Tonight my guest was Mr Pete Acher; Consultant Urologist at Spire Hartswood Hospital. He was discussing prostate disease and diagnosis.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.
Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs you have it for many years.
Symptoms often only become apparent when your prostate is large enough to affect the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis).
When this happens, you may notice things like an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling that your bladder has not fully emptied.
These symptoms shouldn’t be ignored, but they do not mean you definitely have prostate cancer. It is more likely that they are caused by something else, such as prostate enlargement.
The causes of prostate cancer are largely unknown. However, certain things can increase your risk of developing the condition such as poor diet and lack of exercise. It has also been linked to consuming large amounts of processed meat.
The chances of developing prostate cancer increase as you get older. Most cases develop in men aged 50 or older.
It’s advisable to go for a prostate health check if you are in any doubt. There is a simple blood test initially, if any abnormalities are detected it may then be followed by a scan. If surgery is needed it is much better to catch the problem in its early stages, but all surgery is kept to a minimum and modern techniques mean that the affected areas can be directly targeted efficiently and effectively.
If you don’t have medical insurance and don’t want to wait you are able to pay for a one off consultation and test at Spire Hartswood. Contact them for more details.
