Cancer and Men

Men: Learn how to lower your cancer risk and get resources to share from CDC!

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Every year, more than 300,000 men in the United States lose their lives to cancer. You can lower your cancer risk in several ways.

What You Can Do

• Don’t smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke. More men in the United States die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer, and cigarette smoking causes most cases. Take the first step to quit smoking and call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for FREE support and visit www.cdc.gov/quit.
• Get recommended cancer screening tests. If you’re 50 or older, get screened for colorectal cancer. Screening tests can help prevent colorectal cancer or find it early, when treatment works best. Lung cancer screening is recommended only for certain people who are at high risk.
• Protect your skin from the sun. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Most cases of melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and tanning devices, but fewer than 15% of men use sunscreen regularly when outside for more than an hour. When you’re outside, follow our easy sun safety tips for men.
• Stay active and eat healthfully. Making healthy choices like eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, getting regular physical activity, and limiting alcohol consumption can help lower your risk for several kinds of cancer.

Fast Facts About Cancer and Men

• The most common kinds of cancer among men in the U.S. are skin cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.
• Most prostate cancers grow slowly, and don’t cause any health problems in men who have them. Treatment can cause serious side effects. Talk to your doctor before you decide to get tested or treated for prostate cancer.
• A human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended routinely for boys at 11 or 12 years of age to prevent anal cancer and genital warts. The vaccine also is recommended for all teenage boys and men through age 21, any man who has sex with men through age 26, and men with compromised immune systems (including HIV) through age 26, if they did not receive all doses of the vaccine when they were younger.

Featured Resources

Our “cheat sheet” [PDF-113KB] lists the cancer screening tests most men need.

Men are more likely than women to get skin cancer. Our Sun Safety Tips for Men help you protect yourself.

An illness caught Gary off guard, and the test results found something he never expected: liver cancer.

Screening for Prostate Cancer [PDF-1MB] provides an overview of screening tests and treatment options.

Test your knowledge about lung cancer with this simple quiz!

“There I was at age 36 with two small children and a potentially deadly cancer,” says skin cancer surgeon and survivor Dr. Travis Kidner.

Our Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives brochure [PDF-7.8MB] provides detailed screening information.

This fact sheet explains the health problems HPV can cause in men, especially cancer.

“Hopefully, my heartbreak is your wake-up call,” says Terrence Howard in this video about losing his mother to colon cancer.