Prostate enlargement and prostatic cancer can be treated by this non invasive treatment By: John M. Taggart

Prostate problems are very prevalent in men over 40 because it is natural for the prostate to enlarge as a person gets older. However as the walnut sized gland that surrounds the base of the urinary tract grows it can restrict the flow of urine and cause a multitude of complications.

In a recent Gallup poll eighty percent of men over 55 who were surveyed had experienced symptoms of an enlarged prostate. This condition is known as Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH). Most men consider it to be an unavoidable condition of aging and are uncomfortable talking about it because they have heard horrible stories about the surgical procedures used to ameliorate the problem.

This is no longer the case, there are new non-surgical procedures and nutritional considerations that can make the inconveniences and potential dangers a thing of the past for adult males.

Before we describe these treatments for the 90's it would be best to list the symptoms of BPH and what, when left untreated, they can develop into. From there we will discuss the most commonly recommended procedures.

Keeping in mind that 3 out of 4 men above the age of 50 are afflicted by BPH and that symptoms are progressive, it is important to pay particular mind to the early warning signs.

The early symptoms are known as irritative symptoms and they include frequent urinating during the day and nocturia which is the need to get up to "go" frequently during the night. This frequent urination is sometimes accompanied by a feeling of urgency to urinate and dysuria which is a burning sensation during urination.

The reason for these symptoms is that as the prostate enlarges it constricts the urethra, which is surrounds, that leads from the bladder to the penis. When the emptying of the bladder is impeded it keeps it from being fully emptied during urination and leads to a frequent need to urinate.

There are also obstructive symptoms

These include urinary hesitancy which is a delay in the beginning of urine flow as the bladder struggles against the obstruction, a weakened urinary stream, intermittent flow of urine (stopping and starting), terminal dribbling - urine leaking from the penis when urination is thought to be completed, urinary retention where resistance to urination increases to the point that urination ceases and incontinence which is involuntary loss of urine; the wetting of pants or bed.

All of these seem to be bothersome aspects of what most consider to be the loss of function associated with aging. In reality what they are, are early warning signals of much more serious and life threatening conditions.

In light of the severity and expense of the most commonly utilized procedures for remedying these symptoms it is no wonder that most men choose not to speak of the problem with family members or their physicians.

We all know that ignoring a problem will not make it go away, but the dread of submitting to a procedure that upon explanation would seem more appropriate for a gulag or P.O.W. camp has lead to a majority of adult American men needlessly suffering from a very inconvenient and easily remedied problem.

Thanks to developments in electro-medicine and nutrition there are now natural and reasonably painless ways to reverse and eliminate the embarrassing symptoms of BPH and prevent the more serious disorders that it, if left untreated, can develop into.

If a man ignores these early warning signals Benign Prostate Hyperplasia can lead to complete urinary retention and a distended bladder or worse - rupture.

The bladder's inability to empty can allow what urine is left behind to cause infection in the bladder or the urinary tract. As with retention when a urinary infection ensues it can spread to the kidneys leading to a loss of kidney function, hypertension and even death.

Untreated BPH can cause Hematuria or blood in the urine from inflamed tissue or bursting veins. The strain from attempting to empty the bladder through an obstructed urethra can cause hemorrhoids and hernias. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths among American males accounting for 30,000 annual deaths and approximately 100,000 cases diagnosed each year.
Once BPH has advanced to one of the above mentioned complications it is necessary to treat the problem with a surgical procedure or drugs.

Chief among these procedures are Balloon Dilation, Prostatectomy and Transurethral resection or Turping. Balloon Dilation is the placement of a balloon catheter into the section of the urethra that is obstructed by the prostate and inflating it.

This opens the urethra and frequently needs to be re-done after a period of time. A prostatectomy is just that, surgical removal of the prostate. A Transurethral resection or Turp is when an instrument (KNIFE) is inserted down the penis to cut away the prostate tissue that is obstructing the urethra.

This procedure is very popular among urologists and 400,000 are performed yearly. There are a wide variety of possible side effects such as acute or prolonged bleeding, infection, incontinence and impotence in about 5% of these receiving the treatment.
Therefore it is encouraging to report that in France and Israel they are having tremendous success with a process called Transrectal Hyperthermia. This treatment uses a special applicator, inserted in the rectum, to elevate the temperature of the prostate to 43 degree centigrade for 60 minutes.

This procedure was first tried in the late seventies in the United States. More recent studies abroad have encountered excellent results with a virtual absence of complications. Of the persons who had severe urine retention 80% were able to discard their catheters and resume normal urination, and a full 100% had a reduction in size of their enlarged prostate.

Hyperthermia for the enlarged prostate is not currently approved by the FDA in the United States, but it is being offered at a couple facilites on an experimental basis as well as at a clinic in Toronto, Canada and in the Bahamas.

There a man can enjoy the surf, sun, gambling and all the trappings of a luxury Caribbean vacation while only taking an hour off a day to receive the Hyperthermia treatment.

The outlook for FDA approval is very good being as Transrectal Hyperthermia is already approved for treating prostate cancer and has shown considerable efficacy in that regard.

The hopes of those involved in this endeavor are that now since there is a painless, safe and inexpensive procedure for dealing with the inconvenient symptoms BPH, more men will elect to get this bothersome condition eliminated before it develops into something so serious that surgery is required.