Every country has different cancer risks as many types of cancer are linked to diets, activity, genetics and ethnic backgrounds. In some areas, environmental hazards contribute to certain forms of cancer.

In the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is also the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer, with 270,000 new cases every year. In the US, lung cancer is second with about 228,000 new cases diagnosed each year followed next by prostate cancer with about 175,000 new cases diagnosed each year, followed by colon & rectal cancer with about 145,00 cases per year.

In the United Kingdom, breast cancer had been the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer, but that has changed as prostate cancer has now become the most commonly diagnosed cancer diagnosed on the island nation. In 2018, there were 49,029 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed and 47,476 cases of breast cancer, followed by lung and bowl cancers.

One of the first questions asked is why prostate cancer cases have overtaken the number of cases of breast cancer? The BBC says that part of the reason for the increase in number of cases pf prostate cancer being diagnosed is due to male celebrities bringing needed awareness, leading to more men being tested.

Here in the United States, a number of male athletes and other celebrities have also been busy trying to bring awareness to prostate cancer and encourage more men to be tested. For the past decade, some professional sports, especially Major League Baseball, wore pink to bring awareness to breast cancer, but in the past couple of years, they have finally included awareness for prostate cancer.

For many years, women have been encouraged to conduct self-breast exams in the shower or while laying down, but with men, it’s not that easy to do a self-prostate exam.

Breast cancer has garnered most the attention, research and dollars while prostate went largely ignored or held quiet in the background, until more men of renown were diagnosed with prostate cancer, bringing it more into the public arena. We all learned about the genetic connection between several genes in our DNA that increase the risk of breast cancer, but we rarely hear about any such gene-related risk for prostate cancer, other than it can run in the family.

Additionally, more doctors are ordering PSA blood tests for men with which to detect any signs of prostate cancer.

My wife had regular breast exams much earlier in life than I was tested for prostate cancer. However, more and more men are being tested earlier and more frequently, which is one good reason that the number of cases of prostate cancer are climbing so fast and overtaking breast cancer.

From everything I’ve read, I would recommend that EVERY man should be tested for prostate cancer no later than the age of 50 and then at least every year after that. It is a simple blood test, but can make a huge difference in the life of millions of men here in the United State and in the United Kingdom.