most common types of cancer found in men

Most Common Types of Cancer Found in Men

Cancer affects men and women, but there are some cancers which affect men more than women. Also, many times these cancers are more deadly in men than they are in women. Men can lower their risk of getting these varying types of cancer by avoiding smoking and receiving screening tests at an earlier age.

Here are ten cancers which commonly affect men.

1. Prostate cancer - This is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. Prostate cancer is found more commonly in African-American men than any other racial or ethnic group. It is unknown why it affects African-American men more. It is recommended that you talk to your doctor about screening options for prostate cancer, though, generally at around the age of 50.

2. Lung cancer - This is the number one cancer that kills men. Again, more African-American men are affected by lung cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. A large majority of instances of lung cancer arise from smoking. The best way to prevent lung cancer is to never start smoking at all, but to quit immediately if you do smoke.

3. Colorectal cancer - This is the third most common cancer found in men. It affects all ethnic groups and men and women about the same. It is found most often in people age fifty and older. Screening for colorectal cancer is of utmost importance in finding and treating this cancer and saving men and women.

4. Bladder cancer - This is much more common in men than in women, three times more likely in fact. Caucasian men have a higher chance of getting bladder cancer than any other ethnic or racial group. It generally affects men over the age of sixty. The older you are, the greater your chances of getting bladder cancer.

5. Skin cancer - This is more prevalent in men past the age of forty in the United States. However, before the age of forty it's found more in women.

6. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma - This is a cancer which attacks the lymph nodes. It is more common in men than in women, especially white men. It mostly affects adults with a compromised immune system like from HIV. There are forms which can affect children as well. Certain types of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be found in women more than men for an unknown reason.

7. Kidney cancer - Men are twice as likely as women to get kidney cancer. However, it is still amongst the top ten cancers women get as well. This is a cancer that generally is not seen by men or women until later in life, after age 64 and usually not before age 45.

8. Throat or mouth cancer - Cancers of the mouth are twice as common in men as they are in women. This can be caused from smoking and even from oral sex.

9. Leukemia - This is only slightly more prevalent in men than it is in women. It also affects Caucasians more than any other race. It's a cancer of the blood which affects older people more often than it does younger people.

10. Pancreatic cancer - Another cancer that affects only slightly more men more than it does women. This cancer has been slowly increasing over the last ten years or so. It's also more common in African-Americans than Caucasians.

So if you're a man, these are the cancers you have to most worry about. Many of them can be prevented with simply lifestyle changes like not smoking and eating a healthy diet. Screenings go a long way to saving your life when diagnosed with any of these cancers.

Breast cancer - early detection

What You Need to Know about Home Breast Exams

Early detection of cancer leads to the best outcomes - especially in breast cancer. You can check your own breasts at home for lumps or abnormalities and call to your doctor's attention concerns you may have so he or she can test further if need be. But do you know how to perform a home breast exam or how often to do it? Do you know what you're looking for? Here's what you need to know about home breast exams.

How to Perform a Home Breast Exam

There are five steps which you should take to do your monthly self-breast exams at home.

1. Look at yourself in the mirror. Keep your shoulders straight and arms at your hips. You want to check to make sure your breasts are the normal size and shape as usual with no visible deformities or swelling. If you see dimpling or puckering of the skin, a nipple which has changed position or is inverted, or a rash on the skin of your breasts, you want to make your doctor aware of these changes.

2. Now lift your arms over your head and look at your breasts in the mirror. Look for the same things as in #1.

3. Check to make sure there is no liquid coming out of your nipples (unless you're nursing, of course). Otherwise any liquid - whether it be milky, clear, yellow, bloody, or watery - should be what you're taking note of.

4. Now lay down and begin feeling your breasts. Use your right hand to feel your left breast and your left hand to feel your right breast. Keeping the fingers flat and together, move the first few pads of your fingers over your breast in a smooth firm fashion. Go in a circular motion around about the size of a quarter. Get the entire breast from top to bottom and side to side. Move from your collar bone to your belly and your arm pit to your cleavage.  

Go in a pattern starting at your nipple and work your way out, making larger and larger circles. You could use a vertical method in rows like mowing the lawn, applying different amounts of pressure. Light pressure at the skin and tissue just underneath the breast, medium pressure for the tissue in the middle of the breast, and firmer pressure for the deep tissue at the back of the breast.

5. Now stand or sit up and feel your breasts. A good place to do this is in the shower. Use the same technique as in step 4; be sure to cover your entire breast using the same movements. You are feeling for any abnormalities or bumps in the breast tissue which are new.

You should perform these steps once a month, every month. It's best done about a week after you have your menstrual period. This way your breasts are the least tender and swollen.

Remember, your breasts are always changing in small ways, but you want to be alerted to drastic changes that happen suddenly so you can contact your doctor. Don't wait and tell yourself it's nothing. Err on the side of caution and contact your doctor so they can determine what's going on. 

Remember, it's your body and you know it best. If you find any new bumps or lumps, make sure your doctor hears about your concerns. Early detection is the best defense against breast cancer. So it's important to know what you're looking for.

Now go check your breasts!