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Despite an increasing
amount of health information
available-through doctors, and on
the Internet-many people are still
unaware of the facts regarding
common prostate health concerns.
For example, a recent survey
about prostatitis - a sometimes
serious and often painful condition
that will affect more than half of
the male population at some point
in their lives - found that Americans
have little knowledge about
the disorder.
The symptoms of prostatitis
include fever, chills, and pain in
the lower back and genital area
and can become severe. While the
incidence increases with age, prostatitis
can affect men of any age
and accounts for 25 percent of
physician visits for genital and
urinary complaints among young
and middle-aged men.
There are three kinds of prostatitis:
acute bacterial, chronic bacterial
and nonbacterial. Acute bacterial
prostatitis comes on suddenly
and can have severe symptoms
that may require hospitalization,
whereas chronic bacterial prostatitis
may have no symptoms other
than those of a recurring urinary
tract infection. Bacterial prostatitis
can be treated with antibiotics.
Although prostatitis and prostate
cancer can exist at the same
time, prostatitis is non-cancerous
and there is no evidence that it
leads to cancer. Yet 83 percent of
survey respondents who considered
themselves "knowledgeable"
about prostatitis erroneously
believed that prostatitis is an indicator
of cancer.
Other survey results include:
- 84 percent of survey respondents
had never heard of prostatitis;
- only 17 percent of those with
some knowledge of prostatitis know
that about 50 percent of men will
have prostatitis in their lifetime;
- 16 percent of those with some
knowledge of prostatitis believed
(incorrectly) that both men and
women can develop prostatitis;
- women, by a margin of nearly
20 percent, consider themselves
either somewhat or very knowledgeable
about this exclusively
male disease; and
- while 60 percent of those with
knowledge of prostatitis know that
antibiotics are used to treat prostatitis,
many falsely believe that
surgery (58 percent) and chemotherapy
(39 percent) are appropriate
treatments for the condition.
"Men suffering with prostatitis
often don’t know what hit them,"
said Tom Bruckman, of AFUD.
"Our goal is to get men talking
about this illness-with their
urologists, with their wives- so
they can get the best treatment."
The survey, conducted by
Wirthlin Worldwide, was sponsored
by the American Foundation
of Urologic Disease (AFUD),
Bayer Corporation, and The Men's
Health Network.
To receive a free brochure about
prostatitis, its symptoms, diagnostic
tests and available treatments,
call the Bayer toll-free line at 1-800-206-6300.
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