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Show Hospital warns of prostate cancer danger This year, almost 30,000 men in the United States will die of prostate pros-tate cancer - it is the third lending cause of cancer deaths among men. With proper diagnosis and treat . ment, however, prostate earn er can be cured. American Fork Hospital encourages Utah County men to learn more about this disease and how to prevent it. According to Ronald Saunders, M.D., urologist on the American Fork Hospital medical staff, the number of prostate cancer deaths each year couldbe cut in half if men would have a rectal exam at least yearly after the age of 50. "Unfortunately, most men never visit a doctor unless they have pain," p -I. says Dr. Saunders. "To catch prostate pros-tate cancer in time, you must be checked before you have any symptoms. symp-toms. By the time it hurts, it is too late in most cases to cure the disease." dis-ease." According to Dr. Saunders, a rectal exam takes only three minutes min-utes and causes minimal discomfort. discom-fort. When the cancer is diagnosed and treated before it has spread, there is a 77 percent probability that the patient will live at least five years or longer. In these cases, surgery is usually usu-ally used to remove the disease from the body. "There is now a new procedure designed to spare the nerves to allow normal sexual functioning," says Dr. Saunders. If the cancer is left untreated, it will usually spread to the bone. According to Dr. Saunders, a person per-son diagnosed with prostate cancer after the tumor has spread has only a 20 percent chance of living five years - even after treatment. Irradiation (exposure to radiation) and hormone manipulation are common prostate cancer treatments. The following warning signs may signal prostate cancer (American Fork Hospital strongly recommends an annual exam by a qualified physician as the best protection against prostate cancer): 1. Burning urination. 2. Frequent urge to urinate. 3. Blood in urine. 4. Blood in ejaculation. 5. History of kidney stones. 6. Recurrent prostate or bladder infections. American Fork Hospital provides a free questionnaire to help promote pro-mote the early detection of prostate pros-tate cancer. For your free copy, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: American Fork Hospital Hospi-tal Prostate Cancer Questionnaire, Attention: Public Relations, 170 North 1100 East, American Fork, Utah 84003. "ii"" .I..H..I1 |