Just A Guy Thing

via The Doctr

Prostate cancer is one of those topics that guys hate to talk about. Who wants to think about a doctor’s finger up your bum, or the possibility of surgery and impotence?

But with the new year upon us, it’s time to take your health seriously and part of that is understanding what your prostate cancer risk is. It turns out that forty percent of men with prostate cancer may not even know they have it, according to a new research study by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Chicago. The study revealed the standard office biopsy procedure often isn’t enough to properly detect prostate cancer.

via Dave77459

Researchers used an advanced biopsy technique called stereotactic transperineal prostate biopsy (STPB). This was performed on patients with persistent elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels who previously had at least one negative office biopsy.

So what does this mean?? Even if your doctor has biopsied you and the result was negative, there’s still a good chance you may have prostate cancer if you continue to have high PSA levels.

The new STPB procedure is performed by taking around 40 samples of the prostate through the perineum while the patient is under general anesthesia. By taking more samples during the procedure, your doctor can be more certain about whether or not you have prostate cancer, and can have a better idea of the exact location of the cancer.

Before you start to panic, remember that while one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, only one man in 34 will die of this disease. Many prostate cancers are slow growing and treatable. So check out your risk factors and get screened if you’re concerned.