Men's Health Topic: Prostate Health

Prostate gland is a walnut shaped gland sitting below the bladder, in front of the rectum.

Prostate gland main function is to produce fluid that nourishes our sperm and helps to transport our sperms.

3 Common Prostate Problems:

• Infection/ inflammation – Prostatitis
• Enlargement – Benign Prostate Hyperplasia(BPH) or Benign Prostate Enlargement
• Cancerous – Prostate Cancer

Symptoms of Prostate Problem:

• Poor stream
• Urinary urgency
• Frequent urination
• Straining
• Incomplete voiding
• Nocturia (urinate at night)

If you experience any of the symptoms as listed above you are encourage to seek consultation from urologist to perform screening if required. The most common screening for prostate problems are Prostate Specific Antigen Testing (PSA) and Digital Rectal Exam (DRE).

When to do Screening?

• Age 50 or more
• Age 45 if you have a family member with prostate cancer
• Age 40 if you are BRCA2 gene positive (pancreas cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer etc)

This article was contributed by Dr George Choo Eang Leng, Consultant Urologist at Pantai Hospital Ipoh. To know more about where and when to see Dr George Choo Eang Leng at his clinic, click here.