Living Healthy to Avoid Prostate Cancer? Maybe…
Living Healthy to Avoid Prostate Cancer? Maybe…
Questions that come out of this study: First, if a man has been engaged in certain behaviors for most of his life at the time of his prostate cancer diagnosis, when, if ever, will changing his dietary and lifestyle behavior lower his risk of getting an aggressive cancer? At the age of 40, if a man decides that he wants to take on different behaviors, will that have a protective effect? Or is this something that you have to engage in basically from birth? We cannot answer that without a prospective trial, and I doubt that one will be done that can be assessed in the near future.
Second, what can we do with this information at the present time? We know that these lifestyle recommendations are good for overall health. Cardiovascular disease is far more likely to kill these men than prostate cancer. Will men change their behavior if they are made aware of the potential impact? Unfortunately, it seems very difficult to get people to modify their diet and lifestyle behaviors just for general health reasons, in addition to the potential impact on prostate cancer.
At the end of the day, I am not sure how we use this information. We cannot tell a man who is 40 years old that changing his diet and behavior will lower his risk for aggressive prostate cancer. We do not have that information. We do not even know how much impact these changes will have on his overall health, although some studies suggest that changing behaviors can lower the likelihood of dying from other health problems.
This is a well-done study with implications that are unclear. We believe that certain dietary and lifestyle behaviors are important. They are important for our overall health. They may be important for prostate cancer. But translating them into an ongoing new behavior practice for men is something that I am not sure we will be able to accomplish. I am not sure that many men are likely to change their behaviors, knowing that this might have a slight impact on the risk for aggressive disease.
I look forward to your comments. Thanks.
Additional Questions Sparked by This Study
Questions that come out of this study: First, if a man has been engaged in certain behaviors for most of his life at the time of his prostate cancer diagnosis, when, if ever, will changing his dietary and lifestyle behavior lower his risk of getting an aggressive cancer? At the age of 40, if a man decides that he wants to take on different behaviors, will that have a protective effect? Or is this something that you have to engage in basically from birth? We cannot answer that without a prospective trial, and I doubt that one will be done that can be assessed in the near future.
Second, what can we do with this information at the present time? We know that these lifestyle recommendations are good for overall health. Cardiovascular disease is far more likely to kill these men than prostate cancer. Will men change their behavior if they are made aware of the potential impact? Unfortunately, it seems very difficult to get people to modify their diet and lifestyle behaviors just for general health reasons, in addition to the potential impact on prostate cancer.
At the end of the day, I am not sure how we use this information. We cannot tell a man who is 40 years old that changing his diet and behavior will lower his risk for aggressive prostate cancer. We do not have that information. We do not even know how much impact these changes will have on his overall health, although some studies suggest that changing behaviors can lower the likelihood of dying from other health problems.
This is a well-done study with implications that are unclear. We believe that certain dietary and lifestyle behaviors are important. They are important for our overall health. They may be important for prostate cancer. But translating them into an ongoing new behavior practice for men is something that I am not sure we will be able to accomplish. I am not sure that many men are likely to change their behaviors, knowing that this might have a slight impact on the risk for aggressive disease.
I look forward to your comments. Thanks.
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