Norton Healthcare urges men to take preventive action during Prostate Awareness Month

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and Norton Healthcare has some tips on early prevention.

According to the CDC, at least one out of every 10 men in the U.S. will develop prostate cancer in their lives, and some of those cases will be fatal.

Dr. Steven Patton with Norton Healthcare said the best way to stay ahead of it is to get regular screenings even if you don't have any symptoms. He said it's common for men to put off things like prostate testing or to just be hesitant to find out "what's going on behind door number two."

"With proper screening, and being able to catch it in time, the cure rate for prostate cancer, the 5-year survival rate, is almost 100 percent if you catch it in time," Patton said. "Versus if that cancer was in the prostate and it starts to spread to the bone -- what they call metastasize -- in different parts of the body, that 5-year survival rate can drop way down to about 30 percent. So that’s a huge difference with something that’s so preventable."

Symptoms of prostate cancer can include chronic back pain, trouble urinating, blood in urine, and unexplained weight changes.

A simple blood test called a PSA -- short for Prostate Specific Antigen -- is the first line of defense. Higher PSA levels can indicate cancer is present.

Men without symptoms and without family history of the disease should start screening for prostate cancer at age 45. Men who are experiencing symptoms should schedule a screening immediately.