Why Us?

Well...You were born too late. If you were born in 1900, there wasn't a whole lot of prostate cancer since men only lived till 46 on average for white guys and 32 years for black guys.

The old adage that if you live long enough, you're going to get prostate cancer came from somewhere. 😁

layingthegroundwork,
If you had secured an X chromosome from your mom you wouldn't be troubled by the prostate at all.
Your other genetics is the second largest risk factor. Race and age play in.
Environmental exposure to insecticides and herbicides increase risk. Exposure to Agent Orange is being seen as a high risk fact. Firefighters have a higher risk because of exposure to smoke and chemicals.
The only guilt ( and absolution) you can obtain for yourself is in your vote. Support those protecting the environment.

Well, at the end of my very first urologist appointment, in 2021, checking my rising PSA, I asked my doc, “Is there anything I did that caused this? Too much weird sex? Not enough weird sex? Diet? Exercise? Anything?”

His answer: “As far as we know, nothing. You’re simply as God made you, and that’s how He made you.”

Now, I’m not a religious person, so I just reworked that to say that’s how Nature made me, or that’s how I evolved, and that there really wasn’t anything reasonable directly in my control I could have done to change it, and I’m ok with that.

My surgeon once tossed an off-hand comment out, saying, “You know…this has probably been growing in you for 30 years or more.” - I thought that was interesting.

If they ever track it down, I’d guess it’s a little of everything: genetics, environment, diet…if I had to blame anything, I’d lay it at the feet of all the processed lunchmeat and cured meats I’ve eaten over the years. For most of my life, I’ve had at least one serving a day, and sometimes many more than that, eating large helpings of bologna, bacon, salami, hot dogs, and a variety of sausages every day (farm kid, we have big appetites!).

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 10 years ago and for the past 10 years active surveillance. Things changed this spring and I finally need to address the changes. My procedure is now set to address the situation in August.
When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 10 years ago my Urologist told me in no uncertain terms to tell my 2 adult sons (38 & 41) that they were to request a PSA every year at their annual physical. To tell their physicians their father has prostate cancer and the request would be granted.

Both sons listened and had annual PSA tests. My oldest son has always had very low PSA numbers. My youngest son also had low numbers until he didn't. In his 42nd year of life his numbers were way too high. After initial testing he was told he needed to have a prostatectomy as soon as possible as his cancer was deemed to be extremely aggressive. His urologist told him that if this hadn't been discovered when it was, it was doubtful he would live through the end of the year. It was caught in time thanks to him being told about the PSA test.

Jump now to this Spring and my diagnosis that my active surveillance has run its course after 10 years. If I were to ask myself "Why me?" my answer would be - If I didn't have cancer the odds are my son would have died and left his wife a widow and his 3 young children without the wonderful father he was! I don't celebrate my cancer but I have no anger and I will take my life exactly the way it is!

When my Urologist handed me the print out of my diagnosis and said "you have Prostate Cancer" He followed that up with my Gleason Score, etc and next steps. Then he said.

"Don't ask yourself why or how you got this, focus on your treatment. You are a male and men have Prostates and therefore they get Prostate Cancer".

@gently His mom CERTAINLY donated an X chromosome; she had no Y chromosomes (modern fantasies notwithstanding).

Nope. Just as nobody who's forced to flee home and live in a refugee camp did anything to deserve it, and nobody who's born into dire poverty or an abusive home did anything to deserve it, nobody who has cancer did anything to deserve it.

In the rich world, our economic bubble sometimes gives us an illusion of some kind of control and universal justice — if we do the right things, good stuff should happen and bad stuff shouldn't. But in reality, as the less fortunate already know, life is a roulette wheel that's rigged against us so that we'll always lose eventually. Just try to enjoy the spinning.

@readandlearn,
at least part of the suggestion troubled your scientific mind.
You can't secure both X chromosomes from the mother before or after conception.
You can't X or Y from either parent before or after you exist.

@gently

Not sure what you are saying. I hope it's not word games.

The mother's eggs have only X chromosomes.

The father's sperm can have either an X or Y chromosome, but not both in the same sperm.

@gently Good points even though that comment about how you vote for the environment sounds a little political. Of course the environment is not to be denied but there are many more factors involved than that. Just to name a few, what about our foods, artificial flavors, coloring, preservatives? Hormones in meat & dairy, plastics, etc etc....
And if you had an X chromosome from your mom than you could be looking at a common women's cancer like breast or uterus.