There are very few topics men do not like to talk about. Their prostate is one of them. September is Prostate Awareness Month in Canada. The purpose of the month is to bring the awareness of the gland and what can be done in screening for cancer of the prostate. Dr. Francisco Garcia, Urologist at the Cypress Health Region said, “The Prostate is a gland that sits just under the Bladder, and it’s responsible for keeping all the sperm healthy, and happy, when trying to make a baby, it makes a lot of the fluid that’s involved and that’s really what the main purpose of the glad is.”

One in Nine men will get Prostate Cancer in their lifetime and approximately One in Thirty Five will die from it. Prostate Cancer is considered one of the silent killers as an infected man does not know he has the disease until symptoms start to show and by then it can be too late. Symptoms normally show up as having a hard time to urinate. Pushing to get things done and having the feeling like your bladder is not empty. Dr. Garcia says that only 1 in 20 men will get a diagnosis this way. Usually, the disease is found through a PSA or a Prostate Specific Antigen test. This is a blood test that has been the most effective is catching the disease.

The best way to make sure all is ok is a combination of the PSA test and a rectal exam. If you are over 50 then it is suggested that you start to have a conversation with your family doctor. Dr. Garcia also feels that if you are at risk, those that have high rates of prostate cancer in your family or there is a history of breast or ovarian cancer, then you should start the screening as early as 40 years old. Men of African ancestry are also in a high-risk group and should start screening early.

The Cypress Health Region Hospital is able to perform and treat prostate Cancer in Swift current which allows patients to be closer to home rather than incurring additional travel expenses. Surgery, if needed, can be performed as well. Dr. Garcia Said, “It’s a bit of a trickier surgery, you're working in a deep dark cavern working around a corner in order to get it done, and you have to do it for a few hours in order to get things out. It is often considered one of the more difficult surgeries in Urology.”

Dr. Garcia understands that, as men, we do not like to sit around talking about our health and having “That Exam” done. He said, “It is your health, and it is important that you get things checked out.”