He has difficulty urinating after the operation. Should he undergo prostate cancer surgery?

Recently, the incident in which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin underwent surgery and was hospitalized for prostate cancer has attracted attention. Is it necessary to screen for prostate cancer? Who needs to be screened for prostate cancer?

Austin, 70, was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer during a routine screening. On December 22, 2023, he underwent prostate cancer surgery. Due to complications after the surgery, Austin was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) on January 1 this year. Two weeks later, Austin was discharged from the hospital and worked from home, and returned to work at the Pentagon on February 15.

Who needs prostate cancer screening?

The prostate is a male reproductive gland that produces semen, which nourishes and transports sperm. Prostate cancer may not cause symptoms in its early stages, but more advanced prostate cancer may cause symptoms such as difficulty urinating, weak urination, blood in the urine, blood in the semen, and unexpected weight loss.

So, who needs routine prostate cancer screening? The American Cancer Society recommends that the following three types of men consider undergoing prostate cancer screening.

The first category is men who are 50 years old and have an average risk of prostate cancer and are expected to live at least another 10 years.

Why is the life expectancy set at 10 years or more? Because prostate cancer is actually a very slow-growing cancer, and usually the patient’s survival rate will not be greatly affected within the 10th year from diagnosis . Therefore, if a person is too old and the remaining life expectancy is less than 10 years, and prostate cancer is diagnosed, then the prostate cancer will probably not have much impact on him.

The second category is men aged 45 who are at high risk for prostate cancer, including African Americans and men whose fathers or brothers were diagnosed with prostate cancer before the age of 65.

The third category is people who are 40 years old and have a very high risk of prostate cancer, such as more than one of their fathers or brothers who had prostate cancer before the age of 65.

If there is a family member who has prostate cancer , then the individual may have a genetic or hereditary factor. For example, if the father or brother has prostate cancer, the individual’s risk of developing the disease will more than double.