23-05-2025
What's Going Around: Biden's prostate diagnosis should be wake up call for men to get tested
WASHINGTON () — Former President Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis has sparked an important discussion on screenings. It is a warning for men to get tested annually for the disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime.
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Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in American men, behind only lung cancer.
'I hope that all men will pay attention to prostate cancer screening. We talked about there is different guidelines,' Dr. Heather Chalfin, a urologist at Frederick Health, said. 'We have a newer early detection of prostate cancer guideline, and in fact they have lowered the age to initiate screening from before.
Chalfin said men at average risk of developing prostate cancer would start around age 45.
'If there are men at elevated risk to develop prostate cancer, the age is 4,0 and things that elevate the risk to develop prostate cancer would be black ancestry, having a germ line genetic mutation, or really strong relevant family cancer history,' Chalfin said.
Prostate cancer is highly treatable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said prostate cancers grow slowly, and most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die of it. However, the survival rate varies depending on the stage of the cancer and other factors.
'Prostate cancer when it is localized and has not spread outside of the prostate is extremely treatable and I tell my patients it is almost always curable with treatment and I also encourage them, even if it has spread outside the prostate, there are many excellent treatments and it is a favorable type of cancer to have,' Chalfin said.
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According to the CDC, the most common risk factors for prostate cancer include age, genetics, family history, and race and ethnicity.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts that makes recommendations on services like screenings, noted that African American men have an increased lifetime risk of developing or dying from the cancer, at 4.2%. Hispanic men face a 2.9% lifetime risk, white men face a 2.3% lifetime risk, and Asian and Pacific Islander men face a 2.1% lifetime risk.
The American Cancer Society noted that prostate cancer grows slowly, so screenings for men with no symptoms who have less than a 10-year life expectancy are not recommended because 'they aren't likely to benefit from it.'
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