Prostate Problems
What is the Prostate?
The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut and wraps around the tube that carries urine out of the bladder. It grows larger as you get older. If your prostate gets too large, it can cause health issues. Most prostate problems are not cancer. Having a problem with your prostate does not raise your chance of getting prostate cancer.
You may know when something is wrong with your prostate. See your doctor right away if something doesn’t seem right to you. Sometimes a doctor may find a problem that you don’t know about during a routine checkup or by doing a rectal exam. You may also need to have special x-rays or scans to check your prostate and the area around it.
Common Problems
Here are some examples of non-cancer prostate problems:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, is when the prostate is enlarged, but not cancerous. It is very common in older men. An enlarged prostate may make it hard to urinate or cause dribbling after you urinate. You may feel the need to urinate a lot, often at night. See your doctor for an exam.
Treatments for BPH include:
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Active surveillance or watchful waiting. If your symptoms are not too bad, your doctor may tell you to wait before starting any treatment to see if the problem gets worse. You will need a checkup each year. You can start treatment later on if your symptoms get worse.
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Medications. There are medicines that can relax muscles near your prostate to ease your symptoms or medicines to help shrink the prostate. Talk with your doctor about possible side effects.
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Surgery. If nothing else has worked, your doctor may suggest surgery to help urine flow. There are many types of surgery. Talk with your doctor about the risks. Regular checkups are important after BPH surgery.
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Other treatments. Sometimes radio waves, microwaves, or lasers are used to treat problems caused by BPH.
Acute prostatitis is a bacterial infection. It usually starts all of a sudden. It can cause fever, chills, or pain in the lower back and between the legs. It might hurt when you urinate. See your doctor right away. He or she can prescribe medicine to make you feel better.
Chronic bacterial prostatitis is an infection that comes back again and again. This problem can be hard to treat. Sometimes taking antibiotics for a long time may work. Talk with your doctor about other things you can do to help you feel better.
Chronic abacterial prostatitis, also known as Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), is a common prostate problem and occurs mostly in young to middle-aged men. It causes pain in the lower back, between the legs, or at the tip of the penis. Men with this problem often have painful ejaculation and need to urinate frequently. Sometimes antibiotics are helpful. The condition is very hard to treat and may require more than one treatment.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is common among American men. But, very few men die from prostate cancer. Treatment for prostate cancer works best when the disease is found early and has not spread to other parts of your body.
Your chance of getting prostate cancer may be affected by your:
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Age. Being 50 or older increases your chance of prostate cancer.
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Race. Prostate cancer is most common among African-American men.
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Family history. If your father or brother has had prostate cancer, you are more likely to have it too.
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Diet. Eating high-fat food with few fruits and vegetables may increase your chance of having prostate cancer.
Prostate Genes Altered by Intensive Diet and Lifestyle Changes
A recent pilot study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, suggests that intensive lifestyle and diet changes may alter gene expression (the way a gene acts) in the prostate—possibly affecting the progression of prostate cancer. Although the study's findings suggest directions for future research, such lifestyle and diet changes are not a substitute for proven prostate cancer therapies.
This pilot study, known as Gene Expression Modulation by Intervention with Nutrition and Lifestyle (GEMINAL) and funded in part by NCCAM, included a group of 31 men with low-risk prostate cancer. These men declined immediate surgery, hormonal therapy, or radiation, and participated in an intensive 3-month nutritional and lifestyle intervention while researchers monitored their tumor progression. The men stuck to a low-fat, plant-based diet and took dietary supplements including fish oil, selenium, and vitamins C and E. They also participated in stress management activities such as yoga-based stretching, breathing, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation; did moderate aerobic exercise; and attended group support sessions.
The researchers created "gene expression profiles" and took samples of the men's RNA before and after the intervention. They found that there were changes in the men's RNA following the lifestyle and diet modifications. Certain RNA transcripts that play a critical role in tumor formation had "up-regulated" (increased) and others "down-regulated" (decreased).
The researchers concluded that intensive nutrition and lifestyle changes may alter gene expression in the prostate. They believe that understanding how these changes affect the prostate may lead to more effective prevention and treatment for prostate cancer, and recommend larger, randomized controlled trials to confirm the results of this pilot study.
References
Ornish D, Magbanua MJ, Weidner G, et al. Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008;105(24):8369–8374.
Sources: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institute on Aging (NIA)
