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Thursday, June 1,2006
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Prostate
cancer
dangers
One in 10 men wiH develop
prostate cancer in their life
time and more ihan 30,000
American men will lose their
lives to prostate cancer this
year!
This risk of prostate cancer
is 60 percent higher in
African-American men as
compared with whites.
Among the 10 leadii^ causes
of cancer death in African-
American men, prostate can
cer is second only to Irmg can
cer. In his lifetime, an
African-American male has a
1 in 5 chance of being diag
nosed with prostate cancer
and a 1 in 20 chance of dying
from it!
What exactly is the
prostate?
The prostate is a gland
about the size of a walnut
located below the bladder and
in fixmt of the rectum. It sur
rounds part of the urethra,
the duct that empties the
bladder. The prostate’s main
Mental
illness in
the black
By Glenn Ellis
NA7/ONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBUSHFRS ASSOCIATION
Please see MENTAL/3B
What causes prostate can
cer?
No one knows the exact
cause of prostate cancer; how
ever, research shows that
men with certain risk factors
are more hkdy to develop
prostate cancer. These risk
factors include: age (the
chance of developing prostate
cancer increases after age
50); family history (having a
father or brother with
prostate cancer more than
doubles a man’s risk); high fat
diet (a diet with an abim-
dance of meat, high-fat foods
and limited fimits and vegeta
bles appears to confer a
sH^tly higher risk); and race
(prostate cancer occurs more
often in African-American
men).
How do I check for prostate
cancer?
Many men with prostate
cancer experience no symp
toms initially Symptoms, if
they do occur, may include
urinating frequently at night,
having blood in the urine, dif
ficulty urinating, or experi
encing sexual dysfunction.
Standard screening tools
for prostate cancer detection
include the DRE (digital rec
tal examination) and PSA
(prostate specific antigen)
blood test.
For the DRE, the doctor
places a gloved, lubricated
finger in the rectum and feels
a portion of the prostate for
abnormalities in size or
shape. As uncomfortable as it
sormds, it lasts only a few sec
onds and is very necessary
The PSA is a simfde blood
test detectii^ the level of
antigens or proteins released
by the prostate. If the PSA
level is high, further evalua
tion is wairanted. There are
factors other than prostate
cancer that can raise PSAlev-
ds, includir^ increasing age,
trauma, infection (prostati
tis), or an enlarged prostate
(benign prostatic hyperpla
sia). Neither the PSA test nor
DRE is 100 percent accurate.
Based upon your individual
risk assessment, screening
decisions are best made in
consultations with a physi
cian. Your physician should
openly discuss options for
testing, potential benefits
and side effects. Accordir^ to
ihe American Cancer Society,
healthcare providers should
offer both PSA and DRE
tests, annually to all men
over age 50. For those at
high risk (including African-
American men) testing may
be recommended as early as
age 40 - 45 years.
Is prostate cancer curable?
A man’s prognosis is depen
dent upon several factors,
including the stage of the
cancer at time of diagnosis-.
Screening is so important
because it allows for early
detection, thereby improving
your chance of survival.
Depending on the size and
nature of the cancer, you and
your doctor may decide upon
a number of treatment
options, including: surgery
external or internal radiation
therapy, hormone therapy,
cryotherapy or chemothera-
determined. However, cur
rent research behooves us to
get informed, eat a diet rich
infrtiits and vegetables, exer
cise regularly and GET
SCREENED!
Remember, knowledge is
power, but it is what you do
with it that makes aU the dif
ference!
Contribution bv Granada Neil
MD.
For more information about the
Maya Angelou Research Center
on Minority Health, visit our web
site at
http:l/wwwM'jubmC£duhninority-
health. Or, for health information
call (336) 713.7578.
py
Can I prevent prostate can
cer?
Definitive methods of can
cer prevention have yet to be
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“For I will restore health unto thee, and! loill heal thy
wounds, saith the Lord.” -Jeremiah 30: 17
community
One of the greatest, and
most rmdertreated, threats
affecting Americans today is
mental illness. Four-
Hundred-Fifty million people
worldwide are affected by
mental, neimological or
behavioral problems at any
time.
In keeping with the preva
lence of health disparities in
practically every otiier area of
health, the Afiican-American
ccanmunity suffers dispropor
tionately fix)m both mental
health and mental health
treatment.
One in four patients visiting
a health service has at least
one m^tal, neiorological or
behavioral disorder, but most
of these disorders are neither
diagnosed nor treated.
African-Americans account
for only 2 percent of psychia
trists, 2 percent of psycholo
gists, and 4 percent of social
workers in the United States.
Mental illnesses affect, and
are affected by, chronic condi
tions such as cancer, heart
and cardiovascular diseases,
diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Untreated, they bring about
unhealthy behavior, non-com
pliance with prescribed med
ical regimens, diminished
immune functioning, and
poor prognosis.
Compoimding this disparity
in mental health is the exis
tence of a pervasive stigma
that is held widely in the
Afiican-American communi
ty: “They mi^t think I’m
crazy!”
The stigma that engulfs
African-Americans on the ’
issue of mental illness has its
orpins deep in the annals of
slave history in America.
One scientific report went
so far as to deliberately falsify
the Black insanity rates finm
the 1840 U.S. census to show
that the further North blacks
lived, the higher their rates of
Ivmacy strong e-vidence, of
course, that fi-eedom drove
blacks crazy
One Hundred-Fifty years
after the 1840 census, there
are still important gaps and
paradoxes in our knowledge
of the mental health status of
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