2019-06-01_Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_(2)

22 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE JUNE 2019

THEPROSTATEISA WALNUT-SIZED

GLANDthatsitsunderneatha man’s

bladder.Itsmainfunctionis tomake

someofthefluidsthatmakeup

semen.Asmengetoldertheprostate

usuallyenlarges,witharound40%

ofmenover50,and75%ofmen

over70,developingbenignprostate

disease.Butaboutoneineightmen

willdevelopprostatecanceratsome

timeintheirlife.

WHO’SATRISK?Thoseathighestrisk

include:blackmen,allmenover50,

(65to 69 is thepeakagefordiagnosis),

andthosewitha familyhistory– if your

fatherorbrotherhavehadprostate

canceryou’reat2.5timesgreater

risk.Beingoverweightorobese

mayincreasea man’sriskofbeing

diagnosedwithprostatecancerthat’s

advancedoraggressive(morelikely

tospread).

SYMPTOMS As you get older you may

start to develop urinary symptoms,

including a weak urine stream and a

feeling of incomplete emptying of your

bladder. You may need to get up a

couple of the times in the night to go

to the loo. These symptoms are nearly

always due to benign prostate disease,

as the enlarged prostate presses on

your urethra (the tube carrying urine

to the penis). In a minority of cases,

however, these same symptoms could

be due to a cancerous growth in the

BE PROSTATE

AWARE

prostate. It’s important to

know that you may have no

symptoms at all in the early

stage of the disease.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

‘There’s no specific diet that’s

proven to protect prostate

health,’ says Ali Rooke, a

specialist nurse with the charity

Prostate Cancer UK. ‘You can’t

change your age, ethnicity or

family history, but you can

control your weight.’

If you’re over 50, a black man

or a man over 45 with a family history

and are worried about prostate cancer,

discuss your risk with your GP. They may

decide to do a Prostate Specific Antigen

(PSA) test, which measures the levels of

this antigen in your blood and may

indicate a problem with the prostate

(although raised levels do not always

mean you have prostate cancer).

‘The PSA test can’t distinguish between

a benign condition of the prostate

gland and a cancerous condition, and

PSA levels can also fluctuate naturally –

they may be artificially elevated due to

vigorous exercise or ejaculation.

‘For these reasons, the test is not

reliable enough to be used as part

of a routine national screening

programme. But for some people

it’s the first step to being diagnosed

with prostate cancer, so it’s important

that men are given information and

understand the test can result in both

false negative and false positive results.’

Further investigations for prostate

cancer include a rectal examination,

MRI scans and biopsies.

❛It’s important that men understand

the PSA test can result in both false

negative and false positive results

❜

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU’RE

Treatments for prostate cancer depend on thegradeandthe

site. It’s classed as either a slow-growing form, a moderately

fast-growing cancer or an aggressive, faster-growing type.

If your cancer is localised and low grade, doctors usually

pursue a path of active surveillance – you’ll have regular MRI

scans and PSA checks to monitor if it’s progressing. If your

cancer is considered intermediate or high risk, your medical

team may try a prostatectomy (where the prostate gland is

removed) or destroying the cancer with external beam

Wake-up

call

3

OU’RE DIAGNOSED?