Ben Stiller Should Inspires Us To Discuss Prostate Health

Ben Stiller Should Inspire Us All To Openly Discuss Prostate Health 101

Beyond jokes of "Turn your head and cough," most men don't have any clue about their prostate - until things go wrong. Every year, more than 230,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and over 30,000 of them die from it. Moreover, about half of all men over 50 have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an often painful condition in which the prostate is abnormally enlarged.

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The best thing to do to help guard yourself against prostate cancer? Educate yourself on the disease.

1. What Is The Prostate?

The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut found in men's bodies between the penis and the bladder. Its biggest job is to provide seminal fluid, a milky substance that nourishes sperm.

It turns out that the prostate is expendable; Men can live comfortably without this organ, with no negative effect on fertility. So, the medical focus surrounding the prostate is often on what's wrong with it, such as:

Prostate cancer, the second most deadly cancer in men (after lung cancer)

Enlargement of the prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a very common non-cancerous tumor growth in men and a major cause of pain in older men

Inflammation of the prostate or prostatitis, the most common urinary tract infection in men

2. What Is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer develops when the cells of the prostate gland grow out of control. As the cancer grows, the following symptoms can develop:

Frequent urination or many urges to urinate, especially at night

Weak or dribbling urine stream, frequent stopping and starting of urination

Pain or burning sensation while urinating

Pain in the lower back and pelvis

Blood in the urine

It turns out that up to 25% of men in their 30s have microscopic, latent cancer cells in their prostate. This figure goes up with age and by their 50s, about 40% to 50% of men have these latent cancerous cells.

In some men, these cells remain small and dormant, and do not pose any health concern. In others, however, they grow into large, life-threatening tumors for unknown reasons, sometimes with astoundingly fast speed, and they can even metastasize or invade other organs in the body.

3. Who Gets Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men (after skin cancer), and also the second most deadly (after lung cancer). A new case of prostate cancer is diagnosed about every two minutes.

All in all, in the general U.S. population, one in every six men will develop prostate cancer, and 3% will die from it.

While the exact cause of prostate cancer is not known, the risk factors for developing this condition include:

a) Age

Age is the most important risk factor in developing prostate cancer. All men will develop prostate cancer if they live long enough, according to Stanford urologist Dr. Thomas Stamey.

Indeed, the risk of developing prostate cancer increases steadily with age. A man under 40 has about a 0.01% chance, whereas a man between the ages of 60 - 79 has about a 15% chance.

b) Family History

Compared to those who have no family history of the disease, a man with one relative (father or brother) with prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease. Those with two relatives have five times the risk, whereas those with three relatives or more have close to 100% chance of developing the disease.

c) Race

African-American men are 65% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and twice as likely to die from it. Asians, on the other hand, are less likely to develop this disease.

d) Diet And Obesity

A diet high in saturated fats and meat, as well as obesity, are linked to a higher risk of developing this disease. A diet high in soy and fibers, on the other hand, is often credited for lowering the risk of prostate cancer in men from Japan and China.

4. What Is BPH?

Despite the dangers of prostate cancer, BPH is actually of more concern to most men. It is a common condition in older men, where the prostate gland becomes enlarged. About half of all men over 50 have some degree of BPH.

Although the enlargement itself is harmless and non-cancerous, the gland can block the urethra - the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. This can cause:

Difficulty in urinating, such as a weak stream of urine or dribbling

Frequent urges to urinate, especially at night. Sometimes, when they get out of bed, men with BPH fail to urinate

A feeling that the bladder is not completely empty after urinating

In rare cases, BPH can cause the bladder to be completely blocked, making it impossible to urinate. The backed-up urine can then cause bladder infections, stones and even kidney damage.

Are the Conditions Related?

No. There is no evidence that BPH causes prostate cancer (although men with BPH often have erection problems). However, the symptoms of this condition are similar to those of prostate cancer, so you'd need to see your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

5. What Can You Do?

Despite the frightening statistics, there is quite a lot that you can do to guard against prostate problems.

a) Get Regular Health Checkups

First of all, get regular health checkups. As with many other health conditions, prostate cancer and BPH are most treatable when caught early, so schedule a regular checkup with your healthcare provider.

If you are at risk of developing prostate cancer or if you are over 50, you should talk to your doctor about annual prostate cancer screenings, which consist of a blood test and a physical exam.

b) Exercise And Eat Well

Proper nutrition plays a key role in cancer prevention. Fruits and vegetables, especially cooked tomatoes, contain lots of wonderful cancer-fighting agents.

In addition to exercising and eating well, you may also want to consider taking dietary supplements for prostate health. Extracts of saw palmetto, African pygeum bark, pumpkin seed, and lycopene found in Anchor Health's Prost-Tech have been shown to be beneficial for prostate health and may reduce the symptoms of difficult urination.

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With this information in hand, you can now look out for your body by doing what you can to maximize your prostate health.

Resources:

http://mednews.stanford.edu

www.pcacoalition.org

www.cancer.org

www.healthinplainenglish.com

www.urologychannel.com