Prostate Problems In Black Men! What Is Reality?

Welcome to the world of men's prostate problems! Prostate cancer is an interestingdisease forks! To treat or not to treat is also interesting because the disease itself is also slow growing and if left untreated will not cause any problem and men will eventually die of other medical conditions and not prostate cancer but it canalso be aggressive in black men. Testing for the diseaseitself is also interesting with lots of controversy on to do or not to?

Well now we know black ancestry is a key risk factor for black men's prostate problem. So the questions now lie on what is really wrongwith being a black man and prostate cancer? Most black men will eventually suffer from the symptoms of enlarged prostate. The medical condition is knownas 'benign prostatic hypertrophy'orbenign prostatic hyperplasia', commonly referred to as BPH. BPH symptoms range from mild to extreme. Mild ones have only a minimal impact on your life while extreme ones will dominate your day and night with major discomfort and pain.

Prostate Problems in men are happening to more and more of us black men then before and at an earlier age than before. Men In their 40s and 50s are now demonstrating prostate problems symptoms, and this was very rare a generation or during our fore fathers era. So why do medical expert tell their patients, 'There was nothing you could have done to prevent this'?It may be because doctors don't want to give people the idea that, ultimately, has the ability to control their own health. Perhaps even more often, doctors don't believe that people can control their health.

Well the medical industry creates the dependency -of us on them-by implying that disease is the random, spontaneous, and that the medical authorities have control over health, disease, and treatment. But do you know that the body itself has the ability to heal itself without interference?

I never knew this until after my masters in Prostate cancer-Sheffield Hallam University, UK. in our of the modules the psychology of cancer care we were introduce to complementary therapies as part of the cancer care plan in enhancing prostate cancer care and then after I decided to do more and I took some course in Naturopathic medicine-Botanical medicine or supplementary, Integrative Therapies and Traditional Chinese Medicine from the University of Minnesota center of Spirituality and Healing and it transformed my view on the healing process of the body. In countries like UK and USA a lot of research going on in how to help black men diagnosed with prostate cancer as part of survivorship to reduce the mortality rate but what is Ghana currently doing? Out of 1000 men diagnosed closed to 800 men died of the disease (GLOBOCAN 2002) Compiled by ferlay et al.

Survivorship is central for people diagnosed with prostate cancer. when I took part in a certificate program in Prostate Cancer Survivorship-The University of MD Anderson Cancer Center it transform my decision on survivorship and I realize my country is left behind and I started the Men's Health Foundation Ghana, that is currently leading change because we believe men deserve better treatment for prostate cancer and NGO has established a naturopathic clinic and prostate cancer screening center in Dodowa to address the needs of men with prostate problem. But now the challenge has to be funding for the foundation. The NGO currently is looking for a mobile Van to help rural forks to provide free base prostate cancer screening.

Because even if you think you don't have prostate problems now, they could be building if you are not following good prostate habits and good healthy habits in general. The earlier you can adopt healthy prostate habits, the much greater the chances of avoiding conditions later on. I discuss these prostate diets in my book 'what everyman must know before & after 40years-Prostate Health!

Prostate problems or disease don't just appear one day. The whole gene farce is ridiculous. Faulty genetic makeup partly tells us that our fate lie hostage to cancer.Lifestyle or diet can make a dormant gene more or less active. What we must all know is that we all have cancer cells in our bodies so the question now lies is 'why will some get cancers and others don't?'

Even though it seemed that way to me when one day my father woke up in the middle of the night completely unable to pee, I know now that it was brewing inside for quite a while. That night was like a left hook from somewhere, and he didn't even know he was in for a fight!

Now my fathers, I am a young man and am thirty years now with no prostate problem but think about it for a moment-do you really think disease just strikes out of the blue? Or do we play a huge part in the:

.Choices we make daily (e.g, food, body care and household products and cooking methods)

.Toxins we ingest from our contaminated food supply

.emotional stresses on our minds and bodies
.Inoculations, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals we have taken over a lifetime

.quality of the water we consume every day
.bad health habits and lack of exercise we accumulate overtime and many other daily decisions we make that impact us whether we are aware or not of their health consequences?

Well, if you think it just strikes you and 'woe is me,' then this information will challenge your viewpoint.

If you do accept the premise that you play a huge part, then you have taken the first big step. You are on the path to acceptance and responsibility, excellent starting points. If embraced, you will be able to renew and revitalize yourself. Well readers, look into the mirror. You are the one responsible, and you can be the one who changes course to healing and prevention. BPH is a non-cancerous growth of the prostate gland. This now bigger prostate squeezes the urethra pee tube that it surrounds, causing a whole range of symptoms from mild to extreme. As the prostate grows larger, it presses against the urethra like a clamp on a garden hosepipe. The bladder wall becomes thicker and irritated. The bladder begins to contract more often even when it contains small amount of urine, causing more frequent urination. As the prostate grows, it applies more pressure on the urethra. Eventually, the bladder weakens and loses the ability to empty itself, and so begins a whole range of uncomfortable to painful symptoms. The extreme version if you are not careful is called acute urinary retention-when you are unable to pee at all. It is the most painful of the symptoms and can be relieved by insertion of a catheter-rubber. The Gas say 'Shamobaa' I remember a man told me that 'My father died out of stoppage of water'.

