Prostate Health Exams - Protecting Prostate Health

by: Adam Short

As you begin to get older, many men begin to wonder about their prostate health. Prostate health is all over the news and media, and you may even know someone that has been diagnosed with prostate cancer over the past few years. If you are worried about your prostate health, or want to find out ways to help protect it, you have come to the right place. We will go over what this important gland does, and discuss the different options that you have in protecting your prostate health.

First, you must understand what the prostate actually is. It is a sexual gland, about the size of a walnut that is located around the base of the bladder and urethra. It essentially, hugs the tube that carries urine out of your body. This partially muscular, partially glandular organ produces a slightly alkaline substance that is present in semen.

It is important to understand that there are many problems with prostate health that aren’t life threatening. So if you feel that you may have a problem with your prostate, usually shown by a difficulty to urinate, it is important that you seek medical advice. Prostate disease is a condition that can vary from individual to individual. Some simply have an infection that can be treated with medication; others have an inflammation of the prostate tissue, while others simply have an enlargement of the prostate gland. While all of these many indicate cancer at a latter point, they don’t necessarily mean cancer right off the bat.

Getting a diagnosis is the first step to improving your prostate health. Your doctor may perform one or more of the following tests to access the situation. Most of them are painless or may only be uncomfortable. Discuss your options with your doctor if you have a low threshold for pain.

• DRE (digital rectal examination). The physician will fell the prostate manually to look for enlargements and problems.

• PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing. Your doctor will do a simple blood test to determine your level of PSA. Small amounts are normal, but large amounts could indicate a problem.

• TRUS (transrectal ultrasound). This test uses wave echoes to create an image of the prostate.

• Cystoscopy- where the doctor looks through the urethra with a thin, lighted tube.

• Biopsy- a small tissue sample is collected from the area and studied.

The key to preserving your prostate health is go get proper treatment early on. Many men are ashamed to seek treatment, which can ultimately lead to further complications. Prostate disease and cancer are easily treated as long as you get diagnosed early on. At the first sign of pain or discomfort contact your doctor immediately. Men over the age of 50 should get their prostate checked out at least once a year. Find a doctor that you are comfortable with, and make sure to ask questions. Many patients choose to do research online before they visit a doctor, which will help you ask the right questions during your visit.

Latest Cancer News:

Woman has twins from cancer survivor's 13-year-old sperm (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

A Taiwan woman has given birth to healthy twins using the 13-year-old frozen sperm of a former testicular cancer patient, local media said on Saturday, setting a record for the island. Liver Cancer Treatment Helps Determined Denverite (CBS4 Denver)

Jolanta Stettler came to this country as a pioneer from Poland, 14 years ago. Today, she is once again a pioneer -- this time in the foreign and dangerous country of cancer. Repairing DNA Damage: Researchers Discover Critical Process In Cancer Treatment (Medical News Today)

From the sun's UVA rays to tobacco smoke, our environment is chock-full of DNA-damaging agents that can lead to cancer. Thanks to our body's DNA repair mechanisms, however, the effects of many carcinogens can be reversed thereby preventing the formation of tumours. Negative messages keep blacks from cancer tests (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Cancer news stories and public service announcements that call attention to the fact that African Americans are often diagnosed with cancer at later stages and have lower survival rates than whites may discourage African Americans from getting screened for cancer, new research shows. Sugar and Breast Cancer (BellaOnline)

Does eating sugar cause breast cancer? In a word, no. Of course not. If you have a Snickers bar, it will not give you cancer.If we dig a little deeper, however, there are some interesting schools of thought around sugar and the role it plays in our cancer diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer caregivers hope to raise awareness (The Wayne Independent)

Family members of loved ones who died of pancreatic cancer, approached the Wayne County Commissioners, this past week, hopeful to raise awareness of the disease and thereby help others. Family: Author Michael Crichton dies of cancer at age 66 (The Pantagraph)

NEW YORK -- Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said. Seminar on breast cancer awareness (Gulf Times)

AL AHLI Hospital recently conducted a one-day breast cancer awareness seminar, a spokesperson has said. Migraine's silver lining -- drop in breast cancer risk: study (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Migraine sufferers who likely have no kind words about the condition may take comfort in news that women who get the extra-strength headaches have a 30-percent lower breast cancer risk, according to a new US study. Lightning?s Jessica Havel starts Shut Out Cancer program (Grand Rapids Herald-Review)

Grand Rapids-Greenway Lightning senior goaltender Jessica Havel has found away to turn the love of hockey and a family hardship into a positive as she has started Shut Out Cancer, a new program that will benefit the University of Minnesota appendix cancer research, Grand Rapids Hospice and American Cancer Society.
Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/canceradvice.org/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/canceradvice.org/inc/articlefooter1.php on line 29