Know Your Prostate — The Walnut-Sized Gland That Runs the Conversation

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In this episode

It’s about the size of a walnut—and most men rarely think about it until something changes.

In this quick episode of the Stable Health Podcast, Sharon introduces the prostate: where it is, what it does, and why it becomes increasingly important to understand as men age.

You’ll get a straightforward introduction to three major prostate conditions—benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, and prostate cancer—and how they differ.

Sharon also walks through urinary and other symptoms worth paying attention to, including changes in urinary flow, difficulty starting urination, increased frequency or nighttime urination, pain or burning, and blood in the urine or semen.

The goal isn't to make every urinary symptom frightening. Many prostate symptoms have noncancerous causes.

It's to know your baseline, recognize when something has changed, and know when it's time to have a conversation with your healthcare provider.

Three minutes. One small gland. Information every man should know.

Stay stable.

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All content is synthesized from peer-reviewed clinical evidence and reviewed by Stable Health Care Services. It does not constitute personalized medical advice.

It's the size of a walnut. It sits right below the bladder, and most men never think about it until something goes wrong. By age 60, about half of men have some enlargement of it. And prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men after skin cancer. Yet many men couldn't tell you what the gland actually does. I'm Sharon, and you're listening to the Stable Health Podcast. This week we're starting a five-part series on prostate health, beginning with the basics. The prostate wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the bladder.

Its job is to produce part of the fluid in semen, which nourishes and protects sperm. That location is the key to everything. Because the gland surrounds the urethra, when it changes, urination is usually the first thing to notice. Three problems account for most prostate concerns, and they're very different. First, BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia. This is non-cancerous growth, and it's extremely common with age. As the gland enlarges, it squeezes the urethra. The result a weak or slow stream, hesitation before starting, frequent urination, waking at night to go, and a feeling the bladder never fully empties.

It's bothersome, but it is not cancer, and it does not turn into cancer. Second, prostatitis. This is inflammation or infection of the gland, and it's the most common urinary problem in men under 50. Symptoms can include pain with urination, pelvic or lower back discomfort, and sometimes fever. Bacterial cases are treated with antibiotics. Third, prostate cancer. Here's the part that surprises people. Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms at all. That's why urinary symptoms alone can't tell you whether cancer is present and why screening is a conversation, which is the subject of our next episode.

Don't wait for these. Blood in the urine, a persistent change in your stream, pain with urination, or new pain in the lower back or hips deserves a visit. And two situations are urgent. If you suddenly can't urinate at all, or you have fever with painful urination, go to urgent care or the emergency room. So the takeaway your prostate will change with age, and most changes are benign and treatable. But the ones that matter don't announce themselves, so know your family history and start the conversation with your provider.

Next episode the PSA test. Who should get one? What the number means, and why it's one of medicine's most debated screening tools. This episode is for education, not personal medical advice. Bring your questions to your own provider. I'm Sharon, this is Stable Health. Until next week, stay stable.