Men, do your prostate exam

ALTHOUGH it is no secret that prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among Jamaican men, local urologists are still having a difficult time getting men to come forward to do their prostate examinations so that they can detect and treat any cancerous growths before they spread.

Past president of the Jamaica Urological Society Dr Leroy Harrison said screening is not painful, although some men do tend to shy away from getting the mandatory periodical screening.

“It’s just the whole homophobia about somebody sticking a finger up in the back pocket, especially another male,” he said in giving the reason some men refuse to go through with this vital examination.

Harrison advises that all men over age 40 must do an annual screening, especially since prostate cancer is among the leading causes of cancer deaths in Jamaican men.

“Screening means that you don’t have any symptoms; it means that you are trying to catch a disease before it becomes symptomatic,” he explained.

Screening for prostate cancer usually involves taking a prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a blood test, and having a digital rectal examination (DRE) done. A PSA would help to identify signs of prostate cancer and when combined with a DRE, will help to assure that a man is unlikely to have prostate cancer.

A DRE is used to check for any structural problems in the pelvis or lower body by inserting a finger in the rectum while pressing on the belly or pelvic area. It is used to check for growths or enlargement of the prostate gland. A man can be examined while either standing and bending forward at the waist or by lying on his left side with his knees bent towards his chest.

“It is certainly not painful and it takes just a few seconds to insert a lubricated finger into the rectum. There are some men who would have a slight discomfort, but too much discomfort or pain would suggest that something is wrong with the prostate,” explained Dr Harrison.

He said that a DRE is very important since about 25 per cent of patients who have prostate cancer will have a normal blood test. The rectal examination is therefore a surer way of ensuring that a man does not have prostate cancer.

“If the cancer becomes undetected or enters into the advanced stage, then it will present symptoms and it can present with urinary tract symptoms, which will cause difficulty passing urine,” the doctor noted.

Although prostate cancer is a slow-growing form of cancer, it does impact on the lifestyle of those who are diagnosed with the disease. This form of cancer causes the enlargement of the prostate, urinary incontinence, pain with ejaculation, blood in the urine, and lethargy. Drugs used to treat the cancer oftentimes cause erectile dysfunction, hot flashes, bone loss and liver problems.