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.
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/
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