Prostate Health and You

Prostate health is an extremely important topic for men to be aware of. The role of the prostate, medical concerns regarding the prostate, and necessary screenings are important aspects of prostate cancer prevention. How aware are you of your prostate health?

Function of the Prostate Gland

The prostate gland has two unique functions. It’s a conduit for the urine – the urine goes from the urinary bladder through the prostate and out through the urethra when a person urinates. It also is a gland. It is responsible for secreting the semen. Different glands empty their products into the prostate, and the prostate itself contributes parts of the semen, and it contributes to the semen production.

Common Prostate Conditions

There are several different kinds of prostate conditions. The most common is benign prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH.

In BPH, the prostate gets enlarged and a man can have urinary difficulties including increased frequency of urination during the day or at night, and difficulty passing the urine. It doesn’t happen in all men, but a significant number of men have this condition. Another prostate condition is prostatitis, which is an inflammatory, infectious process that can occur in young men, middle-aged men, and older men, where they have an acute change in their urinary pattern. They may experience pain during urination, difficulty passing their urine, and even have a fever.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer usually has no symptoms, especially in its most early stages. Prostate cancer, only in its very late stages, will feature symptoms. This is why regular prostate cancer screenings are so important for early detection of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is not the enlargement of the prostate. Rather, it’s a change in the actual cellular structure where these cells grow uncontrollably and replicate very quickly. If they grow to a certain size, and if one develops a prostate cancer tumor, the concern is that it can spread to neighboring organs or the distant areas of the body and impact a man’s lifespan.

As mentioned, most often prostate cancer doesn’t have symptoms, but often men who have prostate cancer will also have BPH. It’s hard to differentiate whether their symptoms are from BPH, benign enlargement, or whether it’s from prostate cancer. Typically prostate cancer itself doesn’t give you symptoms, so therefore screening would be recommended in the right age group and profile. The screening would be a blood test, as well as a digital rectal examination. That would uncover prostate cancer, which usually is quite silent.

Prostate Cancer Screening

• Prostate-Specific Antigen or PSA is a blood test that is done routinely in all laboratories. It should be part of prostate cancer screening in men age 50 and older annually. For African-American men, age 40 and older annually; and for a man who’s had a brother or a father who’ve developed prostate cancer below age 70, it would be recommended at age 40 and annually. Furthermore, all men should have a baseline PSA at age 40, because there are men who develop prostate cancer very early on in their 50’s, and it would be important to catch them earlier at a more curable stage.

• A digital rectal examination should be performed on all men age 40 and older. A digital rectal examination should be part of any man’s screening, whether he is 20 years old or 40 years old.

Risk Factors for Developing Prostate Cancer

• Age of 50 years or older (1 in 6 American men over the age of 50 will develop prostate cancer)
• Family history. Men with a brother or father who had prostate cancer are at a higher risk.
• African-American men have a higher risk for getting prostate cancer.
• Men with a diet high in red meat, fried food, and/or fatty food have a higher risk.
• Obesity

Support

Education and awareness are very important, but most of all, support. When someone’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer, is undergoing treatment, or has recently undergone treatment, it’s important to have that support from other people who have been going through the same thing, and the support from family. It’s not just a physical illness; it also can affect one emotionally. It’s important to have that support, because with more support and being emotionally stronger, one often does better clinically. It’s very, very important, because it’s mind and body.

That’s a very critical connection to make. It’s not treating just the patient with medication, with treatment; it’s that whole person.

Men, it is important to get regularly tested for prostate cancer. Simply contact Somerset Urological Associates today to speak with an expert and begin receiving the best care.