Top 10 Things Women Should Know About Prostate Cancer
By: Theresa Morrow, Co-Founder, Women Against Prostate Cancer
Women Against Prostate Cancer, a prostate cancer support group geared towards helping women and families affected by prostate cancer, wants to make sure every woman knows the facts about the disease. Below are the top 10 things women should know:
- What is a prostate? The prostate is a walnut-sized male gland that contributes to the fluid that carries sperm. It is located just below the bladder.
- What is prostate cancer? Prostate cancer occurs when a group of cells begins growing abnormally out of control in the prostate and invades healthy tissue. The cancer cells may also spread from the prostate to other parts of the body.
- Who does it affect? Prostate cancer does not only affect men; the disease can have a devastating effect on entire families, especially wives and partners.
- Who is at risk? According to the National Cancer Institute, 1 in 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, for African American men the rate is closer to 1 in 4. Nearly 190,000 American men will be diagnosed this year, ultimately leading to 27,000 deaths.
- What are the risk factors? While the exact cause of prostate cancer is still unknown there are dynamics that can increase a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer including:
- What are the signs & symptoms? Early stage prostate cancer typically has no symptoms. Therefore, in addition to regular checkups, a man should see a health care provider if he experiences persistent hip or back pain, has difficulty urinating, feels pain and/or a burning sensation during urination, or has blood in his urine.
- How is it caught early? The most common early detection methods include a digital rectal exam and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Abnormalities may indicate the need for further testing. WAPC recommends that at age 40 (35 for high risk men) men receive a baseline PSA and digital rectal exam, and speak with their physician about annual screening thereafter.
- What are common treatment options? Depending on the individual, there are several possible treatment options, each with a different side effect profile. The most common treatments include prostatectomy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and active surveillance, among others.
- What can women do to help?
*Gently remind him to get a prostate screening. If that doesn’t work, pick up the phone and make an appointment. Early detection leads to the greatest outcomes and an improved quality of life.
*Stand by your man. If your husband or partner is diagnosed, show support by attending doctor’s appointments or support group meetings with him.
*Research. As mentioned above, when it comes to treatment options the choices are numerous. Learn all you can about each treatment, its side effect profile and expected outcomes, and share what you learn with your partner.
*Seek support. Connect with other women who are facing the same challenge. Join a local WAPC chapter for support, and to continue the fight against prostate cancer. - What is the survival rate? While there is much work to be done to end this disease, there is hope. If detected early, prostate cancer is highly treatable. To that end, according to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate is nearly 100%.
*Age: A man’s chance of developing prostate cancer increases quickly after age 50.
*Family History: Those with a father, brother, uncle or other male relative who have had prostate cancer are at increased risk.
*Race: African American males are at the highest risk of developing prostate cancer, as they are up to twice as likely to develop and die from the disease.
Related posts:
- Women Against Prostate Cancer Support Group Launches Updated Website
- Women Against Prostate Cancer Responds to Updated Recommendations on PSA Screening
- Women Share Their Stories of Hope, Love & Loss with Prostate Cancer
- Much Needed Hearing in House Oversight Committee to Address Prostate Cancer Screening, Treatment, and Impact of Disease
- Women Against Prostate Cancer Announces Speakers at Upcoming Conference
Great site. Here’s another important thing women need to know or remember about men and health problems like prostate cancer.
Few if any studies are out there, but anecdotal evidence tells us that a signficant number of men have modesty issues just as women do. Treatment for diseases like prostate cancer often require the most intimate kind of exams, tests and procedures. Some men, like some women, would prefer same gender doctors, nurses and/or techs for these events. For some men it doesnt’t matter. Other men may prefer female care. We’re all different.
Some men may avoid this issue because of modesty and embarrassment. Regardless of how you personally feel about this, you need to respect these feelings in your husband or partner, brother or son, father or grandfather, of friend — and be an advocate for him. Male nurses, cna’s and medical techs are available, but in the minority. Some clinics and doctor’s offices don’t even employ any male nurses or medical assistants. Talk to your man about how he feels and help him get the care that makes him feel comfortable in a very uncomfortable situation. As you know, many men will not speak up about about their feelings, and may go through all these exams, tests and procedures feeling completely embarrassed, even humiliated. This will neither help their health nor give them positive feelings about hospitals and health care workers. Some ma avoid future treatments. Not a rational decision, but not uncommon for both men and women.
