The bald face of cancer

How the superhero complex hurts men (File Photo.)
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men.

Aging, a family history of prostate cancer and being of African ancestry also increase a man’s chances of developing prostate cancer.

This is according to Dr Chantal Babb, who was presenting data from the National Cancer Registry at the Cancer Association of SA (CANSA) Research in Action conference in Stellenbosch this week.

Prostate cancer is particularly aggressive in South African men and also has a high mortality rate, according to the University of Pretoria’s Professor Riana Bornman.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been living with prostate cancer for many years, while former president Nelson Mandela was diagnosed with it in 2001. The average age at which men get the cancer is 68.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among South African men, with one in 26 men likely to get it in their lifetime. Researchers also say that it is on the increase.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Hayes, a professor of genetics at the University of Sydney, says 52 percent of prostate cancers are inherited although no specific genes have been identified as markers for this cancer unlike with breast cancer.

Men whose fathers or brothers have had prostate cancer have an increased risk for the disease, as do those whose mothers had ovarian cancer. – Health-e News

This story was also published on Health24.

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