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RAF479 - The Prostate · Running: A FEVER

• 0:00
  This is the Padua Podcast Network.
• 0:11
  Welcome to Running: A FEVER.
• 0:12
  My name is Michael Davis
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  and this is a show about fitness, diet,
• 0:16
  and medicine. My goal is to live a
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  long, healthy,
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  happy, active life right up to the very
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  end. It's all about livin' long and lovin'
• 0:23
  life.
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  What's a prostate? What does it do?
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  Why is it important, and what do we
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  need to know
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  about how healthy it is?
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  I hope to answer these questions in today's
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  episode.
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  What is the prostate? It's a gland that
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  surrounds the urethra of males at the base
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  of the bladder,
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  comprising a muscular portion and a glandular portion.
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  What does it do? Well, the muscular
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  portion controls the release of urine, and the
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  glandular portion secretes an alkaline fluid
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  that makes up part of the semen and
• 1:01
  enhances the motility and fertility of sperm.
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  Yuck.
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  I think you can see why it is
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  important. Since females do not have a prostate,
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  I was wondering what they use to control
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  urine flow. Turns out there is no specific
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  organ that
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  does this. It's a combination of muscles and
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  nerve signals. Let's get to the meat of the subject,
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  prostate health. There are several related diseases and disorders.
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  Number one, prostate cancer. The good news about
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  prostate cancer is that though it
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  is one of the most common types of
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  cancer, it is usually found early and it
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  often grows
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  slowly. Most people with prostate cancer are cured.
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  Treatments include surgery,
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  radiation therapy, and careful monitoring.
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  Number two, benign prostatic hyperplasia,
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  BPH. This is also called an enlarged prostate.
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  This causes blockage of the flow of urine
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  out
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  of the bladder, and can also cause bladder,
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  urinary tract or kidney problems.
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  There are many
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  options for treatment depending on your symptoms, the
• 2:13
  size of your prostate, and other health problems
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  you may have. Symptoms include frequent or urgent
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  need to urinate, urinating more often at night,
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  trouble starting to urinate, weak urine stream, or
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  a stream that starts and stops,
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  dribbling at the end of urination, or not
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  being able to fully empty the
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  bladder. Also, the uncommon symptoms of urinary tract infection,
• 2:42
  not being able to urinate at all, and blood in the urine.
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  Usually symptoms of BPH tend to slowly get
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  worse, but they can sometimes stay the
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  same
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  or even improve
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  over time. The cause of BPH may be
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  side effects of
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  medicines like powerful pain relievers, opioids, cold and
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  allergy medicines, or older medications for
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  depression called tricyclic antidepressants. The main cause is
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  just aging. Nearly all men
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  experience some prostate growth if they live long
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  enough, with 50% of men over 60
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  showing signs.
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  This is why I'm spending so much time
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  on BPH. This combines with hormonal shifts.
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  As men age,
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  lower testosterone levels coupled with stable estrogen levels
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  may trigger cell growth. You
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  may have genetic predisposition. The prognosis is actually
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  pretty good. It has nothing to do with
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  prostate cancer. It is manageable through lifestyle changes,
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  medication, or minimally invasive procedures,
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  with many cases staying stable.
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  The medication used is often alpha-blockers or
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  5-alpha-
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  reductase inhibitors. There is also a surgical procedure
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  called TURP, which is removal of
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  inner portions of the prostate gland through the
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  urethra, requiring no external incisions.
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  Is there any hope for reduction in size
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  of an enlarged prostate? Yes.
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  The most effective
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  long-term reduction is achieved with the aforementioned
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  5-alpha-reductase inhibitors
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  like finasteride, which can shrink the prostate by
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  20 to 30 percent over 6 to 12
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  months.
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  There are other treatments, such as prostate artery embolization,
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  which reduces blood flow to the
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  prostate, causing it to shrink.
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  Steam therapy uses water vapor to destroy excess
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  prostate tissue.
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  Laser therapy can destroy or remove overgrown tissue.
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  Microwave therapy can also help.
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  The most accessible, if not the easiest, way
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  to manage BPH is lifestyle change. Exercise.
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  Regular physical activity helps manage weight and supports prostate
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  health.
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  Dietary adjustments. Consuming a diet rich in vegetables
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  and healthy foods can support prostate
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  health. Managing stress can also help control urinary
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  symptoms. Okay, I really wanted to spend
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  a lot of time on BPH.
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  There is one other health issue that I'd
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  like to talk about, prostatitis.
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  This is a condition most often linked with
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  swelling and irritation called inflammation.
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  It can make it painful or hard to
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  urinate. It also may cause pain in the
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  groin,
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  pelvic area, or genitals. It is often caused
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  by bacterial infections. Get medical help immediately
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  if you're unable to pass urine, have a
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  fever and trouble urinating or pain while urinating,
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  have blood in your urine, or have a
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  lot of discomfort and pain in the pelvic
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  area or genitals.
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  Treatment includes antibiotics, alpha-blockers for urinary flow,
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  or anti-inflammatories.
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  As a 60-year-old man, this topic
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  is important to me, and it's good to
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  know there are treatments
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  and hope for men with these problems.
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  I hope this will also be helpful to you or a man in your life.
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  There are a bunch of references I used researching this episode,
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  and as usual you can access them all at http://RunningAFEVER.com/479.
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  Please also like the episode on YouTube if you benefited from it,
• 6:36
  and subscribe if you'd like to hear more about fitness, diet, and
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  medicine as I seek a more healthy life.
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  Thanks for listening and watching.
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  If you've got the fever, keep it burning,
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  and if you don't, catch the fever,
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  and I will see you next time on
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  Running: A FEVER.