Now, I know some of you reading this are saying that one should throw modesty out the window when it comes to live-saving health care. That’s a good rational argument, for both men and women. But we humans are not always the most rational creatures, especially when we’re vulnerable, afraid, naked under a flimsy gown and stressed. Women Against Prostate Cancer — ask yourself why you may prefer a female doctor or nurse for the most intimate kinds of exams, and then empathize with your partner. Talk with him about this issue. Communicate. Ask him what would make him feel more comfortable and heal better. Then act as an advocate for him. Make sure you use facilities that employ male techs or nurses. When you schedule, make sure a male tech or nurse will be on duty that day. Make it clear to the hospital or clinic staff what your partner’s preferences are.
Perhaps in a perfect world, gender wouldn’t matter to us, men and women, in situations like this. But this isn’t a perfect world, and we’re not perfect human beings. Our culture outside the hospital doors recognizes our bodily modesty and is designed to protect our modesty and privacy. The health care system doesn’t exist outside of the culture that lives outside their doors. They’re part of it and must respect how people, both men and women, feel about who has access to their bodies in the most personal kinds of situations. Most health care workers will work with you, but will rarely bring up the subject unless you do. Don’t hesitate to bring the subject up.
First I’d like to thank the wonderful women behind this site, and Minutemoon, for a very nice post. I’d like to address a few issues that Minutemoon touched on because he’s on target to why a huge majority of men are neglecting their health. When women go to get a mammogram at a breast health clinic the very last thing they expect to encounter during their test is a male mammogram technician. If you were to look up in your state licensing board you probably won’t find one male licensed mammogram technician in your state. Common sense and good marketing skills make the female patients as at ease and comfortable as possible. Having to disrobe and expose themselves to a male technician doesn’t fit that criteria, it would be embarrassing for most females. Men are no different; I and a multitude of men have avoided the health care system exactly because of this issue. We can make an appointment to see a male urologist because that is what makes us feel more comfortable but once we arrive the ENTIRE front desk is staffed by females. They want to know the reason for seeing the doctor and are privy to any and all personal details of the visit. Any registered nurse working in the urology clinic that will be assisting the doctor is female; does any of this make sense? Let’s reverse the rolls just as an example, how would most females feel going to a breast health clinic and upon arriving see the entire front desk staffed by male receptionists greeting them and asking personal questions of them. Then find out the mammographer is male and he has a male assistant. Is the comfort level still there? Back to the male in the urology clinic, the doctor has found reason to send the man out for a testicular ultrasound at the local hospital. I checked at my local hospital, ALL Sonographers staffed for this test are female. If prostate cancer is detected the man will be sent to a hospital facility for radiation therapy. He will be exposed totally naked for the therapy, in 90 plus percent of the cases he’s in the room with a minimum of two female technicians. The web has many examples of the humiliating experiences men have had to endure during these radiation therapies (read “My angles have come” by Art Stump). Women can get accommodation when in the hospital as it’s staffed by 90% females. When a man needs to have any intimate exams performed, Foley catheter, prostate ultrasound, prostate biopsy, Pre surgical scrub, he will be exposed and it will be done 90% of the time by a female nurse. To sum up, this is a wonderful thing your doing for men’s health; my intent wasn’t to discourage anyone but to point out some of the obstacles men face in this endeavor. They need their privacy and modesty respected during these intimate exams also. If some of these modesty and privacy issues could be resolved in the near future I really believe men would be taking much better care of their health which would benefit everyone. Thank you for your effort to address this important issue.
Lefteddie
Two amazingly on target posts! I am also avoiding prostate exams etc due to all tests will involve several females being present when I am feeling vulnerable and exposed. I would rather take my chances than put up with such humiliation, it may be wrong but then so is smoking, eating too much, driving too fast, being overweight, having high blood pressure, drinking to much alcohol etc etc.
It would be such a blessing if my concerns were taken seriously, not mocked.
