This year the charity is urging women to look out for possible symptoms in their partners so they might encourage them to go and see their GP and get a blood test.
The symptoms include:-
- frequent night time urination
- difficulty in passing urine
- a weak flow
- a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
- pain when passing urine
- pain in the lower back, hips or pelvis
- blood in the urine or semen
- problems getting or keeping an erection.
If that hasn’t put you off the day, nothing else will.
Did you know that two thirds of British men don’t know what the prostate does?
In case you’re wondering, the prostate supports the neck of the bladder and makes some of the fluid of semen. Naturally, the prostate is therefore important to sexual function.
I can see by now you’re thinking, “Flowerpot, really. This is a blog! I don’t want to read about this stuff.”
And this is precisely the problem. We’re all embarrassed by this sort of stuff – stuff to do with waterworks, with the messy underground reality of what happens in our bodies – or in this case, our partners’ bodies.
And because we’re embarrassed, and because most men will think of any excuse NOT to go to the doctor, particularly if it’s about something as trivial as having to get up several times in the night to have a pee, prostate cancer might not be diagnosed until it’s too late.
In Britain, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new cancer cases among males. About 32,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. Among these are men as young as thirty five.
So if you notice any symptoms – try and get him to the GP. I find threatening divorce usually helps. But get him there.
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12 comments:
I don't find it embarrassng at all, FP...but then I'm the kind of gal who only last year blogged about abnormal vaginal discharge. I thought 'why the hell not? It may happen to any one of you in the end.'
Good for you for writing about it. Men (and ok, women too) can be so good at sticking their heads in he sand. I've learned through blogging that one person can read a post and tell another, who tells another, and it can change that persons life. So thumbs up from me.
Thank you Flowerpot. This does indeed need to be promoted. My husband won't go to doctor unless he's in real agony.
It's good that you have written about this and even better that Prostate cancer has been given an awareness week.
Crystal xx
MissU - many thanks for that endorsement. I think you might be in the minority! Glad the job's going well though - great news!
Men have a tendency in general not to go to the doctor about anything - it adds to their masculine mystique to tough things out. But prostate cancer is one of the few cancers that can be detected early enough to do something about it. Why throw your life away when you don't have to?
Crystal - no most men are terrible, aren't they?
julia - I don't know whether it's masculine mystique or, in my brother-in-law's case, an inherent fear of anything or one medical.
No embarrasing at all but very informative. MWM is quite good at going to the doctors when there's anything wrong with him but it doesn't hurt to have someone else looking out for them does it?
Ak - sounds like you have a very rare husband! Well done you.
A relative of mine has prostate cancer but because he found it so early (regular checks as cancer runs in his family) he is getting treatment and is doing very well.
Yes, this is a very important issue to raise, my father in law has had treatment for it, I just hope all men can be aware of the symptoms and seek early diagnosis.
extremely important.
a colleague of mine had surgery for prostate cancer about a year ago. he told me a while back that the treatment was successful and he was "fully functioning," and even though it was a bit embarrassing to hear, i was happy for him.
debs - so glad he's got treatment early. If my husband hadnt got treatment when he did - well, dont want to go there.
ellee - yes it is importnat. we must talk about it.
laurie - he was lucky if he was fully functioning. Most people don't after that surgery.
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