PROBLEMS OF THE PROSTATE
Men should never shy away from seeing a doctor when they experience difficulties in urine flow, as it can end up causing many complications, writes MEERA MURUGESAN
MANY men either ignore their health problems or don’t take them seriously enough. And when it comes to a problem in an area like the prostate, embarrassment and not wanting to appear weak and vulnerable makes them shy away more, even when they are experiencing obvious symptoms.
Men with urinary problems should never dismiss them as normal signs of ageing, says Brigadier
General (R) Datuk Dr Selvalingam Sothilingam, consultant urologist at University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
Symptoms such as urine flow being slower, taking longer to initiate peeing or dribbling at the end of peeing, and sometimes wetting their pants, may be indicative of a prostate problem.
Similarly, not being able to hold their urine in and sometimes not making it to the toilet in time — or waking up too frequently at night to pee, are also problems that a doctor should investigate.
“These symptoms do not necessarily mean prostate cancer but could be some other problem which is equally troubling and needs to be addressed.”
In fact, the most common prostate problem among men is not cancer but benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH which can cause a number of complications if ignored. For example, if men with urinary problems ignore their symptoms and the prostate becomes big, they can end up with recurring urine infections, infection of the testes or blood in the urine.
Another possibility is that the prostate causes so much blockage to the urine that it may lead to kidney failure. The formation of bladder stones is also possible.
THE RISKS
Where prostate cancer is concerned, it is the fourth most common male cancer in Malaysia, according to the National Cancer Registry.
Dr Selvalingam says it is still a disease of the older man. Men below 45 years are very unlikely to acquire the condition. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Those with a family history of prostate cancer, meaning a first-degree relative (such as a father or brother) with the disease, are twice as likely to get it compared to others.
Men whose mothers have had breast cancer also have an increased risk. Dr Selvalingam says both breast and prostate cancer are hormone-related and although the link between the two is not yet fully understood, the risk for prostate cancer is two times higher in a man whose mother has had breast cancer.
Prostate cancer rates are rising in Malaysia due to increased life expectancy which has led to a large number of older men in the population. This, coupled with more people embracing a western diet that’s high in meat and dairy and low in fibre, is also believed to be pushing the numbers up.
The Malaysian Oncology Society lists prostate cancer as accounting for 5.7 per cent of cancer cases among men.
CATCHING IT EARLY
Late detection remains an issue where prostate cancer is concerned. Dr Selvalingam says at UMMC, about 40 per cent of patients are presenting at a late stage. Late detection means the cancer has spread or escaped from the prostate and even gone to the bone.
Sometimes, it may not have escaped the prostate but has gone further from the wall of the prostate involving other surroundings organs like the pelvic muscles. “What we want is to catch the