Blame all the perverted female clerks who made a point
to watch young men in the military get an induction
physical. Blame all the perverted female nurses,cna’s
and even female physicians who would violate the privacy of male patients. Blame many male physicians
who declined to stand up for male patients privacy
by allowing female clerks or any females for that matter to stand in on intimate exams,when their presence was not needed. One of the
oaths of hippocrates(I will respect the privacy of my patients.),I suppose they missed that class.
Many men won’t admit it,however,it is the prime reason why many men refuse and delay medical care
until its too late.When your brother,father,
husband,boyfriend or grandfather is dead,don’t blame
the cancer. Don’t blame the disease process,blame the system that discriminates against men and their privacy.Blame the perverted females that work in healthcare who work in healthcare for this reason.
Many web sites attest to this behavior such as
http://www.allnurses.com under general discussion,do you
check your patients penis daily.Look at some of the
comments made by nurses. Look for “Whoa innappropriate” on allnurses.www.topofmyhead.com examples of unprofessional nursing.It was an
established practice in the 70′s and early 80′s for
nurses to strike the penis of male patients with a
steel spoon if they had an erection.This included
young boys! Some were rendered impotent!
Currently 95% of all nurses are female! Ever see
a male nurse at a urology clinic? No! Ever see a male
mammographer?,No! Are you getting my point?
I definitely understand what you guys are saying, but I think we must not forget that these nurses are very important and without them a lot of these procedures would not get done. It would be great to see more men in the nursing field and I am fully in support of that, but until that happens we can’t look down on the nurses that we do have just because they are women. If they are behaving inappropriately then they should be disciplined appropriately.
Many women, including me, have male gynecologists who perform both vaginal exams and basic breast exams. In fact a majority of physicians are men, especially in the urology field.
Great posts all……
But James: This is a group of sincere women helping families and friends. Not really a place to soap-box your hatred. You may have just ruined a sypathetic ear.
I would vote to remove it.
I’m not looking for a sympathetic ear and certainly
never recieved respect for privacy while I was a
patient either. If you people want to travel down
that road of being advocates for a cause then do your homework.
Open your eyes and ears and listen to what some
are saying.I’m advocating for these issues as well
and I’ve certainly been doing this long before the
internet was ever created.
Get a real good idea why men die of these diseases and why they don’t seek care and until you
make these issues known. You are all missing the
whole point unless of course this is just a jobs
bill!
Becky
Several points I’ll make regarding your comments.The female nurses that behave innapropriately
have female nurse bosses who most likely did the same,
therefore,how can they punish someone for something
they did as well.When is a female nurse manager going
to fire a female nurse for making sexual comments
about a male patient’s penis,yet,what if a male nurse made a sexual comment about a female patient,then what?
If you look at urology residents across the
nation they are increasing rapidly.In some urology
residence programs the percentages are equal in gender.If you choose a male gyncologist then thats
your business. Suppose,however,that you choose a female gyncologist for delivery of your baby. The
labor and delivery will have no male nurses. There
will be no male mammographer when you need your annual
mammogram.Should you make a hospital visit remember
the percentages are 95% female for nurses. When was the last time you saw a male receptionist at the gyn
or mammo clinic.
The percentages for cna’s are nearly 100%,furthermore if you look at hipaa violations among celebrities they are nearly 100% commited
by females working in that healthcare setting.
Look at cellphone violations in healthcare and
virtually all are committed by female healthcare workers. Women have for some time looked down on
male healthcare workers.We see that since there are
NO male mammographers in the united states. Please
don’t tell me differently,I spent months looking!
We don’t see male nurses in L&D and NO male
nurses in urology clinics.Why shouldn’t I look down
on the female nurses that we do have.Tell me Becky.
This site is amazing, esp. the comment section. Most of the guys I know have stories of medical embarrassment at the hands of female support staff. Most of the guys also avoid clinics like the plague but won’t admit that that’s the reason why. I do myself. Barring an extreme emergency, I’ll never, ever again be exposed to 19-year-old medical assistants or receptionists with “important papers to be signed,” barging in on intimate examinations. Literally, Give Me Privacy or Give Me Death.
