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Savvy Senior
Dear Savvy Senior,
I have been seeing advertisements on
television about older men who have erratic bathroom problems because
of prostate enlargement. What can you tell me about this and can it
lead to prostate cancer?
-- Gotta Go Joe
Dear Joe,
It’s inevitable! Almost all men
develop some prostate enlargement if they live long enough. In fact,
prostate gland enlargement is so common it affects about half of all
men over age 50, and 90 percent of men in their 70’ and 80s. But the
good news is an increasing number of medications and surgical options
are now available, making it easier than ever to treat it. Here’s what
you should know.
Enlarged Prostate
The medical term for an enlarged
prostate is benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH – a natural occurrence
in middle-aged and older men. What happens is, as the prostate
enlarges, it can squeeze down on the urethra (the tube through which
urine passes out of the body) and cause urinary problems. Do you have
BPH? Common symptoms include: the frequent need to urinate (especially
at night); sudden urge to urinate; a weak or slow urine stream;
difficulty starting urination; stopping and starting again while
urinating; dribbling after urinating; straining to urinate; and the
feeling that you still have to go, even when you have just finished
urinating.
Cancer Concern
BPH
is not cancer! Although some of the symptoms of BPH and prostate cancer
are the same, most men with BPH don’t develop prostate cancer, and BPH
does not increase the chance of getting prostate cancer. If you’re
experiencing some of the listed symptoms, and they’ve become
bothersome, it’s time to see your doctor. They can do a digital rectal
exam to check the size of the prostate and order a prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) blood test to rule out prostate cancer. If your doctor
does find you have BPH, you’ll be referred to a urologist for further
testing.
What’s Your Risk?
All men over age 50 are at risk of
developing BPH, and the risk increases with age. Other factors that can
hasten the process include having a family history of the condition,
being overweight, smoking and stress. BPH is also more common in white
and black men than in Asian men, and married men versus singles.
Treatment Options
If you’re diagnosed with BPH, there
are a variety of treatment options available depending on your signs
and symptoms. If your symptoms are minor and don’t bother you too much
(see the Mayo Clinics prostate self-assessment tool at www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-health/MC00046_D
to help you evaluate your problem), you may want to postpone treatment,
but you should still have regular check-ups to keep an eye on it. On
the other hand, if your symptoms are bothersome, the first step is to
try medication. Today, there’s a variety of drugs your doctor can
prescribe that can help relax or shrink the prostate to relieve
symptoms. If medication doesn’t do the trick, your next option is
either a nonsurgical therapy or surgery, which are very effective. Ask
your doctor about the various treatment options and their possible side
effects.
If
you’re interested in natural remedies, you need to know that the
popular over-the-counter herbal supplement saw palmetto, which is taken
by millions of men for enlarged prostate may not be effective after
all. A 2006 scientific study of 225 men with enlarged prostate,
published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that saw
palmetto did no better than a placebo pill in relieving symptoms. The
herbal supplement Pygeum however, has shown promising results.
Savvy Tip:
For more information, the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases
Information Clearinghouse offers a free educational booklet “What I
need to know about Prostate Problems” you can order or see online at
www.catalog.niddk.nih.gov, or call 800–860–8747 to request a copy.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” books.
© Copyright 2008 by The
Observer
News Publications and M&M Printing Company, Inc.
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