The numbers don’t lie when it comes to health – especially when dealing with the No. 1 cancer among men in the United States – Prostate Cancer.
It’s also a reason the Tennessee Men’s Health Network held a seminar ‘What A Man Needs to Know’ at the LiFT Wellness Center to bring awareness to a curable disease, if detected early, during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Thursday.
“We’re here promoting awareness … how to find the disease, how to screen for it,” Dr. Timothy C. Davenport said. “It’s a cancer we can’t feel. It’s hard to convince men to go to the doctor when they can’t feel a problem. However, prostate cancer found early can be cured, and prostate cancer found late, often times cannot be cured.
“So, that’s why we’re promoting the detection of cancer, talk to your primary care provider and ultimately talk to your urologist about your risk factors – that’s why we’re here today.”
Dr. Timothy C. Davenport is a Diplomate of the American Board of Urology, Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Jackson Clinic Physicians Association.
Prostate cancer is defined as a group of cells growing abnormally in the prostate that may invade and destroy healthy tissues and organs.
The prostate – located right in front of the rectum – is a walnut-sized gland which contributes to the fluid that helps carry sperm.
Davenport stressed that the American Cancer Society reports that men with a brother, father or son who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer are two- to three-times more likely to develop prostate cancer.
He also presented some very sobering statistics that state approximately 30,000 men in the United States die from prostate cancer yearly, and over 230,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
Davenport said what a physician can’t discover when a patient comes in for a check-up, a PSA picks up where the doctor leaves off.
Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by normal, as well as malignant, cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in a man’s blood. For this test, a blood sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. The results are usually reported as nanograms of PSA per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood.
The blood level of PSA is often elevated in men with prostate cancer, and the PSA test was originally approved by the FDA in 1986 to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in men who had already been diagnosed with the disease.
“September is men’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and I’ve partnered for the last 10 years with The Men’s Health Network which is headquartered out of Washington, D.C., and with Mike Leventhal who is our state director,” said State Representative Jimmy Eldridge, “We all learned a lot today, and it’s important to bring programs like this to our community for good health … to promote healthy living.
“Prostate cancer can be treated – if you catch it early by examination.”
(PHOTO: State Representative Jimmy Eldridge, second from left, presents Dr. Timothy C. Davenport with a proclamation during a prostate seminar at the LiFT Wellness Center. Mike Leventhal, executive director of the Tennessee Men’s Health Network is pictured at the left, and Jimmy Harris, mayor of Madison County is pictured, right)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
https://www.facebook.com/NewsTalk1015/
