Mr. Trudeau, who had also been suffering from Parkinson's disease, died of prostate cancer, a disease that claims the lives of about 4,000 Canadian men every year. About 20,000 men are diagnosed with the disease each year. Rock musician Frank Zappa died of the disease in 1993 at the age of 53. Men often see their family doctors about prostate tests after the death of a famous person, said Dr. Morash. The person who suffers isn't helped, but it does help others.
Prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of older men.
It is usually identified by a blood test called a PSA test, or by a rectal exam. Men with advanced cases often suffer from weight loss and bone pain. In 90 per cent of cases, the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate and can be treated by removing the prostate or through radiation therapy, said Dr. Morash. In 10 per cent of prostate diagnoses, the cancer has spread, often to the bones. These cases have a life expectancy of two or three years, said Dr. Morash.