Men’s Health Month: Why It’s Important to Speak About Your Health

SPONSORED – Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men, behind skin cancer. On average, one in eight American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. In Black men, that number is about one in six. For veterans, about one in five.

As age increases, so does the risk for developing prostate cancer. When detected early, prostate cancer has a higher cure rate and several treatment options.

June is Men’s Health Month, with the goal to raise awareness about men’s health and to encourage men to speak about their health with family members and medical professionals. Open conversations are key to early detection and learning about your family medical history. Additionally, having these discussions and knowledge can lead to implementing healthy choices such as exercising and diet.

Men can be reluctant to openly discuss prostate health with others. Some may find it too personal or embarrassing to discuss. Others may simply avoid the topic out of fear of learning their symptoms may be a sign of prostate health issues. Other men may not want to talk about their health because it was never discussed in their families.

What’s for certain is the stigma needs to change and the conversation needs to happen. Talk about it. Start the conversation about your family’s cancer history. Men with a strong family history of prostate cancer, as well as breast, ovarian, and other cancers may be at increased risk for prostate cancer.

Knowing your family history and informing your doctor can lead to earlier detection. With early detection, patients often have a higher number of treatment options to choose from. While men cannot change the major risk factors — age, race, and family history of the disease — there are things they can do to take charge of their prostate health.

If diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is important to know you have several treatment options depending on the stage and grade of your cancer. Proven to be one of the most effective methods to safely treat prostate cancer non-invasively is Swedish CyberKnife, located in Seattle. The CyberKnife System is the only radiation delivery system directly mounted on a robot. The CyberKnife’s advanced technology allows it to track tumors anywhere in the body, even while the body or tumor moves. Before delivering the radiation beam, the CyberKnife verifies the exact tumor position then adjusts to precisely target the tumor. Because of this tracking and precision, a high-dose of radiation can be delivered to the target, while minimizing radiation dose to surrounding critical organs, which reduces the incidence of side effects.

Short course of treatment — only five short treatment sessions, with each session lasting less than an hour, leading to minimal disruption to your daily schedule, and a quicker return to your everyday life. Compared with other treatment options, Swedish CyberKnife patients report a better quality of life both during and after treatment. Published Swedish CyberKnife results show excellent cancer control rates at 10 years.

This June during Men’s Health Month and the months after, men must place an emphasis on having conversations about their health with family members and medical professionals. Break the stigma, fear, and discomfort, open up the conversation, know your risks and recommended screening criteria and take the steps to improve your overall health.

To learn more about CyberKnife for prostate cancer go to Swedish.org/Cyberknifeprostate. Or call 206-320-7187. Treat prostate cancer with Swedish CyberKnife.