Many people and even some doctors think that osteoporosis is a women’s disease. However, millions of men develop it also. Osteoporosis is a silent disease, which can weaken bones over the years without signs or symptoms. For men dealing with prostate cancer, concern about their bone health should be a part of their overall concern about their cancer.
Osteoporosis is a medical condition by which bones become weaker, less dense, and more likely to break. Breaking a bone is a serious complication of osteoporosis, especially with older patients. Osteoporotic bone breaks are most likely to occur in the hip, spine or wrist, but other bones can break also. In addition to causing permanent pain, osteoporosis may cause some patients to lose height. When osteoporosis affects the vertebrae, the bones of the spine, it often leads to a stooped or hunched posture.
Osteoporosis may limit mobility, which often leads to feelings of isolation or depression. Furthermore, of those seniors who break a hip, twenty percent, die within one year because of complications relating to the fracture or due to surgical repair of the fractures