The prostate is a small gland around the size of a walnut that is responsible for producing seminal fluid. This fluid helps with the transportation and nourishment of sperm. As with most other areas of the body, it's possible for cancer to develop within the prostate gland, which can lead to some serious health issues if not caught early.

While there's no way to be certain that you'll never develop this form of cancer, there are a variety of things that you can do to lessen your chances of obtaining it. Understanding what causes prostate cancer should help you learn how to avoid it. 

What Is Prostate Cancer?

This type of cancer will develop solely within the prostate gland, which is positioned right below the bladder. It's possible to successfully treat this form of cancer if it's caught early before it has spread to other regions of the body. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to detect this form of cancer while it's still within its early stages. As such, you should make sure to receive regular prostate cancer screenings, which may be able to identify the cancer before it has spread. Some signs of this cancer that develop when it starts to spread include:

• Difficulties with urinating
  
• Erectile dysfunction
  
• Bone pain throughout your body
  
• Blood within your semen
  
• Reduced pressure within your stream of urine
  
• Discomfort and pain in the pelvic region
  

Main Causes of Prostate Cancer

As is the case with many other types of cancer, there's no actual known cause for prostate cancer. All that's currently known is that the cancer occurs when some of the cells within the prostate turn into abnormal cells and become cancerous. When these abnormal cells become mutated, they will begin to divide and grow in a more rapid manner than is usual, which will eventually cause them to move beyond the prostate. The abnormal cells in your prostate will also cause the healthy cells to die. 

While there are no known causes for prostate cancer, there are a variety of risk factors that are known to heighten a person's chance of developing this cancer. Your chances of obtaining prostate cancer will increase as you grow older. If you are currently obese, the stress that this places throughout all facets of the body can heighten the possibility that you develop prostate cancer. It's also been found that a family history of prostate cancer gives you a higher chance of contracting this disease. The same is true if some of your family members have suffered from breast cancer in the past. 

Keep in mind that prostate cancer can lead to numerous complications if it's not detected and treated early on. For one, the cancer will eventually begin to spread, which means that it has metastasized. Prostate cancer can spread in a couple of different ways, the primary of which is by spreading to surrounding organs like the bladder. It can also travel through your lymphatic system or bloodstream, which means that it may eventually enter your bones and other organs that wouldn't typically be affected. 

Along with the spreading of this cancer, you may also experience incontinence, which means that you will have difficulties with urinating. It's possible for incontinence to be effectively treated with a combination of medication and surgery. Because of how severe these complications are, it's highly recommended that you take the necessary steps to lower your risk of suffering from prostate cancer. 

How to Effectively Avoid Prostate Cancer

Even though some forms of cancer cannot accurately be prevented, there are a variety of steps that you can take to avoid developing prostate cancer now and in the future.

Eat a Healthy Diet

First of all, it's essential that your diet is a healthy one. In order to obtain a healthy diet, the foods and beverages that you consume must be filled with nutritious ingredients. However, you will also need to make sure that your caloric intake is at the proper levels for maintaining or losing weight if necessary. While a high caloric intake of healthy foods is much better than consuming many calories of unhealthy food, the only way to properly maintain or lose weight is by eating the right amount of calories, which differs depending on your height. 

When trying to create a healthy diet, avoid foods that are high in fat. You should instead fill your diet with various vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Vegetables and fruits contain the nutrients that you need to remain healthy and avoid some of the risk factors that can bring about prostate cancer. You should also try to avoid supplements if at all possible. While supplements are typically a great way to get in some vitamins and minerals that might be otherwise missing from your diet, there is no known link between taking supplements and reducing the likelihood of developing prostate cancer. The foods that you eat should contain very high amounts of both minerals and vitamins. 

Exercise

While a healthy diet is a great way to improve your overall health and lessen the possibility that you suffer from prostate cancer, it's also important that you exercise on a regular basis, which means that you need to exercise almost every day of the week. Exercising regularly can pay dividends in helping you bolster your health, lose weight, and improve your mood, all of which may be able to keep prostate cancer from developing. 

Some studies have displayed that men who rarely exercise or don't exercise at all will have higher PSA levels. PSA stands for prostate-specific antigens, which are foreign substances or toxins that can bring about cancer. As such, exercising will lower your PSA levels and may be able to help you prevent prostate cancer. If you haven't exercised much in the past few months, it's highly recommended that you start slow, which means that you should begin with some simple exercises while increasing the difficulty and duration over time. This will allow your body to cope with the changes in your exercise routine.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Along with exercising regularly and eating healthy foods, it's important that you maintain a weight that's deemed to be healthy, which can only be determined by your exact height. If you are currently at an ideal weight, some light exercises most days of the week may be enough for you to maintain the weight. If you are currently overweight or obese, you'll want to exercise even more and try to lower your caloric intake. If you have a primary doctor that you see, they should be able to help you craft a plan that sets goals for you to strive towards when attempting to lose weight. 

Finally, you should speak with your doctor about prostate cancer if you believe that one or more of the risk factors apply to you. If you have a high risk of this cancer, your doctor may suggest that you take some prescription medications or even undergo surgery to lessen the likelihood that you develop this disease. For instance, it's believed that dutasteride and finasteride are two medications that could help with the prevention of prostate cancer. The main application of these medications is to treat prostate glands that have become enlarged. 

Now that you understand more about the risk factors of prostate cancer as well as how to prevent this type of cancer from occurring, you have the tools necessary to lessen your risk of prostate cancer.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author. This content has not been paid for by any advertiser nor does WhipCancer.org recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein.  WhipCancer.org does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and information contained on this site is intended for informational purposes only.  Please seek the advice of your physician or other professional healthcare provider with any questions you may have.