Subscribe Feed (RSS)Prostate Cancer - The Killer Men Don’t Want To Know About
November 3rd, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in UncategorizedProstate cancer kills the same number of men each year as breast cancer kills women, yet while public knowledge of breast cancer has increased ten fold in recent years, prostate cancer (which has quickly become just as prevalent), has generated nowhere near the same level of public awareness.
The difference between how men and women traditionally confront personal problems could be one explanation as to why it has taken so long to raise awareness. Men are typically known to take a passive approach; if something isn’t hurting them, they see no need to look further, for the problem. This is very bad because leaving things until symptoms (or the situation becomes chronic) robs the man of achieving an early diagnosis and treatment, where he has the greatest chances of a cure.
Often thought of as an ‘old man’s disease’, Specialists and Urologists are quick to point out that it is not so much the older male population that needs to understand it, but the younger population. They say it has now become a younger man’s disease that they can be cured of providing they have early detection.
It is a fact that although men as young as 32 have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is rare to see it in those under the age of 45. The key factor in prevention is the age at which to start testing. Ideally, it should be a time when the cancer can be diagnosed at an early curable stage, when the person is preferably still under 55. Those with a history of it in their families, are more susceptible, particularly if the relative who has had it, is a father, brother or uncle.
It is commonly said that among men that as soon as you start talking about prostate cancer, it’s amazing, how quickly other men “turn off.” It is even not uncommon to hear someone say “I don’t want to know. I just don’t want to know anything about it. If I die I die.’”
In my own family I remember when I was about eight years old, my Grandfather was admitted to the local hospital for an operation we were told was so private we (everyone in the family) was told we were not allowed to talk about it. Years later, I heard it whispered that it was something to do with his prostate. I was none the wiser- what the heck is a “prostate?”. Now I don’t even know what procedure he had because he is long dead and the only other person who would have known anything about this episode was my father- and he died last year.
Now I realise we were not so different to many other families- these issues were simply on the list of things that was not polite or proper to discuss in those days. Indeed there was a wall of silence even within families that was so effective, I have been told by medics today that when they ask patients if there is a history of prostate disease in their families- they will still frequently encounter a stone- faced look because the person has no knowledge of it- and most have never heard any discussion about it within their family.
Certainly, times have changed and today we as individuals are much more “open” to discuss things that not so many years ago were taboo! However, it takes time to effect real change to the point where attitudes become changed due to new awareness and habitual actions become the norm (testing). As said previously, at this time men still lag way behind women who have been used to being screened regularly for cancer. Only by those among us (who have, have had, or are facing this disease) speaking out and educating other men, do we stand a real chance of getting other men to do the right thing and make annual PSA checks part of their annual routine.
This is one of the reasons I felt obliged to spread the word by creating a website that talked about this issue (and the issues surrounding it) in honest, no nonsense, layman’s terms. God or a guardian angel gave me the gift of finding out early that I was suffering from this disease. I count myself as being extremely fortunate because everything I have ever heard about cancer always says - catch it as early as you can and it need not be a death sentence.
Also, I must mention the “good” that has already come out of my experience. My younger brother had not been to his GP for a checkup since 1996. Of course when I told him I had been diagnosed with cancer, he finally felt obliged to go. They discovered he was a type 2 diabetic- and worse, the following week they discovered he also has “leaking kidneys.” If he hadn’t been checked when he was, Heaven knows what the outcome would have been- a stroke? Renal failure? Dialasis? Heart Attack or death? Thankfully we won’t know now because his life has changed and he is being monitored, recieving treatment and changing his lifestyle. He now has a real chance of living a normal life for much longer.
This has to be a great outcome and way better than any one of the alternatives. Being “checked annually” is far more than just checking a man’s prostate. It is time for men to take a “whollistic” approach to their health and realise that part of being a man is also having an annual check to make sure “the machinery” is functioning properly. As great as the scientific advances are today, there is always a limit to what can be done- when the “inspection” comes way too late.
Dan Jarrett - one man’s journey battling prostate cancer includes a diary, resources and blog. We look at things in layman’s terms and discuss matters such as sex openly covering things that the medics don’t tell you.
dansprostate.com dansprostate.com
Tags: breast cancer, prostate cancerRelated posts
Tags: breast cancer, prostate cancer
