Enlarged Prostate or Prostate Cancer?
May 24, 2010, By Jeff Waddle 1 comment
If there is a boogeyman when it comes to men’s health, it’s prostate cancer. Some 230,000 men diagnosed in the U.S. with it annually, and about 30,000 die from it.
But cancer isn’t the only health issue involving the prostate, a walnut-sized gland surrounding your urethra that carries both urine and semen. Up to half of men will experience one of three prostate health issues in their lifetime—prostate cancer, enlarged prostate and prostatitis—and chances of you having to deal with one of them only increases with age. Here is what you need to know about each.
Enlarged Prostate
A common affliction of older men, an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) shows up in more than 50 percent of men over 60. But, guys of any age can display BPH symptoms, which include frequent urges or need to urinate, weak urine or semen flow and dribbling at the end of urination.
BPH and prostate cancer can cause the same symptoms, so your doctor will likely order a prostate-specific antigen or PSA test, a blood analysis used to detect prostate cancer. A digital rectal exam (DRE) also can be used to assess the size of your prostate and a urine test may be ordered to rule out infection.
BPH does not increase your risk of prostate cancer, but it can be quite uncomfortable. Several medications are available to relieve your symptoms, and some minimally invasive, non-surgical procedures can be used to reduce an enlarged prostate or eliminate urethra blockage. Surgical removal of the prostate (or part of it) may be required in some circumstances.
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