My Boyfriend Is Just 40 Years Old And He Has Prostate Cancer And It Has Spread To His Bones; Could This Be Hereditary?

Prostate is very uncommon in young men in their 30s and 40s, but all men could be at risk if they have a strong family history of prostate cancer. If a young man has 3 family members with prostate cancer it is likely he could also be at risk. Normally, a doctor may not do a prostate exam on a man until he is 50 years old. However, if a younger man has a strong family history of prostate cancer, he should ask his doctor to do a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test, and follow up with a prostate exam if the test indicates there might be a problem.

Prostate cancer isn’t just an old man’s disease

Approximately 80 percent of men, if they live long enough, will develop prostate cancer. Though prostate cancer is a deadly disease, only a small percentage of men actually die from it, if they have treatment before metastasis occurs. Most men are diagnosed with prostate cancer between 65 and 70 years of age. Prostate cancer is rarely detected earlier than 50 years of age; however, if there is a family history of the disease, men could be at risk for prostate cancer at an earlier age.

Prostate-specific antigen test

The PSA test measures the prostate-specific antigen in the blood stream. Blood is collected and sent to the lab, and if the protein for PSA is present it is a biological tumor marker. A man could have an elevated PSA with non-cancerous conditions such as prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate); therefore, the PSA test alone is not conclusive for prostate cancer.

Rectal Exam

The doctor will need to do a digital rectal exam in combination with the PSA test, because the PSA cannot tell a malignancy from a benign tumor. Men don’t like the digital rectal exam, but it is necessary. Wearing exam gloves, the doctor inserts one of his fingers into the man’s rectum to feel the prostate through the wall of the rectum. The prostate should be about the size of a walnut, and it should be smooth. If the doctor feels lumps and bumps on the surface of the prostate, the doctor may order other tests to screen for prostate cancer.

Metastasis

When prostate cancer is advanced, it is likely to metastasize. Metastasis is when cancer leaves the area of origin and moves to another part of the body. Prostate cancer can leave the prostate gland and spread out to the lymph nodes and to the neighboring organs and the bones. Cancer cells are able to break free and hitch a ride in the circulatory and lymph system. It is possible for metastatic prostate cancer to set up in other organs, but the most likely place for them to take root is in the lymph nodes and bones and in the brain. It is fairly rare for metastatic prostate cancer to take root in the testicles or stomach.

Race and other factors

Prostate cancer is more prevalent in African American men than in Caucasian men. Men of all races who have fathers and uncles with prostate cancer are at risk of developing the disease. Men who have unprotected sex with multiple sex partners may also be at an increased risk. Men with high testosterone levels are more at risk than men with lower testosterone levels. Testosterone levels are the greatest in black men, and lowest in Asian men; Asian men have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer. Men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) have a 4 times greater risk of developing prostate cancer than men without enlarged prostates.

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