"Real man" - challenge for Good Hope visitors

Good Hope patient Joe Dyke is urging men to prove they�re �real men� by taking action to protect themselves against prostate cancer.

He and other members of the hospital�s prostate support group are making the tongue-in-cheek challenge to publicise Prostate Awareness Week.

They have organised an information stand in Good Hope Hospital�s treatment centre about problems men can have with their prostate glands.

Joe, 71, from Wylde Green, in Sutton, said: �In the past, men have been reluctant to go to their GPs to discuss prostate problems. This has put them at increased risk from cancer.

�What we�re saying is that you can still be a real man and be concerned about your health � even if it involves your prostate. It�s much better to seek advice and get treatment, it it�s needed, than to hold back and put your life at risk.�

Awareness of prostate cancer has been growing in recent years � but 10,000 men still die from the disease in Britain every year.

Even though he had no symptoms, Joe was encouraged to go to the GP five years ago by his wife, Joyce, because his father had prostate problems.

Joe said: �I had a prostate specific antigen test which indicates whether there may be a problem. The normal range is 0-4. My score was 58! So it was a good job I listened to my wife and had the test.�

Joe has had radiotherapy and hormone therapy and his PSA score fell to almost zero. Just over two years ago, he tried coming off the hormone therapy but his PSA score began to rise again � showing the problem persisted.

Three weeks ago he underwent a relatively new technique called cryosurgery. Six fine needles were inserted into the prostate and the gland was frozen to minus 40 degrees centigrade.

This is designed to destroy the gland tissue and so also destroy the cancer cells, preventing them from spreading. The operation was carried out at Russell�s Hall Hospital in Dudley.

Christine Broderick, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Urology at Good Hope Hospital, said: �Prostate problems used to be known as an old man�s condition � but we see patients in the mid-forties.

�Attitudes of the men we see are changing. They�re much more willing to seek help which is a welcomed change and, in part, down to the excellent work of Joe and the other support group members.�

Christine said that many prostate problems are caused by infections, inflammation or the natural enlargement of the gland. These are conditions that can be treated with medication, in the first instance, or an operation.

She added: �There is a lot we can do to help men with prostate problems. If you have any concerns, especially if there is a history of prostate problems in the family, go to see your GP. As the slogan says, real men care about their health!�

For more information, contact Andy Comber, Head of Communications, at Good Hope NHS Trust: 0121 378 2211 ext 1146, Mob: 07974 575104.

Source : Good Hope