Important warning to men with breast cancer in their family
President of the Turkish Urooncology Association, Prof. stated that family history should not be ignored in prostate cancer. Dr. Cenk Yücel Bilen said, ”A man who has a history of breast cancer in women in his family also has an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. Therefore, those at such a risk should have a check-up starting from the age of 40,” he said.
The 16th Urooncology Congress, organized by the Turkish Urooncology Association, was held in Antalya. At the congress, which was followed by nearly 600 participants from home and abroad, Turkish Urooncology Association President Prof. Dr. Cenk Yücel Bilen made important statements about prostate cancer. Underlining that the incidence of prostate cancer in Turkey is around 36 per hundred thousand, Bilen listed the points that need to be known on this subject as follows:
Cenk Yücel Bilen
A COMMON CANCER TYPE
Prostate cancer is one of the top 3 cancer types in Turkey. It is the second cancer in our country after lung cancer and the first cancer abroad, but they are not the same in terms of death rates. The mortality rate in lung cancer was approximately 60 percent 5 years ago, but now it has decreased to 40 percent. However, death rates from prostate cancer are almost 8-9 percent. We are not faced with a very common but very deadly cancer. Let’s not put the two together. If you have a family history or genetic condition, it would be beneficial for you to be checked and investigated by a doctor after the age of 40. If you have no family history and are at risk, you should see a urologist after the age of 50. Men in big cities have high awareness of prostate cancer. Therefore, they do not neglect their controls.
GENETIC STATUS IMPORTANT
The most important thing in prostate cancer is family history. If men in your family have prostate cancer or women have breast cancer, this means that there are problems with your endocrine organs and you may be at increased risk of prostate cancer. You may ask, “What does the prostate have to do with the breast?” This is thought to be caused by common genetic problems. Therefore, men should think ‘what is going on in my family?’ Not only cancer, but any disease becomes easier to treat if caught early. The earlier in life any disease occurs, the more likely it is to kill you until you get older. An 80-year-old person with prostate cancer has a very low chance of dying from it. But a 40-year-old with prostate cancer has a very high risk of death from this disease if it is not treated well.
Do not delay in consulting a doctor
16th Urooncology Congress Scientific Committee Chairman Prof. Dr. Levent Türkeri also pointed out that prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and that a genetic mutation occurs in 15 percent of these patient groups, and said:
Levent Turkeri
Revealing these hereditary features is extremely important for early diagnosis. Some genes detected in breast cancer in women are also valid for prostate cancer. One of the important messages that emerged at this congress was that if more than one woman or man in a man’s family has breast and prostate cancer, the risk of these diseases in the next generation increases. People with such family members should be more careful and discuss these issues with their physicians. A man whose aunt has breast cancer has an increased risk of prostate cancer. These diseases, although seemingly unrelated, have genetic changes that are very related to each other. For him, family history is extremely important. The public should be aware that this may pose a serious risk in prostate cancer, as in breast cancer. Men have this attitude: ‘I have no problem, nothing will happen to me.’ Individuals with high genetic risk should consult a physician to obtain information on this subject without any complaints or other conditions.
