It is known that some health numbers are very important to us, such as blood pressure readings, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and body mass index or BMI.
According to Aria Olumi, MD, Chief of Urologic Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), all men need to know one more – the PSA, or prostate-specific antigen.
PSA can tell if there are any abnormalities within the prostate.
Doctors use the PSA test to check for prostate health in men. An increased level of PSA in the blood can be a sign of non-cancerous or cancerous prostate problems.
Because prostate cancer often does not show any signs or symptoms, it is important for men to their doctors to decide whether they need prostate cancer screening.
They researcher says most urinary symptoms are due to non-cancerous prostate issues or other parts of the urinary system.
However, men need to be cautious if they have some warning symptoms, including:
A weak or slow urinary stream
A feeling of incomplete bladder emptying
Difficulty starting urination
Frequent urination
Blood in the urine or semen (specific to prostate cancer)
Urgency to urinate
Getting up frequently at night to urinate
A urinary stream that starts and stops
Straining to urinate
Continued dribbling of urine
Returning to urinate again minutes after finishing
Erectile dysfunction
The above problems may be caused by prostate disease.
The three most common forms of prostate disease are prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH (non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate), and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate).
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer found in men, following skin cancer. It affects nearly 175,000 men in the U.S. each year and 60% of those cases are found in men over 65 years old.
Non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is common in men as they get older. It is not life threatening, but can strongly affect the quality of life.
Prostatitis can affect men of any age, but it is more common in younger men, between 30 and 50 years old. Prostatitis can be caused by a bacterial infection or can be non-bacterial.
The three diseases require different treatment strategies, and patients need to have a discussion with their doctors about the best therapy for them.
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