There’s good news and bad news about prostate cancer, says Dr. Ken Haugen.

The good news is that early diagnosis and treatment are saving lives. The bad news is that doctors don’t have much success treating the cancer if it spreads to other organs.

"Preventive programs save tons more lives than treatment," Haugen says. "Prevention is where it’s at."

Haugen is medical director of radiation oncology for Providence Cancer Center. He will talk about new developments in treating prostate cancer at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Mary Norbert Hall, on the ground floor at Providence Medford Medical Center, 1111 Crater Lake Ave.

There is no fee to attend, but reservations are encouraged. Call 732-6237 to reserve a seat.

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Cancer of the prostate (the walnut sized gland that’s part of the male reproductive system) will strike one in every six American men sometime during their lifetime. It’s the most common form of cancer in men, and it will kill about 30,000 men in the United States this year.

Haugen says scientists are still learning about what causes prostate cancer, but a growing body of evidence suggests diet may play some role. Rates of prostate cancer have been lower in Asian countries where people eat fewer fatty foods.

He recommends eating more vegetables and tomatoes, a source of a pigment called lycopene, which some studies have connected with lower rates of prostate cancer.

Physicians have two ways to detect prostate cancer. One is the digital rectal exam, in which a doctor feels the prostate through the rectum, searching for hard spots that might indicate tumors. The other is a blood test for a chemical known as "prostate specific antigen," or PSA. A high level of PSA usually indicates the cancer’s presence.

Prostate cancer can be challenging to treat because it grows slowly in many men. Slow-growing cancers that are found in older men (over 65) are not necessarily life-threatening, Haugen says.

"The older you are the less likely it is to take your life before you die of something else," he notes.

"We’re diagnosing cancers (in older men) that don’t need to be treated (because of their advanced age).

"Sometimes we treat older men because it drives them nuts to have a cancer that’s not being treated.

"I suspect we overtreat some, but since prostate screening has become prevalent, death rates (from prostate cancer) have gone down."

Physicians treat prostate cancer with radiation or surgery. Surgical treatment often involves removing the prostate. In radiation therapy, tiny radioactive seeds are implanted into the gland to destroy the cancer cells.

Both treatments have unfortunate side effects.

"When you’re choosing therapy, there’s no free lunch," Haugen says. "No matter how good the surgery or the therapy, a certain percentage will have complications."

Surgical complications include urinary incontinence and impotence. Radiation treatments can cause rectal injury and rectal bleeding.

"It’s a question of which complications scare you the most," Haugen says. "Some people fear the knife, Some people fear the radiation."

Haugen says cancer of any kind makes people think differently.

"One thing it does is change people’s lives, in some ways for the better. They view things differently. It forces them to look at the end (of life).

"We’re all born with a terminal illness. but we all think it’s going to be way in the future. When you focus on death sooner it puts things in perspective."

Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail bkettler@mailtribune.com