via E-Mail Six years ago last month, my father died of prostate cancer. In thinking back, I now realize that about half of the older men I have known died from the disease. Relatives of at several employees are now or have recently been under treatment for prostate cancer. One of our people has been successfully treated for it.
One tenth of all men will get cancer of the prostate during their lifetime, according to The American Foundation for Urologic Diseases. Black Americans and men whose fathers and brothers have prostate cancer are at the highest risk of developing it.
Prostate cancer is usually curable when caught early, but it can kill if not diagnosed early and properly treated.
Because early prostate cancer has no symptoms, it must be diagnosed through regular checkups.
The older a man gets, the more susceptible he becomes to developing prostate cancer. Every man over age 40 should have a digital_rectal_examination as part of a yearly medical checkup.
The prostate is a walnut sized gland located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder. The urethra passes through it to convey urine to the tip of the penis.
By digital rectal examination, a doctor can feel the prostate through the wall of the rectum with his gloved finger. In doing so, he can discover if it is enlarged or has lumps or abnormal texture.
Eighty percent of older men develop an enlarged prostate. This condition, called benign prostate hyperplasia, or "BPH", can cause problems with urination, but should not be confused with prostate cancer.
Depending on his findings, your doctor may send you to a urologist for additional tests.
One of two primary diagnostic tools is a blood test called a PSA or "Prostate Specific Antigen" test.
The other test is called a "transrectal ultrasonography," or ultra sound. Depending on the results of these tests, the urologist may order other procedures to confirm or rule out a cancer diagnosis.
If a man is found to have prostate cancer, time is of the essence in starting treatment. If you think the one-in-ten odds of getting prostate cancer sound unrealistically high, ask around among the folks with whom you work. You'll find that nearly everyone has a family member or knows someone who has had the disease.
One hundred and twenty thousand American men develop prostate cancer each year. Thirty thousand die of it. Don't you be one of them.
Don't put off an examination because of discomfort or because the "thought of it is disgusting." Get a checkup annually.
Further information can be had by contacting American Foundation for Urologic Disease, Inc., 1-800-242-2383.
For suggestion or comments contact Cy Martin via E-Mail
Cy is a locomotive engineer on a Hump Job in Fort Worth 12-96