A PITCHCARE PUBLIC SERVICE FEATURE
Talking PANTS!
Is your Prostate a problem? It could be as serious as cancer or just a ‘nasty’ inflammation. Either way it is worth seeing your GP, regardless of your age!
M
ore than a quarter of all men over the age of 50, and half of all those over 60, will suffer from some form
of prostate problems during their lives. Over a period of time, they will find themselves hunting for loos - and the need will grow more and more urgent. They may find they are suffering increasingly disturbed nights too. Eventually, work becomes a matter of fitting it in between loo ‘pit stops’. Yet, many will brush off any attempt by wives or partners to get them to see a doctor because “It’s nothing”. However, the stark facts are that they may be suffering from any one of three prostate problems; Prostate Cancer, Prostatitis or Benign Prostate Hyperplasia. Prostate cancer is probably the best known and worst feared of all prostate diseases. Around 35,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Sadly, 10,000 men die annually in the UK, most of them because the disease is not diagnosed soon enough. Yet, a simple blood test could save lives.
One in every fourteen British men will develop prostate cancer - and the risk grows with age. Sixty per cent of all prostate cancer patients are over 70. If a man has a family history of prostate cancer i.e. if his grandfather, father or brother suffered from it, he is twice as likely to develop it as other men. If that relative had prostate cancer before he was 60, the risk factor rises to four times more likely. It is also now known that there is a strong genetic link to familial breast cancer, too. However, although prostate cancer is a
killer, it is also almost totally treatable if caught early enough. Which is a very good reason for consulting a doctor if you are aware of any waterworks problems, such as needing to get up several times in the night or paying frequent visits to the loo during day-time. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia affects 60 per cent of men over 60 and can cause multiple symptoms, yet it can be easily and simply treated, by drug therapy, surgery or more recently non-invasive techniques such as green light laser. Diagnosis of BPH is not difficult. The GP will ask a variety of questions about your general health and he may do a DRE (digital rectal examination), using one
gloved and
lubricated finger to examine the prostate through the back passage. A DRE can tell the doctor just how enlarged the prostate is, and whether it is soft or lumpy. The GP will check the patient’s abdomen to see if his bladder is bloated and assess his nervous system to rule out problems such as Parkinson’s disease. Prostatitis, is a nasty inflammation of the
prostate that is generally caused by a bacterial infection. It can affect men of any age. It is currently believed that almost half the male population will suffer a single episode of prostatitis at some time. If you think that prostate diseases affect only old men, think again. Men of any age can suffer from prostatitis, a very painful, inflammation of the prostate mostly caused by a bacterial infection. It affects men aged between 18 and 50 and is the ‘Cinderella’ of prostate diseases. Yet, prostatitis can not only be a very painful problem. It can also be extremely unpleasant, causing symptoms ranging from pelvic pain and difficulty urinating to infertility. The prostate may be a tiny gland, but when it becomes inflamed, it can cause major problems - not only for the man who is suffering from the condition but for his wife and family too. It can lead to loss of sexual activity because ejaculation becomes so painful. It can cause infertility. It can ruin family lives. Although there are, as yet, no documented figures available as to its prevalence, it is believed that half of all men will suffer at least one incidence of prostatitis at some time during their lives.
TO understand prostate disease properly, it is important to know what the prostate is, where it is and what it does. The prostate is a tiny gland the size of a walnut, and found only in men. Its role is to produce the fluid in which semen swim and it sits just below the bladder. The tiny,
If you think that prostate diseases affect only old men, think again.
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thread like nerves controlling continence and potency run right through it. Baby boys have tiny prostates. At puberty, they are triggered into growth by a surge of testosterone. Prostates continue to grow throughout a man’s life, and that’s where the problems arise. Mostly this growth is non-malignant, confined entirely inside the prostate, but the growing gland swells and squashes the urethra, the tube leading from the bladder to the penis. This makes it hard for the man to empty his bladder properly, leading to a constant feeling of fullness. When he tries to ‘go’, his flow is weak and he may even suffer embarrassing ‘leakage’. As a result, he suffers disturbed nights and, if urine builds up inside the bladder, it can lead to ‘back-flow’ to the kidneys, causing kidney infections. It can also lead to sleep loss for him - and his partner. Prostate problems affect whole families.
For further information about prostate cancer and any other prostate diseases, including free leaflets, contact Prostate UK at 10 Northfields Prospect, Putney Bridge Road, London SW18 1PE or telephone 020 8877 5840 or visit the Website
www.prostateuk.org or write to
info@prostateuk.org
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