robert11

Hello:

New to this group.
Sure seems like a terric group, with lots of help, and good questions and
answers.

a. What is .bph ? Significance of ?

b. Also, would like to bring up my post of a few days ago if I might:

I am most interested in Saw Palmetto possible use for myself, and it's
effect, if any, of lowering
the psa test results.

Am really very concerned about corrupting these results, which appear to be
about the only test done for prostate cancer these days in physical checkups
at MD's office.

- any info., hard evidence, or experience with its effect on psa test
results ?

-are there any other tests that I might "request" other than the psa ones
?


Thanks,
Bob

jack

Hi Bob,

Welcome to the group. I'll try to answer as many of your questions as
I can.

bph stands for benign prostate hypoplasia, which in lay terms means a
non-cancerous growth of the prostate. Not a tumors growth but an
overall increase in size of the prostate. This happens to most men
beginning at age 50 or so, some even earlier. By 60 the growth as
reached a point where the flow rate during urination has slowed and
one or more trips to the bathroom are required at night. The prostate
growth continues until you decide to have the prostate reduced in size
by surgery. The surgery can be a TURP, the present "gold standard" of
urologists, TUNA, TUMT, indigo laser, holmium laser or the KTP laser,
also known as the green light laser or PVP.

This one I can not answer. Although many say that as the prostate
gets larger in size the psa value increases. This certainly has
anicdoal evidence, as one gets older his psa value increases without
any cancer being found, through bioposies of the prostate.

So if saw palmetto decreases the size of the prostate then one would
think that it would also decrease the psa value. But I'm not at all sure of that.

One of the best ways to determine possible prostate cancer is through
a DRE, digital rectal examination, by a urologist. You may also have
a free psa blood work determination. That "saved" me from having a
prostate biopsy when my psa jumped from 4.0 to 6.5. The free psa came
back 28%, anything over 25 is good. The uro said lets wait and do
another psa in 3 months. Two weeks later I had prostitis, and the uro
said that was the cause of the high psa value. In 3 months the psa
was back to 4.1

Two years after that on a DRE the uro felt a "hard ridge" so a biopsy
was done, fortunately negative.

psa ones

see above free psa test.

My advice is find a uro you can communicate with, and have faith in.
Ask friends, your family doctor, assoicates for recommendations.