The Pro State of Affairs

This Movember Tousled continues to focus on men’s health issues.

Namely:

1. Testicular Cancer;

2. Prostate Cancer; and

3. Depression and Suicide Awareness

Prostate Cancer has had a personal impact on my life. In April 2018, my much beloved father was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. It was a shock. Which translated seamlessly into denial because I literally chose not to “look at it”. I just thought,

“NAH! This isn’t anything. I’m going to take up residence in the land of overwork thanks much.”

Thankfully, my dad had surgery and got better. At that time though, I was so vested in my denial that I couldn’t even look up the illness on WebMD. As a prominent WebMD user, (every headache I have had since 2014 has been designated as tumorous with an aggressive timeline culminating in an unsightly but inevitable demise) this is highly unusual.

Now that I can look at the issue, (because it’s not so close) I decided to understand and share a bit about the whys and wherefores’ of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men. The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.

Cancer (generally) occurs when cells in the prostate become abnormal, grow and divide more rapidly than normal cells do. The abnormal cells continue living, when other cells would die. The accumulating abnormal cells form a tumor that can grow. Some abnormal cells can also break off and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.

Prostate cancer that's detected early — when it's still confined to the prostate gland — has a better chance of successful treatment.

What does all this have to do with hair you ask quizzically? I’ve been studying linkages between hair loss and various diseases. During the course of this research, I read a study by Harvard Medical School titled: “Testosterone, prostate cancer, and balding: Is there a link?” Did you know that testosterone the “man maker” hormone can convert into another hormone called dihydrosterstosterone (DHT). DHT acts on the skin (producing acne) and also stimulates the growth of prostate cells, producing normal growth which in older men contributes to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH also called prostate enlargement. BPH is a noncancerous increase in size of the prostate gland. Symptoms may include frequent urination, trouble starting to urinate, weak stream, inability to urinate, or loss of bladder control.

Hang in there! The path will be made clear in the next sentence.

Scientists have found links between male pattern baldness and BPH! Using methods too lengthy to describe in full here, researchers looked at test subject’s scalp and found that men with bald spots at the top of their heads were one and a half times more likely to have prostate cancer than those without bald spots.

Although its suspected that testosterone and DHT are the leading suspects, doctors don’t know what accounts for the link between men with bald spots on the tops of their heads and prostate cancer.

But in further research I may have uncovered the answer. According to medical research conducted by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, a gene called Maspin may hold the key! The Maspin gene is a tumor suppressor gene designed to keep cell growth orderly. It appears when this gene is disabled, cancer cells divide and aggressively move around. In test subjects where the Maspin gene isn’t working there is a development of a bald spot! What if we can get the Maspin gene working? Scientists are working on activating the Maspin gene which would (they think) would result in preventing prostate cancer AAANNNND reversing male pattern baldness!

Now that’s what I call a two for one!

Let’s keep our fingers crossed scientists stay on the road to understanding prostate cancer.