A true story.
Does this sound familiar? Then you might have an enlarged prostate.
An enlarged prostate can strike any male, as the following story demonstrates.
Although the following is a true story, names, places and other details have been changed to ensure privacy.
Joe had always figured he was a typical, average sort of guy.
At the age of 56, he lived in a house in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario with his wife Helen.
The two had been married for over thirty years, and had a son and daughter, now both in university.
After more than three decades of working as an electrical engineer, Joe had accepted a very generous package from his company and taken early retirement.
He and Helen had always made sure to eat right and stay active, and looked forward to many healthy years together.
With no career demands, the kids out of the house, and a good income, Joe figured he had it made.
"Finally," he thought.
"Helen and I can really start to live.
Life is great, and it's only going to get better from here.
" It wasn't long though, before Joe knew something was wrong.
Six months ago it was a rare night that he didn't sleep straight through until morning.
Now he was getting out of bed four or five times a night.
And it wasn't because Helen thought she "heard something.
" He just had to go.
And go.
And go.
And GO.
You get the idea.
As an engineer, Joe had always known that any problem with a system has to be dealt with, as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
He took the next logical step, and booked an appointment with his family's physician, Dr.
Alfred Packer.
Joe had a good level of comfort with this particular doctor, as he had been treating Joe, Helen and their kids for over 20 years.
Joe explained his symptoms, and the doctor pointed out that Joe might have an enlarged prostate.
"Is it cancer?" asked Joe, displaying a common human tendency to fear the worst.
"Probably not," replied Dr.
Packer.
"It's actually pretty common in men our age.
It's outside my specialty, however, so I'll book you an appointment with an urologist.
" The urologist confirmed Dr.
Packer's diagnosis, and informed Joe that he had a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia, more commonly called BPH.
The urologist recommended surgery.
Joe considered this to be a bit drastic, just to correct a little problem with flow.
So Joe, being a logical kind of guy, once again took the next logical step and looked into other treatment options.
Today Joe is doing just fine.
His problem just 'dried up.
' There is a lesson to be learned from this story.
Although surgery is sometimes the answer to BPH, there are other treatments available.
Doing your research is the first step to better prostate health.