SMOKING AND PROSTATE CANCER

     Did you know that about one in six men in the United States will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime?  It is the most common cancer in men and is only behind lung cancer as the second leading cause of male cancer deaths. 

    A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed data on 5,366 men who were treated for prostate cancer. The study was trying to address the question of whether smoking might make a difference in how a man's health progresses after receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer. The researchers found that men who were smokers when they were diagnosed with prostate cancer were about 60 percent more likely to have died from the cancer or have had a recurrence than those who had never smoked.  In fact, smokers were more than twice as likely to have died for any reason.

     The good news is that men who had quit smoking at least ten years before being diagnosed with prostate cancer had comparable risks to those who had never smoked.  About 270,000 deaths each year are attributed to U.S. men who smoke cigarettes.  If you are smoking, it's time to stop.  If you need help smoking, call a hypnotherapist to help you become a non-smoker and BE WELL.