Every year, prostate cancer silently threatens hundreds of thousands of men, stealing lives and impacting families. It’s a stark reality: one in eight men will face this diagnosis in their lifetime and tens of thousands will succumb to it annually. This silent epidemic demands immediate attention and proactive action.

This urgent call to awareness is amplified as September marked Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Dignity Health – Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center (GMHHC) joined the national effort to shed light on the disease, emphasizing the critical importance of early detection, screening and treatment. Prostate cancer remains the second most common cancer in men, after skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 313,780 new cases of prostate cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2025 and approximately 35,700 men are projected to die from the disease this year. While these numbers are significant, advancements in screening and treatment mean that when detected early, prostate cancer is highly treatable

“Prostate cancer often grows slowly, but early detection through regular screenings is incredibly important,” said Dr. Kamyar Ebrahimi, MD, surgical urologist at GMHHC. “Many men don’t experience symptoms in the early stages, which is why conversations with your doctor about your risk factors and screening options, particularly if you’re over 50 or have a family history, are critical. Knowing your risk and getting screened can truly save lives.”

Risk factors for prostate cancer include:

• Age: The risk increases significantly after age 50.
• Family History: Having a father or brother who had prostate cancer, especially before age 65, more than doubles a man’s risk.
• Race/Ethnicity: African American men and Caribbean men of African ancestry are more likely to get prostate cancer and are more than twice as likely to die from it.

“Physician care teams may recommend different treatments and, for many, surgery is a highly effective option. Oftentimes these procedures, especially with modern techniques, require less than a short hospital stay for recovery,” added Dr. Ebrahimi. “Surgeons continue to use minimally invasive surgery and robotic-assisted techniques, generally, to offer patients fewer incisions with faster healing time and enhanced precision, leading to excellent outcomes.”

Dignity Health encourages men to talk to their healthcare providers about their individual risk factors and discuss the benefits and limitations of prostate cancer screening tests, such as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal exam (DRE).

For more information about prostate cancer screening guidelines and surgery as treatment, visit dignityhealth.org/socal/surgery or consult with your primary care physician.