Today, we have Dr. Curtis Nickel, a urologist, joining us to talk about prostatitis, a pesky condition that affects the prostate. The focus of today's episode is on the way that this condition could affect you or your loved ones. Dr. Nickel will also be discussing the options that are available for treating this condition.

Dr. Nickel's research covers inflammatory, benign prostate, and pain diseases of the urinary tract. He has over 550 publications, he is on the editorial board of eight Urology journals, and he is the editor of the American Urological Association Update Series. He has presented in 45 countries and he is the Past-President of the Canadian Urological Association. Be sure to tune in today, to find out about prostatitis, how it could affect you or your loved ones, and what can be done to treat it.

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation.

Show Highlights:

• Prostatitis is a relatively common condition. Dr. Nickel describes the symptoms. 
• As many as 20% of men may have suffered from the symptoms of prostatitis at some point in their life, usually very mild.
• Studies show that 9% of men can have symptoms of prostatitis but only 3% actually have something done about it.
• In Canada, almost 3% of the males coming to a urology practice will leave with the diagnosis of prostatitis. In the United States, it has been reported to be as high as 8% in a male, outpatient, general urology practice.
• Prostatitis does not cause prostate cancer.
• Prostatitis can elevate PSA tests. (PSA tests test for cancer.)
• The main risk factor for prostatitis is a bacterial infection of the lower urinary tract.
• The cause of prostatitis is not clear.
• The kinds of tests that men with prostatitis can expect to have to undergo.
• There are various categories of prostatitis.
• The majority of patients with prostatitis are in the category of chronic prostatitis, or chronic pain syndrome.
• Sometimes, what is called prostatitis might not be prostatitis at all.
• Dr, Nickel explains the process of making a diagnosis of prostatitis.
• The patient's history is important when making a diagnosis of prostatitis.
• Studies have shown that, as a young person, having prostatitis that does not get treated properly to start with, can become a lingering, chronic condition that can be as debilitating as having Type 1 Insulin-Dependant Diabetes.
• Every patient with prostatitis has to have a treatment plan designed specifically for him, based on what is known as the clinical picture.
• There are many different treatments available.
• There is a different prescription for every patient diagnosed with prostatitis. Often, doctors resort to using less toxic medications like phytotherapy or herbal medications.
• Sometimes doctors even recommend physiotherapy, for certain cases of prostatitis.
• When all else fails, doctors could resort to injection therapy.

Links and resources:

https://grandroundsinurology.com/author/jnickel/

We're happy to have Dr. Ryan Terlecki, a urologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health, with us today. He is here to talk to us about the enlargement of the prostate, which is also known as BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia). 

In this episode, you'll find out what you need to look for, and how BPH could affect the quality of your life. 

Dr. Terlecki wears many hats at the Wake Forest Center for Men's Health, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the director of the men's health clinic, the director of medical student education, and the fellowship director of reconstructive health. Be sure to listen in today, to hear what he has to say about the enlargement of the prostate. 

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation.

Show Highlights:

• What having an enlarged prostate means.
• BPH can cause difficulty with urination.
• It can result in changes to the bladder itself.
• BPH can have a significant impact on a man's day-to-day routine, and his quality of life.
• There is a linear increase in BPH as men age throughout their lives. 
• Dr. Terlecki discusses the risk factors for men getting this condition.
• As obese men lose weight, they could see improvement in some of their lower urinary tract symptoms.
• Urinary symptoms will rarely be due to prostate cancer.
• BPH can cause problems with the bladder.
• What a BPH test involves.

Links and resources:

Prostate Health Podcast - www.prostatehealthpodcast.com

To receive your free guide for what to expect when you visit your urologist, go to www.prostatehealthpodcast.com/clinic or find the link on our podcast website.

Today, we're very happy to have Dr. Judd Moul, an international prostate cancer expert from Duke University, joining us on the podcast. In today's episode, Dr. Moul will be talking about the importance of the PSA, or the Prostate Specific Antigen, which is like a check-engine light for men's prostate health.

Dr. Moul joined the Duke faculty in 2004, after a career in the US Army Medical Corps, where he was mainly at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Moul, who served as the editor for Prostate Cancer and Prostate Disease Journal, has authored and co-authored over 275 scientific manuscripts and book chapters. He is a retired colonel, and also a noted researcher and clinician in the area of prostate cancer. He is also a popular speaker and lecturer, having been a visiting professor and keynote speaker throughout America and the world. 

Be sure to listen in today, to hear what Dr. Moul has to share about the importance of the PSA.

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation.

Show Highlights:

• Dr. Moul explains what a PSA is.
• What is measured in the PSA test.
• The PSA test first came out in the late '80s. Initially, several companies were making the test, and there were no national standards at the time, so the results could vary, depending on where the test was done.
• Dr. Thomas Stamey, a famous Stanford urologist, came up with a standard for PSA testing.
• Dr. Moul explains how doctors checked men's prostates in the years before the PSA tests became available.
• The problem with doctors prescribing antibiotics for suspected prostate infections.
• A digital rectal prostate exam is still very important, even in combination with the PSA.
• The guidelines that Dr. Moul prefers to refer to, with regards to using the PSA for prostate cancer screening.
• There was an unsettling trend, in around 2012, that resulted in millions of American men not getting PSA or prostate cancer screening.
• Today, urologists are doing a very good job of determining who needs to go for an evaluation for elevated PSA.
• There are some very important things that The US Preventative Services Task Force needs to recognize around the cutting-off of PSA testing for certain men.  

Links and resources:

Prostate Health Podcast - www.prostatehealthpodcast.com

To receive your free guide, go to www.prostatehealthpodcast.com/clinic or find the link on our podcast website

Welcome to the introductory episode of The Prostate Health Podcast, with your host, Dr. Garret Pohlman. For this podcast, we will be interviewing experts, innovators, and leaders in the field of urology. In today's episode, we're excited to have Dr. Brantley Thrasher joining us, to explain what the prostate is, its function, and where it's located. His was one of the very first names that came to mind when we were developing the podcast and thinking about possible guests.

Dr. Thrasher is the immediate past president of the American Urologic Association, the former chair of the department of urology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the current executive director of the American Board of Urology. In addition to giving over 400 presentations at local, national, and international meetings, he has written more than 190 manuscripts, book chapters, and monographs in the field of urology. Tune in today, to find out more! 

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation.

Show Highlights:

• Dr.Thrasher explains what a prostate is. 
• The primary purpose of the prostate.
• Where the prostate is located, and some of the structures that surround it.
• The average size of the prostate.
• Dr. Thrasher explains what the function of a prostate gland is and what it does for a man.
• The different zones of the prostate.
• What stimulates the growth of the prostate.
• The things that men would need to worry about, with a prostate.
• The consequences of removing a prostate.
• In cases where men are having symptoms, they should see a urologist.

Links and resources:

Prostate Health Podcast - www.prostatehealthpodcast.com

To receive your free guide, go to www.prostatehealthpodcast.com/clinic or find the link on our podcast website

Welcome to the Prostate Health Podcast! Today, you'll meet your host, Dr. Garrett Pohlman and learn why he is passionate about prostate health and how he plans to use this podcast to help as many men as possible! Here's to your prostate health!