Except for conditions like high blood pressure or cholestorol or any thing where I get to keep my pants on, I’m finished with clinics. Maybe one day some brave soul will have the “groundbreaking” idea of a male wellness clinic with an all male support staff–shocking concept!–but till then, bring on the home remedies.
I’m disappointed that the owners/moderators of this blog have not responded to some of these posts. On another page, I see you do briefly mention helping men find the right gender. But this issue is more complex than just asking for accommodation and very often the genders men will face are not out in the open within the hospital culture. Many if not most in the medical profession either make too many incorrect assumptions about how men feel regarding this issue and just do what they want — or, they know they can’t accommodate men, but wanting the business, keep this subject off the discussion table until the men are directly facing the intimate care.
I would appreciate some moderator/owner responses. I respect the effort you’re making, but I’m trying to make the point that men have preferences just line women do, and they really need women to advocate for them once they get into a medical culture that frequently doesn’t consider gender an issue at all. Women know this. They’ve been through it and still face this issue.
Minutemoon – thanks for your post. I see that there are many passionate voices on this issue.
Do you have specific ways that women can take action to advocate for this issue? As a very new organization this isn’t a topic that we’ve heard discussed too much yet, but if there are ways that we are able to use our limited resources to address it we will do what we can.
Would you see something as simple as adding a sentence about ‘helping men find a medical environment that is gender appropriate and in which they feel comfortable’ to our future materials appropriate?
We are definitely open to suggestions on specific ways we can take action and to act on them if they fall within our mission and objectives.
Thank you for your response. I think that sentence:
“helping men find a medical environment that is gender appropriate {for their individual needs} and in which they feel comfortable’
is a great start.
Otherwise, your organization can help educate both men and women in these ways:
1. Educate women in male psychology, particularly when it comes to medical care. In our culture, many men are socialized not to complain — that’s not considered manly. It’s not macho to admit that your not comfortable with opposite gender caregivers in especially intimate situations. For a good number of men, it’s as embarrassing to admit their discomfort as it is to put up with what they may consider humiliation. They’ll hold it in, wallow in all their frustration, resentment, anger, etc. — but it may affect their later trust relationships within health care, and may cause some men to avoid important care.
2. Knowing this, women need to get men to talk. Get them to feel comfortable stating their preferences, what makes them feel comfortable. Women can talk about all the problems women have had with modesty issues before numbers of female doctors became available. Let the men know it’s okay to feel the way they do, that there’s nothing wrong with them for wanting some modesty.
3. Having said all that — we don’t really have good stats on how men feel about opposite gender care for intimate exams and procedures. Some men are okay with it. For others it doesn’t matter one way or the other. But some men, like some women, feel much more comfortable and psychologically safe with same gender care. Women shouldn’t assume this issue is relevant to all men. But, just because they won’t admit it, esp. at first, doesn’t men it might not be an issue to them. Many man don’t get into these kinds of medical situations (prostate, etc.) until they’re older. They don’t really know much about what goes on inside hospitals, and the intimate are details of some prostate procedures, including who will be present and who will do what, are rarely explained fully. On the other hand…
4. …this issue affects young men and teens, too. Women can make sure their teen sons know they have gender choice options, too. They often not given options for testicular and hernia exams. It’s not uncommon for a male teen to have a school sports physical (no choice of doctor’s gender) with a female doctor and a female nurse standing by while he as to drop his pants for a hernia and/or testicular exam. For some male teens, that’s tolerable. For others, it’s completely humiliating and may result in creating future attitudes toward how they’ll be treated within the health care system. These are some of the possible indirect reasons why some men later avoid health care. Again, no real research on this — which is certainly needed.
5. Once in the system, make clear to providers your man’s preferences and be prepared to, at times, fight for it. Don’t be put off or intimidated. Get this subject on the table and make sure they know how important it might be for your man’s psychological health. We’re not just talking about an organ here — the prostate — we’re talking about a whole human being, body, mind and soul. Make sure both of you have advance directives for each other so you can speak for one another. When it comes to preference requests, don’t just accept “no” without challenging. This issue is directly connected to patient respect and dignity and most hospitals, within their patient rights guidelines, acknowledge, even if vaguely, respect for patient values. Attitudes and beliefs about ones body should be respected for both genders. Seek out clinics and hospitals that work with you. Don’t be afraid to file complaints against hospitals and clinics that deal with you uncivilly.
