On the occasion of Men’s Health Month, held throughout the month of November, the Hospiten Group stresses the importance of prevention in men’s health to build awareness of the need to look after oneself and have regular checks for diseases like prostate cancer.
Dr. Guillermo Conde, specialist in Urology and Andrology at Hospiten, points out that this type of cancer is the most common in men and has the third highest death rate, although he insists we should not forget other problems that are becoming more common, like bladder or kidney cancer. For that reason, he encourages men to take regular check-ups with a urologist as something normal, just as women have accepted gynecologic checks as part of their health routine”.
The doctor states that 90% of prostate cancer cases can be detected in time with the right prevention measures”. However, he regrets that “having a check-up is something most men just keep putting off”. The reasons, he says “are not a question of a lack of effective treatments or that treatments are complex, but that men still have old taboos due to false myths, bad communication or confusion about the symptoms”.
See a urologist at the first sign of discomfort
Although it is generally recommended to have the first check-up at 45 years of age, unless there is family history of the disease, in which case it should before the age of 40. Hospiten insists that, no matter what your age, you should see a neurologist at the first sign of discomfort (for example, difficulty urination, the urge to urinate often, pain or blood).
Among the diseases of the prostate that often come up in men over 50, and in addition of cancer, is benign enlargement of the prostate, which just means that it gets bigger. It is a problem that gradually appears with age, and is affects 50% of men of 60 years of age and up to 90% of men of 85.
Benign growth of the prostate is usually treated with drugs, although when the patient does not respond to drugs, surgery may be needed. Nevertheless, Dr. Conde explains that “fortunately, nowadays there are minimally invasive treatments, like prostate vaporization with Green Laser or HoLep enucleation (Holmium laser) allowing for a rapid recovery, a short hospital stay and avoids the feared side effects of conventional prostate surgery”.