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The (Almost) Forgotten Cancer

The (Almost) Forgotten Cancer

Author: Spike Farrell
Date: 2014-01-31
It never ceases to amaze me about the amount of exposure and awareness generated about Breast Cancer. Every week, or so it seems, there is some form of awareness event which is attempting to raise the profile of this horrid disease, which is great! The more awareness, the more inclined women will be to make sure they examine themselves properly and if they find anything suspicious, get it checked out by their doctor. It's wonderful that so much time and effort is put into Breast Cancer Awareness, whether it be pink ribbons, sports teams wearing pink shirts, or Breast Cancer fun-runs, you name it, it is being done! That is an excellent thing, as the sooner you catch the first signs of Breast Cancer, the easier it is to treat, and hats off to all involved with di-mystifying this disease.

What saddens me, however, is that there is a cancer which is just as common and it affects men only, and has very little exposure, nothing near the awareness factor that Breast Cancer has, and that cancer is Prostate Cancer. We men don't get ribbons or fun-runs, just "Mo-vember!" and I don't like growing a moustache! When it comes to the awareness factor, Prostate Cancer is almost like the Forgotten Cancer. Until you actually get it.

Prostate Cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, other than skin cancer. Prostate Cancer is also the second leading cause of death in men, behind only lung cancer. One in six men will get Prostate Cancer, and one in thirty six will die from it, very similar numbers to Breast Cancer in the US: 30,000 men died of Prostate Cancer, and just over 30,000 women died of Breast Cancer.Prostate Cancer can be a very serious aliment, but most men don't die from it. The trick is to early diagnosis. Amongst my friends, when we discussed it, no-one had had a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test.. As my friends are all over 50, which is the most dangerous age for this disease it came as quite a shock at the lack of any sense of urgency. The thing about men is that, I think, they just don't want to think about it, and an aversion to the dreaded " Finger Test". The feeling seems to be, "Don't want to do that, guess I'll just take my chances with that one!" That is such a short-sighted way of looking at it, and potentially dangerous. The longer you leave it, without having the test done, and you are eventually diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, the more serious it will be to treat. The most severe treatment is Radical Prostatectomy, which leads to many different and life changing problems. The other, and more popular treatment is Branchytherapy, a procedure which does not require radical surgery. Rather it is the placement of Radioactive seeds in the Prostate Gland, which remain in place forever. Yes, the side effects are quite heavy, because of the radiation,they tend to vary from person to person, but it is much easier than the operation, and after 6 months or so, you should be back to a virtually normal life. And alive.

So why do us men tend to avoid doing the test? Ok, the "finger test" is not exactly top of our things to do list, but it is not the first step, a PSA test is, the chances are you will be clear, so no "finger" test would be required, then you would have the peace of mind knowing you are ok. If a problem is found, at least you will have caught it early and be able to have it treated easily. Leaving it to chance is not an option.

So men, if you haven't had a PSA test yet, why not? Burying your head in the sand won't help matters at all. so get it done as quickly as possible.

Don't be a statistic!