healthspin
Prostate Checks
Should Be Par for
the Course
You’re watching the AT&T Byron Nelson
tournament and tracking the leaders’ scores and
rankings – all important stats.
But you might want to “tap in” to some other
numbers that require a drive to your primary care
physician or urologist that could save your life. Each
day, more than 500 men are diagnosed with cancer
of the prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland next to
the bladder. The American Cancer Society (ACS)
estimates that prostate cancer will kill about 26,730
men this year. Yet, prostate cancer can be treated
(and potentially even cured) with early diagnosis.
English golfer David Hadley-Smith, 59, was
healthy and unfamiliar with prostate cancer until
ongoing urinary frequency led to a visit with his doctor.
Further testing revealed he had an elevated PSA, or
Prostate Specific Antigen, blood test. His doctors
recommended a prostate biopsy and surprisingly,
he had prostate cancer. He was successfully treated
and has made it his mission to raise awareness of the
disease.
To help the cause, Hadley-Smith persuaded 40 of
his fellow golfers to have checkups. Incredibly, 11 of
them tested positive for prostate cancer. They credit
Hadley-Smith for saving their lives.
Since most men with prostate cancer have no
symptoms at all, health care providers suggest having
a conversation with your primary care physician or
urologist to see if getting the PSA blood test is right
for you. The PSA test measures the level of a protein
made by the prostate gland. If there is a problem
with the prostate, the PSA level can become elevated.
A high PSA reading also may indicate
noncancerous conditions like inflammation of the
prostate or enlargement of the prostate.
Another common screening test, usually done
in addition to the PSA test, is a digital rectal exam.
Abnormal results in these tests may lead your doctor
to order further evaluation including a referral to a
By Stephen Graham, MD
Northshore Urological Associates
North Oaks Physician Group
urologist, who will determine the next best course of
action.
The risk of prostate cancer increases with age.
Genetics may affect your chances. While there is
not currently one single gene identified that raises
or lowers risk, a man with blood-related family
members, namely a father, brother, grandfather or
uncle who has had prostate cancer, is two or three
times more likely to develop the disease.
In addition, prostate cancer is more common in
some racial and ethnic groups. It is more frequently
found in African-American men compared to white
men, and more common in Hispanic men compared
to non-Hispanic men. It is less common in American
Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander
men compared to white men.
The good news is the ACS reports that the five-
year survival rate for men with prostate cancer is
nearly 100 percent in cases where the cancer is still
restricted in the prostate. On the flip side, for those
cases which are diagnosed late, the chances of five-
year survival are reduced to as low as 34 percent.
Hadley-Smith isn’t the only golfer to come to the
dance floor in support of prostate cancer awareness:
seven-time major winner, the late Arnold Palmer,
was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997.
Though he had no physical symptoms of an
enlarged prostate, the golf legend had been getting
routine physicals and PSA tests for years. When his
PSA level began rising steadily, his doctor suggested
a biopsy that found he had treatable prostate cancer.
Within eight weeks of his treatment, he was back on
the golf course, becoming a champion for raising
awareness and an advocate for PSA testing.
If you would like more information about prostate
cancer screening, contact your health care provider
or Northshore Urological Associates. In Hammond,
call (985) 230-7860 and in Livingston, (225) 686-
4960.
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