A lot of men with cancer need role models and rocker Rod Stewart is a pretty good one. Three years since his prostate cancer diagnosis, the legendary musician, 75, has been cleared of the disease, but now he’s facing new challenges amid the COVID-19 and seems to be getting making it through. While speaking to BBC, Stewart revealed that he’s been adjusting to the lockdown by working out and getting fit.
Stewart was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 during a routine check up, but shared with fans in 2019 that he had gotten the “all clear” after going through treatment. While speaking to BBC, Stewart acknowledges that his recent cancer battle and age makes him more at risk of contracting the virus, and he’s been staying safe by social distancing at his home in the U.K and working out to make sure he’s fit and healthy.
Read More“We’re just getting on with it, battling through it, and we will,” Stewart said.
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Screening For Prostate Cancer
Since his diagnosis, Stewart has encouraged men to be vigilant when it comes to routine check ups and screening for possible prostate cancer. However, the guidelines for screening depend largely on your risk for the disease and that's based on several factors including family history, genetics, age, and race.
“We know as doctors that there are certain men who are at high risk for having prostate cancer,” Dr. Edwin Posadas, Director of Translational Oncology and the Medical Director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet. “Men of African descent, for example, fall immediately into a high risk category. Men whose fathers or brothers had prostate cancer are at two to three times the risk of the general man living in America of having prostate cancer. Those pieces of information are critical to bring forward in an examination when you’re seeing your doctor.”
While screening for prostate cancer, doctors test for a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam to feel the prostate gland. According to Dr. Posadas, the process is extremely quick and typically painless.
Dr. Edwin Posadas explains when men should be screened for prostate cancer
Life After Prostate Cancer
For some men who have survived prostate cancer, a common theme among survivors is that they were nervous their sexual function would be disrupted from surgery and treatment. However, that’s proven not to be the case in many circumstances. Following radiation or surgery, some men may have trouble getting hard, or maintaining an erection, while others can no longer have an erection at all. However, Dr. James Brooks, Chief of Urologic Oncology at Stanford Medicine, tells SurvivorNet that there are ways men can still have a healthy sex life following treatment.
“Viagra and Cialis and Levitra have been game-changers in this situation,” Dr. Brooks says. “There are other alternatives that a urologist can work with them to help them get back to being– getting erections and getting back to being sexually active. I recommend some couples seek counseling from a sex therapist, because there are ways to be sexually active even in the absence of an erection, and have a very satisfying life. It requires couples to think more broadly or creatively about their intimacy.”
Dr. James Brooks says a healthy sex life is possible after prostate cancer surgery
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