A recent survey, on behalf of the Dutch Association of Urology (NVU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU), showed that almost four out of 10 Dutch men of 50 years and older suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints. The same number of men also said in the same survey they are worried that they may have prostate cancer.

The survey also indicated that a significantly larger number of men that suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints expressed the concern of having prostate cancer as compared to men without urinary complaints. Hundreds of thousands of men suffer from prostate complaints, however, many of them often do not seek medical help because they see them as a normal part of growing older or because their complaints do not hamper them in daily life.

Almost all the men who participated in the Dutch study said that they would prefer to have an annual check or screening for prostate cancer. The widely used screening called the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test, however, is not known to the vast majority of survey participants. Almost two thirds of men of 50 years and older has never heard of the PSA value. The group of men who had heard of it think it is used to prevent or indicate (prostate) cancer or determine the condition of the prostate or prostate problems.

Four out of 10 men regularly think about getting prostate cancer. This goes for more than half of the men who suffer, or have suffered, from prostate cancer. Almost all men of 50 years and older feel it is important have an annual prostate cancer check.

According to men of 50 and older, prostate enlargement and prostate problems primarily cause urinary complaints. Most of the men know that the prostate enlarges when they are growing older. and the majority of men of 50 years and older know where to locate the prostate on a visual.

Some of the precautions men take to keep their prostate healthy are: urinating while sitting down and paying attention to their diet. Men who suffer, or have suffered, from urinary problems indicate more frequently that they take precautionary measures to keep their prostate healthy compared to men who have never suffered from urinary problems.

Source: European Association of Urology

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