Newscaster: How much we love and appreciate them and a perfect time for us to talk about our Dads now and joining us now is Dr. Randy Fagin with the director of the prostrate center here in Austin. Dr. Fagin thanks for joining us here.
Dr. Fagin: My pleasure thank you?
Newscaster: Some startling statistics show one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. That is unbelievable.
Dr. Fagin: It is the statistics on breast cancer. In fact, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men, second only to lung cancer.
Newscaster: That is incredible. And what is leading to more cases in prostate cancer?
Dr. Fagin: Well, we must link to this awareness, necessary of that is incredible about prostate cancer is that although it is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men, it is one of the most curable cancers we have in men. It just has to be caught early. I mean as we talk about mens health and what we can do to keep our fathers, our uncles, our husbands healthier this Fathers Day, it is really about preventive maintenance. You know unfortunately men, you know as you are driving your car, the brakes are not squeaking, you dont need to fetch them. Preventive maintenance is so terribly important because our bodies dont break down all at once. They have problems little size that pull up along the way. And by going to see your doctor for a regular checkup, you can prevent these things for prostate cancer a simple rectal exam and a PSA test just once in a year, literally 30 seconds of your life to get your stuck for your PSA and to get a rectal exam, and it is 30 seconds that can save your life.
Newscaster: Why do you think men dont choose, I can save for myself. My husband is 39 years old, never had a physical, and I think there is a certain amount of fear that goes into confirming some of your DNAs I guess when we go into that.
Dr. Fagin: Men are afraid to hear that something is wrong. If they dont feel bad, they assume that everything is OK. But the problem is, this thing is going on inside. They dont tell you there is something bad until it is really, really bad. And the key is to catch it early you know whether it is high cholesterol catching it early. If you let that go for a long time, it could lead to high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, cardiac problems, getting heart attack. I mean for prostate cancer, it is your PSA. If you let that go too long, then prostate cancer is no longer curable. All these things when caught early erectile dysfunction, cardiac diseases, prostate cancer, the vast majority of them, we can significantly change somebodys long-term outlook by catching and treating it early. With prostate cancer, surgery has done that. The early expertise that I have by being able to preserve sexual function, preserve neural control, taking the fear out of lot of these diseases because when caught early, we know we can cure the person. We can leave them as good as they came out in.
Newscaster: Uhm, Most of us want our Dads to just stick around for a long time, so give us a check list of some of the things that our men and our uncles and dads can take care of.
Dr. Fagin: The things that men are at highest risk for are heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prostate cancer and colon cancer. And very simple screening test, you are going to your primary care doctor once in a year and get your PSA and your rectal exam for prostate cancer. You go and get your colonoscopy as prescribed for colon cancer screening. Get an EKG, basic blood work looking at your heart looking at your cholesterol levels. These are simple things that literally once in a year, five minutes of your time and the blood bank donor giving you blood, suck up minutes in the doctors office and you can significantly change the quality of life. This is just screening. This is not somebody forcing you to do anything. This is preventive maintenance, take the information, go home and decide how you are going to change your life to make sure you have a long life and many Fathers Days to come.
Newscaster: All right, wonderful. Thank you so much."
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06-15-08 Prostate Cancer on KVUEby urologyteam180 views
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