What Is The Prostate For?

Wade is in his late 40s. In the past he has never been particularly conscious about his health. However he does jog about 20 minutes on his treadmill each day. He was on blood pressure medicine. He was a non smoker. But he did eat whatever he wanted and was a beer drinker. He considered himself to be in okay health. Nevertheless his doctor felt he was nearing the age were regular prostate screening is a good ideal. Wade really was not sure what that was but it sounded uncomfortable so he did not keep the appointment. Approximately 1 year later, it was time to renew his blood pressure prescription. But his physician would not renew it until he took the prostate screen. When Wade found out all it was is just a simple blood test called a PSA he was a little embarrassed. The results came back as high readings, so the doctor drew more blood and did it again. The re-test had the same results. Wade’s doctor then referred him to a urologist, who also took blood, and ran another test, and got the same results. At this point the urologist recommended a prostate biopsy. This is considered as an invasive procedure but this was no longer Wade’s main concern. The results from the biopsy was confirmed a positive for prostate cancer. The urologist considered it as discovered in time. Wade had a procedure known as a prostatectomy which does require a recovery period afterwards. But Wade will be okay. But he can’t help from being terrified to think what could have happened during that year he ignored the doctor’s advice to get tested. It could have been a much worse situation just due to his lack of knowledge.

Stories very similar to this are repeated thousands of times by men every year. Many times the outcome is not as good. That is the purpose of this brief article. There are many men who are not really sure what the prostate is. The intent of this article is to give a basic overview to educate about the male prostate and the most common disorders that can occur.

WHAT IS THE PROSTATE? The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located in front of the rectum and underneath the urinary bladder. It is found only in men. It surrounds the neck of a man’s bladder and the urethra. View a picture Here.

The urethra is the tube line that carries urine from the bladder and out through the penis. The prostate is partly muscular and partly glandular There are ducts opening into the prostatic portion of the urethra. It is made up of three lobes: a center lobe and one lobe on each side. The prostate starts to develop before birth and continues to grow until a man reaches adulthood.

The medical world is still not completely certain of all that the prostate does. But they do know that one of its main functions is to make some of the fluids that protects and carries sperm in semen. As a component of the male reproductive system, the prostate makes a good part of the fluids that makes up the semen which carries sperm. When the male ejaculates, the prostate gland propels fluid. This is combined with sperm that is made in the testicles. Semen then leaves the body out through the penis during ejaculation.

WHAT ARE MOST COMMON PROSTATE DISORDERS? In general there are four fairly common prostate ailments:

PROSTATODYNIA: This is a type of inflammation of the prostate not due to bacterial infection. There is typically no presence of infection fighting cells, or antibodies, present in the urine of men who suffer from the disease. Prostatodynia is typically a chronic, painful disease.

Symptoms including chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area. There is also body aches, burning or painful urination, and the frequent and urgent need to urinate. They characteristically go away and then come back without warning. The way prostatodynia is different from other prostate inflammations is that the urine and fluid from the prostate shows no signs of a known infecting organism or of cells that the body usually produces to fight infections.

Treatments for prostatodynia can varied from antibiotics, non steroid anti-inflammatory agents, and muscle relaxants to medications for chronic pain.

PROSTATITIS: is a benign non life threatening condition. It is not prostate cancer. It is also caused by swelling and inflammation of the prostate. It can create discomfort deep inside the pelvis. There also may be discomfort when passing urine or with ejaculation. The discomfort can spread to other areas of the pelvis.

Prostatitis can affect men of all ages. According to the National Institutes of Health, Prostatitis may account for up to 25% of all office visits for complaints involving the genital and urinary systems from young and middle-aged men. In fact, chronic Prostatitis, which means it doesn’t go away, is the number-one reason men under the age of 50 visits an urologist. Chronic Prostatitis may also be related to other urinary tract infections. Prostatitis is considered chronic if it lasts more than three months. If caused by an infection it may be treated with antibiotics. Treatment is specific to each case. There are types of Prostatitis that can be harder to treat, especially if symptoms have been ignored for some time.

BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERLASIA (BPH): Also frequently referred to as prostate enlargement is quite common in older men. It too is a benign condition which is not prostate cancer. Some prostate enlargement is common in most men from age 50 onwards. And prostate enlargement occurs in 43 per cent of men age 60 and over. An enlarged prostate, means that your prostate gland has grown bigger. When the enlargement reaches a point where it starts to squeeze the urethra tube, which passes through the prostate, difficulties with urination can occur.

BPH is quite common, and it is rarely life threatening. The condition is what you frequently see on the TV commercials for treatments like Avodart. BPH treatments may require prescription antibiotics. In some very advanced cases, an operation is performed to widen the urethral. This procedure is called a trans-urethral resection of the prostate (TURP). General anesthetic is used, an instrument is inserted up the urethra through the penis and some of the prostate is removed which improves urine flow. The surgery may require a couple of days in hospital, with a catheter installed during recovery.

PROSTATE CANCER: This is the only one of the four disorders that is potentially life-threatening. It unfortunately does claim thousands of lives every year. One of the most worrying aspects is that many prostate cancers develop without men experiencing any symptoms at all. Prostate cancer is currently the second largest cause of male cancer deaths, after lung cancer. Almost one man in eleven will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime. Prostate cancer occurs when some of the cells of the prostate reproduce far more rapidly than in a normal prostate, causing a swelling or tumor. However, unlike BPH, prostate cancer cells eventually break out of the prostate and invade other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes, producing secondary tumors, a process known as metastasis. Once the cancer escapes from the prostate, there are possible treatments but for now a cure is not possible.

Therefore the most important thing to remember from this article is early screening and early detection to catch it while it is still only inside the prostate. With early screening and detection the survival rate of prostate cancer is over 90%.

The first step is a simple blood test call PSA. This test measures the amount of prostate specific antigen in the blood. PSA is released into a man’s blood by the prostate gland. Healthy men have low amounts of PSA in the blood. If the screening test comes back showing elevated levels then further testing, including a biopsy, may be advised by your doctor.

But it all starts with the PSA screening. It is recommended as an annual blood screen for men in their 50’s and older. However African American males have higher rates of prostate cancer. Also any man with a history of prostate cancer on their father’s side. Men in these groups really should begin getting testing their mid 40’s.

It is a very simple test that could save your life.

For more information on the male prostate, testing, diagnosis, treatment and recovery, Go Now To: ConsumersInfoUSA.com/Prostate-Guide.html

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