A new survey found a "widespread reluctance" to address this men's health condition—here's why the conversation is worth having anyway.
For fans of football, basketball, or hockey, this is the prime time of year for relaxing on the couch while rooting for a favorite team. But as any diehard sports fan knows, the thrill of victory one week can turn into the agony of defeat the next—and more than one in three men recently admitted they’d rather deal with the stress of seeing their team lose a big game, or getting stuck in traffic, than have one particularly important health conversation with their doctor.
The new survey from Orlando Health shows that 38% of men said they would rather deal with either of those scenarios than discuss their prostate health. This could pose a serious problem, though, since prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, affects a large percentage of men over 60—and often goes undiagnosed and untreated, in part due to lack of conversations about it.
Part of the male reproductive system, the prostate is a gland that wraps around the urethra and produces seminal fluid. If it grows abnormally large, the prostate can cause problems with bladder emptying, leading to symptoms like increased urinary frequency, increased urgency, or difficulty urinating.
“As the prostate grows, it squeezes the urethra. The bladder muscles have to work harder to push urine through the narrowed urethra, which might make your urinary symptoms worse,” explains the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Eventually, the bladder muscles may weaken and be unable to empty completely, leaving some urine in the bladder. This condition is called urinary retention,” their experts write.
Jay Amin, MD, a urologist at Orlando Health, notes that men can develop an enlarged prostate as a result of genetics and age-related hormonal changes—and adds that it’s surprisingly common: “Prostate enlargement affects approximately 60% of men by age 60, rising to as many as 80% by age 80,” he says.
Dr. Amin says that many of those men could benefit from a simple intervention known as the HoLEP (holmium laser enucleation of the prostate) procedure, in which doctors enter through the urethra to remove a portion of the prostate. Besides the benefits of small incisions and a three-week recovery time, it’s also considered highly effective: “Only about 1% of patients need another treatment, even after 20 years,” he explains.
Adds the urologist: “As a surgeon, I don’t like doing a procedure if I can only promise a small chance of improvement. Of all the procedures I do, it is by far the most rewarding procedure because everyone is happy.”
Of course, there’s another reason to end the taboo of talking about prostate health: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancer types, affecting one in eight men, according to the American Cancer Society. Reaching an early diagnosis can mean more treatment options to cure the cancer or slow its growth. “Most people with prostate cancer are cured,” says the Mayo Clinic, though clinic experts add: “Prostate cancer that spreads can be more difficult to cure.”
If you’ve been putting off an uncomfortable conversation with your doctor about prostate health, this may be a sign to reach out. Be sure to share any symptoms you may be experiencing, and ask your doctor whether prostate cancer screening may be right for you.
For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:
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