Myth 1

According to the American Cancer Society about 1 man in 8 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime and estimates for prostate cancer in the United States for 2023 are:

About 288,300 new cases of prostate cancer

About 34,700 deaths from prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is more likely to develop in older men and in non-Hispanic Black men. About 6 cases in 10 are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older, and it is rare in men under 40. The average age of men when they are first diagnosed is about 66. Although many men think prostate cancer is something they need to start thinking about in their 60s, men as young as 35 are diagnosed with prostate cancer. There is actually one well known case of prostate cancer in a young man age nine at his initial diagnosis.

What’s more, a 2013 study in the journal BMJ found screening all men between ages 45 and 49 for prostate cancer can predict almost half of all deaths several decades later.

Veterans should be considered a “High Risk” category and are recommended to conduct an initial screening at age 35 and begin annual screening at age 40.

Prostate cancer is not regularly diagnosed in men younger than 40, which also is the age at which it is recommended that men who are at high risk for the disease (e.g., African American men, Men with a family history of prostate cancer, Veterans specially those exposed to Agent Orange) be tested.