Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Why are African Men afraid of getting their Prostate checked?

I know some might be wondering why  all about Men's health  and them checking their Prostate. It just occurred to me that many men (esp African men), don't go to the doctor  for a prostate exam (well few do). Men's health is not only about having 6 packs, or even being all muscular and all, its about your total health in general. The society is always on women about going for yearly mammograms, and pap tests, cervical cancer, and all. There is so much awareness for women's health and less for men. Don't get me wrong, I am all about women's health, but men's health is also important.
I have asked several African men, if they have had their prostate checked, and they say 'Oh you want me to allow another man dip his fingers in my butt hole? " No thank you. It is a cultural thing I would say, and the misconception and confusion surrounding it. According to one of the response I got on my Facebook comment,

Mo' Lanee Sibyl It's a cultural thing, I guess. You know how homophobic the African culture can be perceived as. Digital rectal examination aint the only way to get screened for prostate cancer , there is also PSA (Prostate- specific antigen) which is like a blood test, thus less invasive than anal probing. Nonetheless, these tests aren't always reliable, a lot of false positives and sometimes higher levels of PSA may be due to something else apart from prostate cancer. Could be BPH (Benign prostatic hyperplasia), prostatis, prostate biopsy, bicycle riding and even recent ejaculation! Sometimes, Doctors even tell their patients not to expose themselves to these tests except if there are familial history related to the patient. Another man (not gay) using his fingers to examine your butt hole doesn't make you less of a man. I have seen several shows (Family guy, house of Payne etc) where the misconception of another man checking your prostate is seen as abuse (Well only Peter Griffin did, and he sued the Doctor lol).
I am no expert in this topic, but I have some little knowledge (Anatomy and Physiology 1&2)  and I can try to make it easy to understand.
If you dont know what your prostate is or what it does, you are not alone, most men dont, in fact more than 30 million men suffer from prostate conditions which affects them negatively(prostatehealthguide.com,2005).

According to Web Md, the prostate is a walnut-sized  (shaped like a donut)gland located between the bladder and the penis, just in-front of the rectum. The urethra runs through the center of the prostate,from the bladder and the penis, letting urine flow out of the body.
The prostate is not there to punish men, it has its own special function. It secretes fluid that nourishes and protect the sperm (those of you who want to be fruitful and multiply). Also, during ejaculation, the prostate squeezes this fluid into the urethra, and it is expelled with sperm as semen.
I really dont want to bore anyone with all these medical terms, but this is just a little background for those who have asked me on the location of the prostate.





Male Anatomy of Reproduction: The Prostate


Conditions such as Prostatitis(Inflammation of the prostate), enlarged prostate (aka Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy or BPH) and  Prostate cancer (the most common form of cancer in men), are things that your Doctor looks out for, using tests such as;
 1. Digital rectal exam (DRE), the most common method. A Dr lubricates his finger, and inserts it into the rectum and feels the prostate (what most men are scared of). This method is used to detect for the enlargement of the prostate, for lumps and tenderness of the prostate
2. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is a blood test used to check for prostate cancer. If the PSA is high,  the possibility of cancer, but an enlarged prostate can also cause a high PSA
There are other tests like Prostate biopsy, and prostate ultrasound. Really dont want to sound like an expert or someone who knows it all, I just want to create more awareness, and encourage men (African men esp) to have their prostate checked, because prevention is better then cure, and early detection is helpful also.
http://men.webmd.com/picture-of-the-prostate
http://www.prostatehealthguide.com/


Monday, November 12, 2012

Values

I have been attending a leadership training at school Terrapin Leadership Institute (TLI). At one of the sessions, we were given a list of values, and asked to pick 5 values. I the 5 i picked were; Accomplishment, Family, Hard work, Giving, and Determination. Then we were asked to let go of 4 values and leave one standing. It was hard letting go of some of the things I value most, like Hard work, giving, determination and accomplishment. The only value I had standing was FAMILY. Why did I pick family? Cos my family means so much to me. I may be hardworking, an accomplished woman, determined and also a charity worker, but by family makes me complete an whole. I can never replace them, eve n when I am married.

