Prostate cancer screening critical for black men

With Father's Day approaching, it’s impotant to give your dad and granddad reminders about the importance of regular prostate cancer screening, which detects the disease in its early-stages and often results in excellent cure rates.

Black men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the United States. They are 1.6 times more likely than whites to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and are 2.4 times more likely than whites to die from the disease.

According to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, nearly 100 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive in 5 years.

If cancer is diagnosed, patients and their families should consult a urologist and a radiation oncologist to discuss all suitable treatment options. Survival rates for both surgical and radiation therapies are similar, but side-effects differ among the many treatment alternatives.

A 2000 Roper Starch survey showed that black men are significantly more likely than white men to experience side effects from prostate cancer treatment, including incontinence. They are also more likely than white men to be dissatisfied with their doctor's support.

A study published recently in CANCER, the journal of the American Cancer Society, concluded that prostate cancer patients are not getting the necessary information from their doctors to make an educated treatment decision.