Prostate Cancer Awareness Month: Understanding a Common — and Often Slow-Growing — Cancer

The news

Each September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month encourages men to learn about the prostate and to talk with a healthcare professional about their own situation. Unlike some awareness campaigns, the message here is notably measured — because prostate cancer is common, but it is also often slow-growing, and decisions about screening deserve careful, individual thought.

Why people are talking about it

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States, so awareness reaches a wide audience. But NCI is careful to note that finding and treating prostate cancer before symptoms occur does not always improve a man's health. That nuance is exactly why a thoughtful, informed conversation — rather than a one-size-fits-all rush to test — is the heart of this awareness month.

What this topic means

According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. NCI adds an important point: prostate cancer usually grows very slowly, and finding and treating it before symptoms occur may not improve men's health or help them live longer.

This does not mean the disease should be ignored — it means that decisions about screening and treatment benefit from careful discussion of the potential benefits and harms, tailored to each person.

Screening and prevention

NCI supports an informed, individualized approach to prostate cancer screening. NCI maintains evidence-based screening information and a dedicated fact sheet on the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Crucially, NCI emphasizes that because prostate cancer often grows slowly, screening does not always lead to better health outcomes — so the choice to be screened is one to weigh carefully with a healthcare professional rather than to assume.

On prevention, NCI provides evidence-based prevention information for prostate cancer, along with related resources on nutrition and dietary supplements. Rather than list specifics here, we point you to NCI's regularly reviewed pages. The calm takeaway from NCI: this is a topic where understanding the trade-offs, and having a real conversation, matters more than any single test.

How to take part

• Use September as a prompt to have an informed conversation about whether screening is right for you.
• Read NCI's PSA test fact sheet so you understand what the test can and cannot tell you.
• Encourage the men in your life to talk with a healthcare professional rather than rely on assumptions.

Questions to ask a healthcare team

• Given my age, health, and family history, do the potential benefits of screening outweigh the potential harms for me?
• What would a PSA test result actually tell us, and what are the next steps?
• If prostate cancer were found, would it be likely to need treatment right away?
• Are there symptoms or changes I should report?