Yesterday, I tried the same activity with my 9 year old sister. But I gave her 10 values and she had to pick 5 The values I gave here were; God, education, hard work, love, family, determination, (I cant remember the other 5), but this were the 5 she picked. I told her to let go of 4 and have one standing. She had God as the last value. I asked her why she had God and let go of family, and she told me that, God is her ultimate and with God, she has everything. With God, she has her family, education, and every other things. I was so impressed with her answer, and proud of her. That even as a child, she know that she values God even more than her family, cause he is the ultimate.

Train a child in the way he/she should go, and he/she will never depart from it.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

A day without my phone

I am addicted to my blackberry, and its sad to actually admit it. When I woke up this morning at 10am, I saw that my battery went flat (dead), so I tried charging it, but it wont charge, or come on. So I have been charging it for over 6 hours, and still nothing. So as at now I am phoneless, and also about to loose it. But I am actually keeping my cool. I hope it works before the end of today.

My 5k run

Woke up this morning to check the map of my little sister's 5K run tomorrow. FYI  I have never done a marathon before, and I also didn't practice ahead for the race. The race starts at 8am sunday. Looking at the miles I have to do tomorrow, I was like wow.... Also I don't have good running shoes, or proper outfits for the weather tomorrow. So pray for me.
 http://www.girlsontherunofmoco.org/images/stories/maps/gotr5kcoursewestfieldmall.pdfhttp://www.girlsontherunofmoco.org/images/stories/maps/gotr5kcoursewestfieldmall.pdf

Friday, November 9, 2012

That feeling.........

When you meet the one of your dreams
The amount of  butterflies in your belly
The way you get excited just hearing the sound of their voice
The feeling of being loved
And being wrapped up in their arms
And waking up to the sound of their voice

That feeling, when you hear them say "I LOVE YOU"
When you fight, it messes up your whole day, and you become  sad
When you are apart, it feels like a part of you is missing

That feeling, when everyone tells you how much you glow each day
When you find yourself smiling over the fun times you both had
And laughing over silly things

That feeling, when you know you are married to your best friend
The one you can tell any and everything without being afraid of what would happen next
The one that you are proud to remind the world of everyday how much you love your best friend

That feeling,
Exceptional
Wonderful
Amazing

That feeling.......





Thursday, November 8, 2012

Giving up

Giving up is very easy, but staying strong even when you feel defeated is the hardest thing to do also. I have given up several times and the feeling...... nothing to write home about. Whenever I put in my 100% effort in something, and the end result doesn't come out as pleased, I get discouraged, and then the feeling of giving up comes in, and then I feel like just letting it all go, because it is very easy to do so. But one thing always keeps me afloat, I remember the saying " Winners never quit, and QUITTERS never win". Then I am encouraged not to give up. I am hanging in strong because I see the light so close, though it feels far, I hang on, and keep pressing forward.
Never give up, though you might have failed couple of times, hanging in there and making it through is all that matters. Quitters NEVER win.

Monday, November 5, 2012

My YOLO list

In my previous blog on my YOLO list, I have started working on my list, and I plan to achieve about 70% before the end of 2013. I am so excited about the list. Will try to upload pictures to show my progress.

Doubts

Every time I blog about something, it is  either an experience that happened to me or to someone I know, or don't know.
Having confidence in yourself is very important, especially when overcoming fear. As I wrote in my blog weeks ago, about fear, I felt I should write about doubts.
I have been practicing for my 2nd  Chemistry, and I have been putting in a lot of efforts on each topic. So at the end of every topic, I go to the end of the book to practice each problems there, and when I finish each one, I go to the back of the book to check for the answers to find out if I am right or wrong. Before I finish the problem, I say within my self " oh I think I am wrong" or " This does't look accurate", but to my surprise  every time I checked, I was 100% right. Then I realized that I always second guess myself every especially when I know that I am right. So I am training my mind to always remain confident, and never doubt. And even if I got a problem wrong, I go back and do it again until I arrive at the right answer.
The doubting spirit is always convincing and has a strong conviction, and when they say always go with your instincts, I 90% agree with that, cause your instincts can be right sometimes. Never doubt yourself, always believe in yourself, and remain confident.