Tips for reducing your risk of prostate cancer

While prostate cancer can’t be prevented, men can work towards lowering their risk. If you’re looking to get informed on prostate cancer, these tips will help bring you up to date.

Roughly 65 men in Canada are diagnosed with prostate cancer each day, according to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). The CCS also estimates that about 4,000 Canadian men will die from the disease this year.

The first step in lowering your risk is to talk to your doctor about your family history — men with relatives who’ve had prostate cancer have an increased risk of the disease. A visit to your doctor is also a good opportunity to bring up any other concerns you may have.

Your doctor will let you know when and how often you should get screened for prostate cancer. Screening is done with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. The test can help identify early signs of prostate cancer.

Keep in mind that it's possible for your PSA levels to be high even if you don't have cancer. Your doctor will be able to guide you on what steps to take if that’s the case.

Eating healthier is one of the ways that you might be able to lower your risk of prostate cancer. It’s especially important to pay close attention to fats in your diet. A diet that's high in fat could increase your risk of prostate cancer.

• Switch to low-fat foods
• Reduce how much fat you eat each day
• Choose lean meats and dairy products with low or no fat content
• When you do eat fats, select ones that come from plants, including olive oil, nuts and seeds
• Include fatty fish like salmon in your diet as well — they contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which can lower your risk of prostate cancer

If your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher, you could have a higher risk of prostate cancer. These tips can help you lower your BMI:

• Eat more fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods
• Lower your calorie count
• Aim to exercise on a regular basis

The most important tip for reducing your risk of prostate cancer is to keep in touch with your doctor about your risks. Also, keep in mind that prostate cancer can grow very slowly and does not require immediate treatment in each case.