6. Finally, let your man know your values in this area and ask him to advocate for you when necessary. This isn’t just a male issue, although men do have a more difficult time in some cases. Women still have this problem. We, patients, need to educate the medical community. They need to understand the need for patient modesty not just intellectually, but emotionally that — just because they see naked bodies every day, doesn’t mean patients reveal their naked bodies to strangers every day. In all honesty, most medical professionals know this and most try their best to treat their patients with dignity and respect. But they’re human like the rest of us — and they get into routines and sometimes forget that their attitude toward medical nakedness isn’t the same as the patients.
Thanks for giving me a platform to express these opinions. Keep up your good work. Let’s men and women work together to advocate for each other as we find ourselves with our health care system. Working together we can accomplish a lot.
Thanks Minutemoon, these are all really great points. Definitely all things that we can keep in mind and find ways to incorporate into our future work. Thank you for your passion on the issue and for the suggestions!
To ADVO-KATE
It is interesting to me that my posts are
considered hatrid.If you want to get into the
advocating business,then this is what you should
expect to hear!
Advocating means standing up for people who
perhaps don’t have a voice,is it not.For people
who feel discriminated against. If you and I both
buy a television at say Best Buy,shouldn’t the
packaging be the same regardless of the gender
buying the product? Its flat out discrimination
to provide respect and privacy for women yet not
for men,modesty has nothing to do with it.
This is exactly what blacks went through in
the 60′s,considered troublemakers,arrested and
expected to be third class citizens. Sit at the back
of the bus or be thrown under the bus has been the
norm and still is today. Its the same mentality
towards male patients,don’t like what we have here
then go somewhere else.
If a female nurse behaves unprofessionally towards
you or is disrespectful of your privacy,”Sorry you
had a bad experience.” is often the response. No,
its unprofessional behaviour,look at what state nursing boards have posted and what they define as
unprofessional behavior. Yet,we are expected to shrug
it off when women wouldn’t tolerate it for one minute,
why should we?
In conclusion,I too write and make my concerns
obvious to my state and federal representatives as
well as to high schoolers,nursing schools and hospitals.
I do just want to comment on some of the extreme posts you’re getting. I don’t condone these attitude — this hatred toward female medical providers, esp. nurses not productive or. But what you need to understand is that a good number of these are written by men (and I’ve seen those written by women to against male providers) — these are written by men who have experienced hostile, humiliating, disrespectful opposite gender hospital care. It’s abuse. What you read from them is their pent up anger and humiliation. Again, I don’t condone it. But these men have lost trust in the system and, unfortunately, lost trust with female caregivers. I’m not suggesting this happens all the time — but it happens enough, too much — sometimes not even intentionally. But it happens. That’s why this subject needs to be on the table, and why women need to advocate and look out for their men when they get prostate cancer (and other diseases requiring intimate care). Don’t forget, some women don’t trust male providers either because they’ve been abused. So men need to look for their significant others also. Having said all that, you need to understand that I’m not suggesting this behavior happens all the time and that we shouldn’t trust health care providers. Most are wonderful people who work hard every day to save our lives and make us better, and do their best to respect our dignity.
Most women tell stories about how hard it is to get their men to go to the doctor.
Do you still really wonder why?
What this site could use is a listing of men’s health centers with all-male staff. Women’s wellness clinics with all female staff is big business. There was a public service segment on the news about free prostate exams WITH AN ALL FEMALE STAFF. Brilliant! (Maybe they thought men would appreciate women’s smaller fingers.)
This Cambridge Medical Center (http://cambridgemedicalformen.com/faq.html) is the kind of thing I’m talking about. See, all-male staff.
Advocate for things like this on the site. If nothing else, male healthcare providers need the job opportunities. Do it for your sons, fathers, husbands…
Providing a list of men’s health centers is a great idea. Any additional centers that you know of please send our way.