It’s all about our lovely men this month of Movember – and their prostates.
Did you know?
- Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and rates are on the rise.
- By 2030 there will be 1.7 million men living with prostate cancer (that’s a cheery thought isn’t it – almost as cheery as thinking of Donald Trump as president elect, but I digress…).
Some interesting bits about yours bits.
- Only males have a prostate.
- The prostate is a doughnut shaped gland about the size of a walnut (it could be the size of an apricot by age 40 and the size of a lemon by age 60).
- 2/3 of the prostate is glandular tissue which produces fluid for semen, which carries sperm during a man’s orgasm.
- 1/3 of the prostate is muscle, which contracts during an orgasm to expel the semen into the urethra.
- The prostate surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder through the penis.
- 50% of men will develop an enlarged prostate by the time they are 50 years old.
- Up to 90% of men aged 70 to 90 years old develop an enlarged prostate.
One of the most common health problems experienced by men is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) – which is just a fancy way of saying a man’s prostate gland has become bigger than it should be.
Symptoms of an enlarged prostate include:
- Difficulty starting to urinate
- Difficultly maintaining urinary flow, or starting and stopping when trying to pass urine
- Needing to urinate urgently
- Needing to urinate more frequently
- Increase in the occurrence of urinary tract infections, which may cause irritation or burning when passing urine.
These problems occur because the urethra is squashed as the prostate increases in size (BPH is a serious and troubling medical problem that requires proper management).
It is important to mention that BPH is not prostate cancer, nor does it make you more likely to develop prostate cancer, however it is possible to have both.
If you’re sick and tired of needing to wee all the time, getting up in the night or dribbling, then nature has some gifts for you. Read our next blog post to find out what they are…