Men\u2019s Health Month is just around the corner and it offers a reminder to men across the country to take a serious look at their overall health.<\/p>\n
Prostate cancer is just one health issue faced by men, but with regular screening, it can be detected and diagnosed early.<\/p>
One of the problems with prostate cancer is that in the early stages of the disease there may be no symptoms at all \u2013 which is why regular and comprehensive screening is vital.<\/p>\n
Screening is done with both a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam (DRE).<\/p>
Dr Marek Borkowski, a urologist at Life Roseacres Hospital, firmly believes that you cannot make a clear diagnosis without both tests being done.<\/p>\n
\u201cA patient can have a normal PSA result and still have prostate cancer,\u201d said Borkowski, when he sat down with the GCN between brachytherapy (radioactive prostatic implant) operations at the hospital recently.<\/p>\n
Brachytherapy is a procedure that involves placing radioactive material inside your body.<\/p>\n
Brachytherapy is one type of radiation therapy that\u2019s used to treat cancer and is sometimes called internal radiation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has become a very effective tool in the curing of prostate cancer, which is a malignancy of one of the major male sex glands,\u201d said Borkowski.<\/p>\n
Borkowski could not stress enough how important screening for men who are older than 45 is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen visit the gynaecologist each year for a check-up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet men are not often willing to visit the urologist and screen for prostate cancer as it involves a rectal exam. How is this different from a visit to the gynaecologist?\u201d<\/p>\n
He further stated that early detection is vital when treating prostate cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce symptoms are present, the cancer is often in the late stages and is hard to treat or untreatable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Men\u2019s Health Month he plans to have a day where he offers free testing to a certain number of patients who do not have medical aid, but the date is yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
In addition to prostate cancer, Borkowski also has an extreme interest in stones treatment, bladder cancer, incontinence treatment and the treatment of sexual dysfunction.<\/p>\n
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