Guide For Prostate Health

By Susan Zeppieri

Men must be screened in order to find prostate cancer early. Even though tests are done, they could happen a thousand times faster if people knew more about prostate cancer and understood that it could be prevented. This is why knowledge can save lives. 

As the fear of prostate cancer spread around the world, many groups and government agencies started campaigns during Prostate Cancer Knowledge Month to raise knowledge and get people to get checked out early. One organization doesn't have to set up Prostate Cancer Awareness Month at the same time and in the same way as the other organizations around the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Zeppieri
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215577561

Book preview

Introduction

In men, the prostate is a small pea-sized gland sitting just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It goes around the top part of the urethra. It is in charge of making the seminal fluid that feeds and moves sperm. It is most likely to get prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or prostate cancer. BPH is the most common of these three diseases. The size of the prostate seems to get bigger as a person gets older. This is because major growth usually starts after age 40 and speeds up after age 60.

When it was known that every patient could be saved and every death could be 100% avoided if proper knowledge was spread as widely as it is for breast cancer, it is sad to think that prostate cancer is to blame for the rise in deaths over the years. 

Men must be screened in order to find prostate cancer early. Even though tests are done, they could happen a thousand times faster if people knew more about prostate cancer and understood that it could be prevented. This is why knowledge can save lives. 

As the fear of prostate cancer spread around the world, many groups and government agencies started campaigns during Prostate Cancer Knowledge Month to raise knowledge and get people to get checked out early. One organization doesn't have to set up Prostate Cancer Awareness Month at the same time and in the same way as the other organizations around the world. For instance: 

Since 2015, Canada's Nunavut government has recognized November as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Since 1999, health experts, health supporters, and people who care about the health of men's prostates and prostate cancer in North America have made September Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

The University of Wisconsin in the United States is pushing November as National Men's Health Awareness Month to raise awareness about prostate cancer. 

In the United Kingdom, Australia, a few states in the United States, and other countries, November (Male November) is a movement to raise awareness about men's health, especially prostate cancer. During the month of November, men don't shave their faces to raise awareness about men's health, especially prostate cancer. During Prostate Cancer Knowledge Month, many tools were given out to help raise knowledge about the disease. 

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN BENIGN BUMPS AND CANCEROUS LUMPS

Many of the signs of a swollen prostate and prostate cancer are the same, making it hard to tell which one you have.

First, the patient needs to know that enlargement of the prostate gland, the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is not a sign of prostate cancer.

The digital rectal exam

A doctor or nurse will use their middle finger to feel the prostate gland through the front wall of the rectum to see if there are any problems. If the gland has grown, you might be able to feel it with your finger. In BPH, the growth feels smooth and firm, but in prostate cancer, the gland may feel hard and lumpy. Most of the time, the process is not painful, but it may be a little uncomfortable.

Evaluation of protein-specific antigen (PSA)

The prostate gland makes PSA, which is a protein. PSA is usually in the blood, but its amount goes up with age and is very high in both BPH and prostate cancer. However, the rise in BPH is usually not as high as the rise in prostate cancer.

Exam with a transracial ultrasound

A probe is put into the rectum for this test, and ultrasound waves are used to measure the exact dimensions of the prostate gland and look for tumors. But this test can't tell the difference between prostate cancer and BPH unless the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

TURP stands for transurethral removal of the prostate.

Transurethral resection of the prostate is a popular surgery used to treat BPH. During this process, pieces of the prostate that are blocking nearby structures, like the urethra, are cut out. The doctor takes a piece of the extra prostate tissue and sends it to be looked at to see if it has cancer.

Chapter 1: Understanding Prostate Bumps

A prostate nodule is a hard spot on the prostate gland that looks like a knuckle. There are many things that can cause a tumor to form, such as prostatitis and prostate cancer.

Part of a man's reproductive system, the prostate gland has a walnut-like appearance. It is in front of the rectum and right below the bladder. It helps make sperm-carrying semen, which moves sperms to the penis when a man ejaculates.

This article will talk about what causes prostate tumors, how to spot them, and how to treat them.

What is a lump in the prostate?

A hard spot on the prostate gland is called a prostate tumor. It is high and hard, like the knuckle on a finger.

A prostate tumor could be a sign of cancer. During a health check, if a doctor finds a tumor, they may suggest a biopsy to rule out cancer.

The doctor takes a small sample and sends it to a lab for tests.

A lump or a growth?

On the prostate gland, a growth or a mass are pretty much the same thing. They are both growths that don't belong.

But people often call a harmless growth a nodule. People usually think of cancer when they see growth. But not all lumps turn out to be cancer. 

What happened?

A prostate tumor can form for many reasons, such as the ones below.

TESTICULAR CANCER

Prostate cancer is characterized by the abnormal multiplication of the cells of the prostate gland. Some lumps in the prostate can be dangerous, but not all of them are.

Depending on which cells they start in, there are different kinds of prostate cancer.

Among them are:

an adenocarcinoma

sarcomas

cancer of the small cells

Neuroendocrine tumors

cell cancers that change over time

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States.

The American Cancer Society says that every 9th man will be told they have prostate cancer at some point in their lives. The group also says that the average age at which someone is diagnosed is 66, and that 60% of cases happen after the age of 65. 

PROSTATITIS

Prostatitis is when the prostate gland gets inflamed. It is often caused by an illness with germs.

During their lives, about half of all men will have prostatitis. It doesn't make you more likely to get other diseases of the prostate.

Prostatitis comes in four different forms:

Chronic prostatitis is the most common and unpredictable type of prostatitis. Pain and soreness in the groin and bladder area are signs. A doctor might give you anti-inflammatory drugs or alpha-blockers to help you feel better.

Chronic prostatitis caused by bacteria: This is an illness caused by bacteria. A bladder infection might be the only sign of it. Antibiotics can be used to treat it, but it may come back.

Acute bacterial prostatitis: This happens when a bacterial illness starts quickly and spreads quickly. It is the least common type of prostatitis, but it is the easiest to identify and treat with medicines. There are chills, fever, and blood in the pee as signs.

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis has no signs and often doesn't need treatment. Most of the time, a doctor will find it while checking for something else.

PROSTATE STONES

Stones in the prostate form in or near the prostate gland.

They can be caused by blockages, like when the prostate gets bigger because of ongoing inflammation or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Sometimes the stones form when pee backs up in the bladder because of a blockage. Calcium phosphate makes up about 80% of prostate stones. They can look like bumps.

Chronic prostatitis can lead to prostate stones, which are also called prostate calculi. They often have the same effects.

Stones in the prostate don't always need to be treated. But sometimes they can cause swelling, pain, or make it hard to urinate. In these cases, a doctor may use electricity or a laser to get rid of them.

ANOTHER REASON

Other things that can cause a prostate lump are:

a stroke, which is an area of dead mass due to lack of blood flow;

Problems with the uterus, like a hemorrhoid

COMMON CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS

No one knows what makes the prostate get bigger. The growth of the gland and the amount of testosterone may be affected by things like getting older and changes in the testicular cells. Men who had their testicles taken out when they were young (for example, because of testicular cancer) don't get BPH.

Also, if a man with BPH has his testicles taken out, the prostate starts to get smaller. But this is not