It is possible to have prostate enlargement and prostate cancer at the same time, but having BPH does not increases your chances of getting prostate cancer. It is very rare to have both conditions.

Now these days of men prostate problems, it is frequent to hear a lot of medical expert likening it menopause because they believe that just as women goes through menopause as they age men will also get prostate problems and prostate problems are men menopause because it comes as we age. But it is not true and read my reasons.

Most Western men will eventually suffer from the symptoms of enlarged prostate. 'But this is not true for Eastern men.

Doctors say that prostate disease is the natural course of things as a man ages. In fact, doctors go so far to say that aging is the cause! But that observation is not as causal as they claim.

This is the reason. correlation is not causation! Prostate diseases are not universal as doctors imply. If their claims were true, why is that in traditional societies in other parts of the world there is virtually no prostate disease? Prostate diseases are extremely rare to ripe old age in these societies.

e. g, there is a remote northern Japanese's island called Okinawa. The Okinawans are known for their healthy aging and longevity. The men live active lives right to a very old age.and do not suffer prostate ailments! So where is the age being the cause and how can we likened it to menopausal?

This is similar to many other Asian enclaves not touched by the western modern lifestylesblack men have adopted. A western male is 30 to 50 more times more likely of getting clinical prostate cancer than an Asian, Indian orAfrican Man but now we know Men of African descent and black men are more prone to prostate cancer. In fact 1 in 4 black men will get prostate cancer according to the prostate cancer UK. An American fares even worse, especially black Americans.

Worse, prostate diseases now happen to younger and younger men in my age group, so are theseyoung men also pausing? It is not just an old man's disease anymore. We all know people who are having some kind of prostate problem. We need to examine more closely what happens to men as they get older and don't blame it on age.

The Okinawans prove that old age does not cause prostate disease. It is what we do over the course of our lives that causes our health problems. We must look at this huge prostate health disparity amongst black men ad address it. It would be interesting to see if any Okinawans have the BRCA mutant gene.

Sad is how our fathers feel at best! No man wants the feeling:

Having to wear adult diapers;
Having to go every 5 minutes for hours on end;
Complete blockage and inability to pass urine at all;

Needing to use or wear a catheter;
Urgency-the need to go right now!
Sofrom the perspective of a man suffering from enlarged prostate? In a layman's term, here are some prostate problems. Men partial blockage will find out that certain environments or activities inhibits the urethra or bladder from relaxing and releasing pee, such cold temperatures or long period of not moving. Sometimes the opposite can happen-the cold temperatures make you go to the bathroom even more often. The size of an enlarged prostate is not always necessary and don't tell you how yoursymptoms will be. Each man will experience their BPH symptoms of enlarged prostate differently. As men, we all have our own unique combination of symptoms. It is important to recognize symptoms early and to start changes to prevent the symptoms from worsening, heal your body, and reverse the damage. Ignore all the fear mongering around the prostate and prostate cancer is not a death sentence.

The Message is clear-your health is your wealth-and prostate health is the key to your functioning as a vital man who is bale to have a full life and a great sex life into old age without sleeping on duty!

There is a lot to learn, particularly about diets, because most so -called 'healthy diets may still lead to disease conditions. In fact, it is exactly what happens to many men!

In Exodus 23:25-26 New International Version (NIV) the lord told his people ' Worship the LORD your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. Clearly you can deduce that our food and water is the recipe for health and long life. God said it. Your genes will express or suppress genetic data depending on the environment in which they find themselves meaning you control about 95% of getting prostate cancer or not.

The appropriate nutrients, toxins and even your mind and desire which unleash hormones and other chemicals in your bodies. So let's not worry about our genes and family history which we can't control but let's work on the food eats. In fact, faulty genetic make up only partly tells us that our fate lie hostage to cancer. So you can take charge of it!

Every person is different, and you need to learn how to tell what foods are right for you. I will show you more on how to test foods so that you can know what food are right for you to eat. Food has a major impact on your symptomsand prostate health. Sometimes just eating the wrong food can trigger a minor to major prostate attack. I will be back for more and will also proveto you that Testosterone is not the cause of men's prostate problems. You can support our work-Men's Health Foundation Ghana. Email: [email protected]. Tel: 0541090045

Yours in Health!
"Let your food be your medicine, and let your medicine be your food." Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine said this!

Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
Registered Naturopathic Doctor (TAP00396)& Prostate Cancer Community Champion

MSc Prostate Cancer-Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Cert. Prostate Cancer Survivorship-The University Of MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA

CEO: De Men's Clinic & Prostate Research Lab-Dodowa, AkotoHouse.

MEN'S HLTH