You’ve all heard of Movember, where men all over the country spend a month growing the most impressive moustaches or beards they can. But are you aware that it is actually in aid of Prostate Cancer Awareness?

November is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and we at The Forge fully support this great campaign. Our Chiropractor Jean Luc Lafitte is particularly passionate about this issue and recently did the voice-over for a video explaining about the PSA test. You can watch the video here. Today Jean Luc shares why he supports the drive towards greater awareness.

“For many years now I have been an advocate of men’s heath and I will explain why I think all men should be as vigilant as women are for breast cancer.

Many years ago, my mother had breast cancer and as a result took the brave decision to have one of her breasts removed. This as you can imagine was not an easy decision, but nonetheless, it was one that would save her life. It was at this point that I became aware of the lack of awareness around men’s health. I have since made it my mission to educate male and female patients as to the importance of regular PSA (Prostrate Specific Antigens) tests, which are markers used to indicate possible precursors to early onset of prostate cancer.

Last week, I went for my test. GPs are very open to this test and in my case I phoned my GP, who said I could book in for a blood test without seeing him. This was because I had already seen him in the past, because my father had been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate gland.

Some of the most common symptoms of prostate cancer can be:

• The need to urinate frequently, and then only pass a small quantities of urine
• Loss of libido
• Pain in your testicles.
• It’s also important to know that you may have one or none of these symptoms – and that’s why I also suggest you always see your GP who can fully assess the situation.

At my appointment, I had some blood taken, which is how the PSA levels are ascertained. The test was on the Monday and the results came back on the Thursday. My results were all clear, but if they had not been I would have been asked to come in and discuss the findings with GP.

A higher marker on your results however does not always mean you have prostate cancer, but can be an indication of an enlarged prostate gland. I would always encourage patients to see their GP if they are the slightest bit concerned.”