Men, especially macho alpha males, hate going to a doctor. How I wish my long term buddy Mark had visited his doctor long before the pain in his back and thigh had developed. For we recently buried him at the age of 50 and the chances are that he would be alive today, had he visited a good GP earlier. He died from the secondary effects of Prostate Cancer, the most common form of cancer deaths in non smoking men in the UK, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new male cancer diagnoses. And this enigmatic brand of cancer is on the increase too, with incidence rates, almost doubling, rising from 60 to 95 per 100,000 of the UK population in the ten years from 93-03.

So what causes this cancer and why is it becoming so increasingly prevalent? Ask any expert in the Urological field and after much head scratching a mumbled 'probably fatty foods' will be as near as an answer you'll get because basically it's still a mystery as to why Prostate Cancer is increasingly prevalent in the northern hemisphere. One thing is for sure though, the chances of your nice smooth prostate becoming like a large wrinkled walnut increase dramatically after 55. Incidence rates in 2004 show under 1000 cases diagnosed between ages of 50-54 but in the same year 7000 cases were diagnosed in those aged 70-74 (http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/prostate/incidence/)

Fortunately though there are things that you can do to reduce your chances of contracting this killer disease. Putting tomato ketchup on your food is essential. Don't though go around munching those delicious cherry tomatoes, because the active ingredient, lycopene, will not be absorbed. Eating tuna or other fatty fish with plenty of broccoli and washing it down with cranberry juice, topping up on your suntan, and making sure you have selenium in your diet would be other helpful things to do. (http://www.yourhealthbase.com/prostate_cancer.html)

The good news is that survival rates, in those whose prostate cancer has been detected early, is high. Providing the cancerous cells are confined to the prostate gland and haven't developed to such an extent that they have burst out through the wall of the prostate and found their way into lymph glands or even bone marrow, then, at this initial stage, when the cancer is localised, it can be zapped for good.
Treatment for localised prostate cancer can be 'monitoring only' by scans and PSA blood tests; for there are many men who die with this disease rather than from it. However if the number of deformed prostate cells starts rapidly increasing then the prostate gland can either be surgically removed or irradiated with X-rays. Both treatments can be successful in eliminating the cancer.

So how can you find out whether you are breeding this silent killer? A simple PSA test could have saved Mark's life. Though not conclusive unless very high readings are obtained, a high result does indicate a likelihood of cancer cells starting to wrinkle your walnut. Other simple procedures can then prove or disprove whether this is happening to you. The PSA test, or ideally its more accurate successor now in the throws of development, should be offered yearly to all men over 50 much as the mammagram, to check for breast cancer, is offered to all women. If this procedure were followed then the death rate from the most prevalent cancer would fall. The BBC groundbreaking programme 'Your Life in Our Hands' sums it all up for if you are fortunate to be operated on by a skilful and experienced surgeon, and your walnut is only slightly wrinkled before its removed, then chances are, after three months of recuperation, you'll have beaten the Big C as John Wayne once extolled.

The Samaritan Helpline is brilliant in counselling those with psychological issues. With the increasing prevalence of Prostate Cancer and Man's reluctance to initially seek formal advice a good case can be made for creating www.wickedwalnut.co.uk to collate, advertise and advise on best sources of help. In the meantime The Prostate Cancer Charity's brilliantly informative website www.prostate-cancer.org.uk and telephone helpline on 0800 074 8383 is playing its part in reducing deaths from this unpredictable cancer…for those who seek early advice.