Each year, at least 189,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Many of them wonder if they are in the 25% that have a familial or inherited form of the disease.

Bryn Mawr Hospital's Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment and Genetics Program is designed to evaluate your prostate cancer risk. You will gain an understanding about what it means to be at average, moderate or high risk for prostate cancer. With this knowledge, you will be able to make informed decisions about cancer screening, prevention and risk reduction.

Program participants meet with both a certified genetic counselor and a registered nurse focused on cancer prevention. The expertise of a medical oncologist and an outpatient oncology social worker are available as needed.

How is Risk Assessed?
To estimate prostate cancer risk, personal history factors, such as prostate screening habits, hsitory of benign prostatic lesions or previous cancers, diet, lifestyle and ethnicity are important to consider.

Because prostate cancer can have a hereditary or familial basis, a family cancer history is also obtained and reviewed. Certain genes have been linked to an increase in prostate cancer risk and many genes associated with hereditary prostate cancer have yet to be discovered. Families in which there are multiple cases of prostate cancer or individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer under the age of 55 are encorage to consider being aprt of research efforts in this arena.

Who Can Participate?
This program is open to any male concerned about prostate risk. Indiviudals who may be more interested include men with:

• Prostate cancer before age 55
• History of benign prostatic disease
• Father/brother with prostate cancer
• 2 or more relatives with prostate cancer on the same side of the family
• Relatives with breast cancer before age 50 and/or with ovarian cancer
• African-American or Jewish ancestry

For more information on the Bryn Mawr Hospital Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment and Genetics Program, or to schedule an appointment, please call 610-645-8150.

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