Sexuality and Sexual Health

Sexuality and Sexual Health - Prostate

What is the Prostate?

The prostate gland sits below the bladder and surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine).

What Does It Do?

It makes a whitish glandular secretion which collects within the prostate and is fed into the urethra during ejaculation. This makes up about one third of the seminal fluid which helps lubricate sex and assists in the passage of sperm to the uterus.

Diseases of the Prostate

Until the ages of 40 to 50 the prostate gland stays fairly constant in size. After this age, however, it can enlarge and in most cases this enlargement is non cancerous and is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

BPH is

Common in men aged over 50
Present in more than half of all men over the age of 60
Present in more than 80% of men over the age of 80.

The Symptoms of BPH Include

A feeling that the bladder isn’t completely empty even though you have finished urinating
You urinate often
You stop and start when you urinate
You have a strong urge to urinate which is hard to control
Your stream of urine is weak
You need to strain to being urination
You often wake at night to go to the toilet
You have a burning pain when you urinate — this can be due to an infection caused by BPH.

Is There a Treatment?

Yes. See your doctor or Family Planning Victoria as there are a number of medications and the option of surgery.

Prostate Cancer

Is the second most common cause of cancer in Australian men, causing 2500 deaths annually.

Prostate cancer is generally slow growing and two-thirds of men with the disease end up dying of something else before the cancer turns nasty.

How Is It Detected?

A doctor will perform a rectal examination. Normally the prostate gland feels like a walnut. If there is an irregularity in shape or a hard nodule it may indicate cancer. The doctor may then recommend a rectal ultrasound or a biopsy.

What About the PSA Test?

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is produced normally by the prostate. A raised level may indicate cancer or other non-cancerous prostate conditions. PSA tests are good for monitoring the progress of the disease. Although not generally recommended as a screening test for cancer it is used in men who have a strong family history of prostate cancer or to rule out cancer in men who have symptoms.