Family Doctor 2008

men PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING Prostate cancer screening: Is it for you? Prostate cancer follows skin cancer as the most common type of cancer among American men. All men are at risk, but questions about screening remain. Know your risk, watch for signs and talk to your family doctor about your options. By Sarah Smiley Young cancer (especially if their father or brother had the disease). If you’re at higher risk of prostate cancer, your family doctor will probably suggest that you have regular screening. Your doctor may recommend a blood test called a prostatespeciﬁc antigen, or PSA, test. A higher than normal PSA level may mean cancer, but it can have other, less serious causes too. which rarely causes symptoms or any other health problems. Men who have slow-growing cancer can usually expect to live as long as men who don’t have On the the disease. times Keeping your prostate healthy Researchers aren’t 100% sure what men can do to keep their prostate glands healthy. But eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and being physically active every day, will very likely improve your health. Ask your family doctor about what else you can do. He or she can help you understand the ongoing research and what it means for you. other hand, someprostate cancer is aggressive, which means it grows quickly and spreads early to other parts of the body. In these cases, screening has the potential to catch aggressive cancer at a point that treatment can be life-saving. Weigh the risks and beneﬁts minor problems such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (swelling of the prostate) and prostatitis (inﬂammation that’s usually caused by infection). But the same symptoms may mean prostate cancer. If you have any of the symptoms listed in the box (right), talk to your family doctor right away. Your doctor can check your prostate by putting a gloved, lubricated ﬁnger a few inches into your rectum to feel the gland. This is called a digital rectal exam, or DRE. The doctor is checking to make sure the prostate feels normal, with no bumps or hard spots. These may be a sign of cancer or another prostate problem. M any men — especially those over 50 — have prostate problems. These symptoms may indicate What are the common symptoms? ● Frequent urination. ● Pain or burning feeling while urinating. ● Difﬁculty starting to urinate. ● Less force to the stream of urine. ● Dribbling after you ﬁnish urinating. ● Blood or pus in the urine. ● Pain with ejaculation. ● Hip or back pain that does not go The PSA test is not perfect. Although PSA screening ﬁnds many cases of aggressive prostate cancer, it also ﬁnds conditions that aren’t cancer. This means that some men may have to go through unneeded tests and worry to make sure they don’t have cancer. Talk to your family doctor about the beneﬁts and risks of prostate cancer screening and treatment. He or she can provide information and advice to help you decide whether or not screening is right for you. Sarah Smiley Young is a senior associate editor with the American Academy of Family Physicians, headquartered in Leawood, Kan. away over time. To screen or not to screen? Some doctors think that every man should be screened for prostate cancer once he reaches a certain age. But other doctors don’t think this is a good idea for men who aren’t at higher risk. The American Academy of Family Physicians’ policy states that the choice should be left up to individual men and their doctors. One of the reasons doctors don’t agree about screening is that 3 out of 4 cases of prostate cancer are a slow-growing type, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION American Academy of Family Physicians http://familydoctor.org/361.xml American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn_0.asp Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostatecancer-prevention/MC00027 National Cancer Institute http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/ prostate Prostate cancer: Who’s at risk? tate cancer are over the age of 65. AfricanAmerican men are also at higher risk, as are men who have a family history of prostate 86 familydoctor 2008 © WWW.123RF.COM More than 8 out of 10 men who have pros- http://familydoctor.org/361.xml http://www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn_0.asp http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-cancer-prevention/MC00027 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/prostate

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Family Doctor 2008

Family Doctor 2008 Foreward Introduction Contents What Do You Want From Health Care? Confident Communication Need a New Doctor? Understanding Your Health Insurance OTC Safety as Simple as 1-2-3 The Fight Against Resistance Drug Interactions Prevention is Better than Cure Hitting a Home Run 'The Herbalist Will See You Now' Healthy Eating to Boost Your Heart and Health Exercise: The Elixir of Life Back from the Brink Taking Control Up All Night Vitamins and Minerals 101 Allergies: Combating the Causes Protect Yourself From Colds and the Flu Diabetes: Assessing Your Risk Dealing with Diabetes The Cholesterol Count Getting a Grip on Hypertension Facts About CKD Banish the Burn Easing the Pain Stop the Pounding Urinary Tract Infections: Common and Preventable Skin Essentials The ABCs of COPD Impotence: Tackling the Old Taboo Taking Responsibility for Your Health Prostate Cancer Screening: Is it For You? Protecting Your Prostate Heart Disease and Women: Know the Risks Birth Control to Suit You Maneuvering Through Menopause Help for PMS Infertility: Problems Having a Baby Preventive Health: What Women Need to Know Pregnancy: Taking Care of You and Your Baby Eating for Two Postpartum Mood Disorders The Basics of Breast Milk Newborn Screening Tests: Possible Lifesavers Common Newborn Conditions Childhood Vaccines: Why They're Necessary Food Allergies: The Facts Facing Your Acne Raising Grades Staying On Your Feet Age Gracefully: Take Care of Your Bones Battling Osteoarthritis Tackling Anxiety Beating the Blues

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