Enlarged Prostate to Prostate Cancer to
Understanding PSA Blood Test Results
What Every Man Needs to Know
Why All Guys Must Get an Annual PSA Test
Boomers are having an impact on yet another area of life. Men of that generation, sliding into their 50s and beyond, are discovering an organ they never gave a second thought to before. Their prostate.|
|
You see, about time we hit 50 about half of all of us are discovering the havoc the prostate (a walnut-sized gland that sits at the base of your bladder) can wreck on our lives. You see as we age, it can become enlarged or swollen. And an enlarged prostate presses up against the bladder. This makes urination difficult at times. Also makes you feel the need to go a lot - even when you really don't need to - if you know what I mean. Plus a swollen prostate can cause you to get up several times during the night to use the bathroom. What's worse it is estimated that nine out of 10 of us will be dealing with the affects of an enlarged prostate to one degree or another as we close in on our 80th birthday?. Hmmm. Don't like those odds. |
Naturally the question at this point is simple. Are the prostate problems you're having simply a sign of BPH - short for benign prostatic hypertrophy? Or are they prostate cancer symptoms? And since more than 230,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year it would be good to know the difference, right? Since it would be good to know if you are treating prostate cancer or treating something else?
Besides, early detection of various prostate problems can make any condition more manageable. Letting you postpone or avoid prostate surgery altogether as one of the prostate cancer treatments.
This is why it is important to recognize when things are starting to go wrong. Are you dealing with prostate cancer signs or enlarged prostate symptoms. Would you know the difference?
It's also why you want to start to get a handle on your PSA blood test results. Learning to interpret what a given PSA score means just as well as you do a baseball box score.
Even if you can't do that - yet, one thing you can expect your doctor to suggest is a routine PSA test. What PSA testing does is measure the levels of prostate-specific antigen, proteins your prostate releases into your blood. What some will learn from taking a routine PSA exam is that they quite possibly have prostate cancer. We'll look at the details behind PSA tests and help you get up to speed on what the numbers mean.
Of course as inconvenient as an the symptoms of an swollen prostate are, those who PSA test reveals a more serious problem now face a prostate cancer treatment regimen. Which starts with deciding, with the help of your doctor, which method of treating prostate cancer is best for you and your situation. I mean you probably want to know your alternatives so you can make an informed choice, right? Given that some treatments come with a higher risk of sexual dysfunction and incontinence than others. We'll look at a current prostate cancer therapy or two or three. Giving you some things to think about as you approach prostate cancer treatment in your particular case.
Anyway, the purpose of this site is to help combat men's fear, apathy, and embarrassment over prostate problems. Which causes about half of us to put up with symptoms for more than a year before consulting a doctor. Which doesn't have to happen. Especially since there's really nothing to fear. Besides, isn't it manly to want to do what it takes to save your own life?
|
|
All Rights Reserved 2006 - 2007
» PSA Test