Prostate health front and center as worldly prominent figures undergo treatment
PHOENIX - Some big announcements from The Royal Family involving both the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton and King Charles III.
The princess is having abdominal surgery and will be hospitalized for two weeks.
Buckingham Palace said Wednesday that King Charles III needs to have a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate, or what’s called BPH.
The good news is that it’s easily treatable and not cancerous.
Dr. Mitchell Humphreys, a urologist and Chair of the Department of Urology at Mayo Clinic Arizona, says the condition is common.
"About 60% of men in their 60s start to get symptoms of BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia and a lot of men think, 'Well, I’m just getting older so urination is more difficult because I'm getting older,'" Dr. Humphreys said.
Looking at the numbers, about 50% of men between 51 and 60 years old have it.
That number jumps to 70% from 60–69 years old, and around 80% of men over the age of 70 have it.
King Charles III is 75 years old.
So how do you know if you have an enlarged prostate?
"The most common symptoms associated with BPH are weak urinary stream, difficulty starting to urinate, getting up a lot at night to go to the bathroom, feeling like you can never empty your bladder completely," Dr. Humphreys said.
He says waiting too long for treatment can cause kidney failure.
What about prostate cancer?
"So, if they've got a family history of prostate cancer, or first-degree relative, African American, if breast cancer runs in the family, we tend to try to get their first PSA in their 40s because that one is very predictive of what their chances are of getting prostate cancer at some point in their life," Dr. Humphreys said.
Kate Middleton to be hospitalized after surgery, King Charles III having prostate treatment: Palace
Moments after news of Kate's hospitalization was released, Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles III would undergo a "corrective procedure" next week for an enlarged prostate.
For other men, a screening which includes a blood test and exam happens around the age of 50.
Prostate health has been in the headlines lately, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin having surgery for prostate cancer, and then complications from it.
He was just released from the hospital, but his lack of transparency with the White House and lawmakers caused an uproar.
Dr. Humphreys says anytime a famous person is honest about their health, it can influence others to take a more proactive approach to their own health.
"Anything that brings awareness and captures people to get them the care that they need to help them is incredibly important," Dr. Humphreys said.