Eat your broccoli!

Or cauliflower. Especially you men. A new study reported by the BBC says just one serving per week of cruciferous vegetables – broccoli and cauliflower, to most people – may cut your risk of prostate cancer by about half. Half! With one serving per week! Sounds a little unlikely to me. But still, you can manage one serving a week, if it even might help prevent the most common form of malignancy in men, can’t you? Prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 80% of men who reach age 80. That’s obviously significant, even though 99% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive at least five years, 92% at least 10 years, and 61% at least 15 years.

Compare that with breast cancer survival rates – 86% at 5 years, 76% ten years. When the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body, prostate cancer patients have a 34% five year survival rate, breast cancer patients 21%. Ninety percent of all prostate cancers are found while they are still within the prostate or only in nearby areas; surprisingly, the same proportion, 10% of breast cancer patients have distant metastases on diagnosis. The five-year relative survival rate for men whose prostate cancer hasn’t spread is nearly 100%. When breast cancer is found before metastasis, the five year survival rare is 96%.

Scaling back on the megavitamins may also help prevent prostate cancer. A study published in May showed 32% increase in incidence of prostate cancer in men who took more than one multivitamin per day, compared with the rate in men who didn’t take vitamin supplements at all. One a day, with the recommended daily allowance of constituent ingredients, is fine. More, not so good. The BBC reported in January that a Vitamin D pill to treat advanced prostate cancer shows promise. As always, consult your licensed medical practitioner before following the latest trend with over-the-counter remedies.

Except for the broccoli – can’t hurt, might help. And see here, if you missed my summary of what screening tests are recommended for men and women at different ages.