13.
• While doctors still do not know what causes prostate cancer, links have been made between family history of prostate cancer, age (risk of prostate cancer increases after 50 years), and men of African ethnicity.
• All men over the age of 50, or men over 40 who have a first degree relative with prostate cancer or those of African ethnicity should consult with their GP.