September is once again national prostate cancer awareness month. The prostate is a gland that is found only in men and is located just below the bladder as it wraps itself around the urethra. The main function of the prostate gland is to play a role during reproduction, however, as men age, a myriad of problems can occur dealing with the prostate.
Most men over 50 
will experience an enlarging of the prostate, sometimes called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy, or BPH. This is usually not serious but can lead to difficulty urinating and gets worse with age. It is often necessary to take medication to control BPH, or in some cases, undergo surgery.
For as bad of an issue as BPH can be, the worst problem associated with the prostate gland is cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, except for skin cancers. Risk factors for this disease include age, as many of the prostate cancer cases occur in men older than 65. Modifiable risk factors include the usual suspects: poor diet, obesity, and smoking.
In rare cases, sexually transmitted diseases and a past vasectomy can cause a predisposition to prostate cancer. If anyone in your family has ever been told they have prostate cancer, your risk factors due to genetics rises greatly.
The truly scary thing is that early prostate cancer has almost no symptoms, at least in the early stages. It is usually much later, often when the disease has spread, that noticeable signs occur. These symptoms include problems urinating, including the urge to urinate more often, blood in the urine, and a generalized pain or weakness in the hips, back or chest.
Prostate cancer, as with most other forms of cancer, is graded by how far it has spread. The good news is that local and regional cases (confined to the prostate or nearby structures) are easily treatable and have a 90 percent survival rate at the five-year mark and about the same amount at 10 years. However, the prognosis is much worse if the disease has spread to the distant stage and found its way to the lymph nodes. The obvious solution is to find the problem before it becomes a major health issue.
The easiest way to treat prostate cancer is through early detection. Often, screenings can locate problems before symptoms become evident. September is the national month in which all men should remind themselves of the importance of prostate health.
Consider your age, your lifestyle and any symptoms that you might currently have of BPH to make your decision. If you are over the age of 40, are you man enough to put your pride on a shelf talk to your doctor about prostate issues?
Stay safe out there.
