Prostates

[jimpollard]

Hi everyone, this year the Men's Health Forum is going to produce a booklet on prostate health. We'd really like your help.

1. We'd like to hear from you if you've had any sort of prostate issues and would be happy to share your experiences.

2. But perhaps even more importantly: to all men out there, even if you've never thought much about your prostate, if at all, what questions would you like us to answer? What do you want to know?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jim

PS Prostates have a big impact of sexual health and on bladders and urination so definitely a penis issue!

[Timthemoth]

Great initiative, Jim. Very timely.I think we need to big up the prostate as it has such a low profile for most men but none of us would be conceived naturally without its help.

I'd be keen to know about the red flags for prostate owners so that we know when to seek medical help.

Also it would be helpful to have an ouline of what the diagnostic tests are and how to read them, what can go wrong with the prostate and when, what our doctors can do to help us and the pros and cons of the treatment approaches.

I recently had my first PSA test inspired by HM's issues and learnt that to get the base level reading I should avoid cycle riding and ejaculation for 2-3 days and of course a digital rectal exam in that time frame!

Who would have known unless my GP had told me.

Can also we try and destigmatise the dreaded DRE so that blokes get over themselves about it. Maybe explaining that such exams take place for other conditions and are not "de-virilising" but life preserving.

Finger or death...easy choice!

Best wishes with creating the information booklet.

[Omniscient1]

I think key issues are what are the outcomes of the various therapies that the doctors provide, both pharmaceutical and surgical.My experience is the meds did a bit of good, for a while,and the surgery was (understatement) fine. But its difficult with an individual view to see the big picture.

[hedgehogan]

Thanks for your request for feedback jimpollard . I haven't thought much about my prostate but I guess I would be interested to know:

What are the risk factors for having prostate issues?

Is there anything we can do or eat to improve our prostate health or shrink enlarged prostate?

What are the signs your prostate is having issues?

Is digital rectal exam the only way to detect issues? Some info on what people can expect during these exams would be really useful