The chances of developing prostate cancer can rise sharply in men who skip one key part of their healthcare routine, and experts say it is something many people ignore more often than they realize.According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, which shows just how common this condition is.
The prostate is part of the male reproductive system. It is a small gland that sits just below the bladder and in front of the rectum, and it plays an important role in producing the fluid that makes up semen.
Prostate cancer often grows slowly and is usually detected early, which means many people who are diagnosed can be successfully treated when it is caught in time, according to the Mayo Clinic.There are several early warning signs that people should be aware of, especially since they can sometimes be mild and easy to dismiss at first.
These include blood in the urine, which may appear pink, red, or dark in color, blood in the semen, needing to urinate more often, difficulty starting urination, and waking up multiple times during the night to use the bathroom.
One in eight American men will develop prostate cancerAshi Sae Yang/Getty Images
If the cancer spreads beyond the prostate, the symptoms can become more serious and much harder to ignore in everyday life.These may include leaking urine without control, ongoing pain in the back or bones, and difficulty getting or maintaining an erection.
Other signs can include feeling very tired, losing weight without trying, and weakness in the arms or legs, which can all point to a more advanced stage of the disease.
Even with all this information available, skipping one simple step can increase the risk of serious outcomes by as much as 45 percent.
That important step is attending regular cancer screenings, especially prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests, which check for a protein made by the prostate gland.Everyone with a prostate has some PSA in their blood, but higher levels can be a sign that something may not be right and should be checked more closely.
Data from the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), which has collected information from seven countries across Europe over the past two decades, shows that early detection can make a major difference in outcomes and can reduce the need for more complex treatments later.
Blood in the urine or semen could point to potential prostate cancerTharakorn/Getty Images
The results consistently show that PSA screenings can reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer by around 20 percent, which highlights how important these routine checks really are.Long-term research also shows a clear connection between fewer people attending screenings and a higher risk of death from the disease.
This creates a strong contrast between those who stay engaged with their health and those who avoid these appointments, with very different outcomes over time.
The study was led by researchers from the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute at the University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and included data from 72,460 men.Out of this group, about one in six men were classified as non-attenders, meaning they did not show up for any of their scheduled screening appointments at all.
This group was found to have a 45 percent higher risk of dying from prostate cancer compared to men who regularly attended their screenings and stayed on top of their health checks.
Experts say that understanding why people skip screenings is just as important as encouraging them to attend, since different factors such as fear, lack of awareness, or access to healthcare can all play a role.By identifying these barriers, healthcare systems can improve outreach and make screenings easier to access, which could help save more lives in the long term.
Improving education around early detection and making people more comfortable with routine testing are also seen as key steps in reducing the overall impact of prostate cancer.
She added: “This is the opposite behavior of people who are perhaps more health-conscious and are more likely to attend a screening appointment.”Dr. Leenen also pointed out that healthcare providers need to better understand why some men avoid screenings and what factors influence their decisions.
“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,” she said.
