Prostate news article, May 2008
TIME TO PAY ATTENTION TO 'CINDERELLA' ILLNESS.
Article by Fiona Duffy, Health Correspondent |
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Imagine waking up this morning with a dull ache in your pelvic area.
Initially you think you've pulled a muscle or have a touch of constipation.
But gradually the ache turns into stabbing pains in your lower back,
genital area, thighs… in fact, the entire area from your belly
button to your knees.
Over time, it hurts to urinate, have sex, even sit down. You see doctor
after doctor but no-one can find either a cause or a cure.
And the longer it goes on, the worse it gets.
The stuff of nightmares? For 30,000 men a year, the pain of prostatitis is only too real. It's all down to a little known, complex, disease of the prostate – the walnut sized gland situated in the pelvis – causing it to become inflamed. It affects as many men as prostate cancer – and a staggering 50 per cent of all men, young and old, will experience at least one episode in their lifetime. Yet most have never even heard of it.
As well as causing pain and discomfort the condition can damage sperm – contributing to infertility – and may even increase the risk of prostate cancer. Such little attention has been given to this debilitating condition, compared to its two 'big sisters' – prostate cancer and Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (enlarged prostate), that experts are hailing it the 'Cinderella' disease.
With the number of men affected soaring, British prostatitis experts have decided enough is enough. Prostate UK, the only charity to focus on all three prostate diseases, is calling on the Government to give prostatitis the attention and funding it deserves.
Prostate UK recently organised the first ever UK symposium into the condition - flying in experts from all corners of the globe to discuss a way forward in treating prostatitis. According to Professor J Curtis Nickel, the world's leading prostatitis expert – based at Queens University, Canada – the UK is a staggering 10 years behind North America both in diagnosing and treating the condition. Experts agreed that more research into the condition and better training among health professionals – particularly GPs who are usually the first port of call for sufferers – is essential.
Professor Roger Kirby, chairman of Prostate UK, and director of the Prostate Centre in London, explains: “Of all the prostate diseases, this is the one about which we know the least. The causes are obscure and the treatment difficult.” “But the effects on the patient can be very debilitating, with a significant impact on his ability to work, quality of life, emotional well–being and sexual relationships. The pain and despair can trigger anxiety and depression among sufferers. Tragically, some have even been known to take their own lives.”
Just ten per cent of cases – where the condition is triggered by a bacterial infection – are treatable. Caught early, and with the right diagnosis and antibiotics, the patient can make a full recovery (although there is a danger of relapsing). “But for the remaining 90 per cent who have what's known as chronic prostatitis, or chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), the outlook is bleak.”
Poor awareness among the medical profession means many sufferers fail to even get a diagnosis – let alone professional help, Professor Kirby explains. Even then, sadly, there is no magic cure. Treatment for CPPS is based around learning to manage the condition – with anti-inflammatories, painkillers and muscle relaxants. “Eventually nearly all patients recover but the suffering can be lengthy – years in many cases – and agonising,” says Professor Kirby.
A shortage of urology experts – combined with the stiff British upper lip and reluctance to seek help – as well as simple ignorance, means thousands of men and their partners are suffering in silence. “Many GPs receive only a few hours training in prostate problems as medical students – which leaves them wholly inexperienced in the area,” said Professor Kirby. “But the nature of this complex disease – being difficult to understand, diagnose and treat – means that even top urologists run a mile from dealing with it.”
All experts gathered at the conference agreed that this cannot go on. It's time for action.
They are now calling on the Government to establish a set of national guidelines in dealing with the condition. They also insist on more research, better treatment, funding to increase the number of prostate specialists in this country, and awareness campaigns both among the medical profession and the public.
“Something needs to be done now to ease the misery of these sufferers,” says Professor Kirby. These men need help – yet too many are simply being passed from pillar to post. “We need to stop this condition from destroying lives.”
For further information contact www.prostateuk.org. The charity runs free training seminars on prostate diseases, nationwide, for health professionals. In the first two years after they were launched more than 1,000 delegates attended. For further details log on to the website and click 'Training'.