Matthias Hollwich, SBA describes his 7 steps for a New Age. Matthias is a forward thinking world class design architect. He shared his vision with interested lunch companions at Design for a New Age with the Aging Means Business summit in Boston.

Margaret Wallhagen is a Professor of Geriatric Nursing and Hearing at the University of California, San Francisco. Hearing loss is ignored and deferred too much. Delaying adjustments denies a person from understanding and being part of the proceedings. Don’t wait. Listen up.

Home Modifications for older adults should be done competently. Brad Wert of Wright Filipis is a Certified Aging In Place Specialist. “Brad tells us what this certification is and why it is important for those seeking proper home renovation work,” says Graceful Aging host Gregory Bator.

Jessica Capps, a Pastoral Minister with the Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas poignantly describes the joy she finds in the aging field.

Men across the world are routinely subjected to a PSA test to screen for the presence of prostate cancer. The United States Preventive Services Task Force studied this practice and concluded that healthy men are exposed to far more harms than any benefit from this approach. Their recommendation is to stop PSA testing for those without any family history of prostate cancer or who are not of African American descent. The recommendation is meeting a flurry of protests. A vocal opponent is the trade association for urologists, the American Urological Association which is determined to protect men and the $3 Billion dollar prostate industry.

This video is a full Graceful Aging show being released to inform everyone on this changing medical landscape.  It is important for men to learn what is right for them BEFORE they are perhaps subjected to a course of treatment that could expose them to serious and unnecessary consequences.  Our guest is Dr. Michael Lutz, MD and principal of the nation’s third largest urology practice. We engage in a spirited conversation.  You’ll learn enough to want to learn more BEFORE your next physical exam.

If your PSA reading trips the concern switch, you and the doctor will talk. So then what? You and your partner worry that you might have cancer! Typically, you think ‘get it out of me fast!’ The doctor then advises a biopsy to determine if it is cancer and what type and whether it’s fast growing.

So you have the biopsy. The doctor sticks needles through your rectum into your prostate and extracts tissue samples to send to the lab. Ouch and let’s hope that’s all.  Going through the rectum poses an infection risk and you can figure out why yourself. The bleeding potential, discomfort, and pain go away, but forget about making any Barry White moves for a while. Good luck not worrying or talking about ‘cancer.’

The test results come back. Hopefully, and likely the initial PSA reading was a ‘false positive’ and you’re in the clear.  What a literal pain in the butt that was (try to forget the infection risk for now). Now what? Well, the doctor says, we can’t be certain. We should watch to see if this changes. Come back in 3 or 6 or 12 months for another checkup. There goes your sick day allotment from work, if you have any.

If the lab results come back and show the presence of prostate cancer, then what! The doctor and you will talk. You may learn about the type of prostate cancer present, then again more biopsies may be ordered to determine the type and extent of prostate cancer. Ouch. New high tech mapping machines require about 40 biopsy tissue samples, again obtained by passing through your rectum.  Double ouch and let’s hope that’s all.

Then again, the doctor might say let’s just wait and see. The doctor might advise exercising a watchful waiting or active surveillance approach. Huh? The doctor may advise you the prostate cancer shown is a slow growing variety, as most prostate cancers are, and let’s just see if it stays that way. So, come back in 3 or 6 or 12 months for follow-up PSA or biopsies or digital rectal exams (DREs). (Now you’re likely talking vacation time use.)

You or your partner might be the impatient or worrisome type. Or just maybe your doctor is or advises you that removing the prostate cancer now is better before it might spread to other body parts. Geez, that’s reassuring news to discuss when you get home. What’s the reasonable thing to do then wonders you and those concerned for you? Your mind and conversation turns to ‘better safe, than sorry,’ ‘better now, than later,’ ‘bite the bullet, or dust’ and more idioms.

You’re left either way with living life with anxiety and worry or the pain and inconvenience of just ‘getting it out.’  So, now what?

Let’s say you decide, ‘doc, let’s just get rid of it.’ What are the alternatives? There’s a host of procedures that will consume your reading displeasure and occupy a hurried chunk of doctor office visit time. Chemo, cryro, removal, seeds, radiation and who knows what else medical wizards devised for you to try. So you take your dart and fling it to the board as accurately as you know how and it sticks on one approach. Then what?

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says you will be risking a result of more serious harm than you would have if you had never gotten the PSA in the first place. WHAT? You’re kidding, right? No, it is no joke. The USPSTF studied all the significant studies and determined that routine testing for healthy males over 50 exposes those men to over-diagnosis and over-treatment at a rate so alarming that they  give the PSA a “D” rating.  (You always encouraged your kids to get As and Bs.)

But, my doctor said….or when I went to the urologist who specializes (stop there for a moment–is this the practice that makes the third largest amount of money of all medical professions?) The American Urological Association strongly disagrees with the USPSTF, saying its study is wrong and an attempt to cheapen our nation’s health bill by eliminating the perhaps $3 BILLION prostate industry. Now who is more credible–the urologists’ trade association or the USPSTF? Who should you believe?

Let’s understand what the USPSTF is saying.  First, it says that after studying all the major studies on PSA testing, it concluded that no study shows you’ll live longer if you engage in routine PSA screening. The Task Force says mortality rates are no different between those that get tested and those that don’t. It does recognize a European study (the one that looked at 7 countries, finding positive results in one Swedish center) but found its results were so small as to be insignificant.

“The evidence is convincing that for men aged 70 years and older, screening has no mortality benefit,” the task force wrote. “For men aged 50 to 69 years, the evidence is convincing that the reduction in prostate cancer mortality 10 years after screening is small to none. … Ninety-five percent of men with PSA-detected cancer who are followed for 12 years do not die from that cancer, even in the absence of definitive treatment.”

You’ve heard and read that since the PSA test started being used in the mid 1980s, there’s been a steady decline in the death rates from prostate cancer. So how does that figure into the mix? Consider that in England and Wales where PSA testing is uncommon, there was also a steady decline in prostate cancer death rates. Experts generally conclude that our dietary habits of eating less red meat and fatty foods is the real reason for the steady decline shown.

Then you say, OK, so what. I just want this cancer out of me, I don’t want to die from cancer. You’re right, in part. No one wants to die from cancer, but the fact is that most men die with prostate cancer, not from it. Prostate cancer is a notoriously slow growing form of cancer. Most everyone now agrees that older men certainly age 75 will outlive any risk of dying from prostate cancer even if diagnosed with it. We are learning that not all cancer is the same.

I am not 75, I am only 50. What if I have cancer and don’t know it? Shouldn’t I have the right to choose to know and get a PSA? That is a good point. Men should have a right to choose to know.  Let’s just choose to know the facts before a PSA though instead of after taking a PSA.  This is the important recommendation of the USPSTF.

If you are not convinced by the USPSTF’s conclusion that PSA testing in healthy males over 50 has no proven connection to how long you will live, then consider the serious risks of harm associated with PSA’s testing. It has been found that less than 1 in 1000 men receiving a PSA test, if subjected to further treatments will not die from prostate cancer.  That is 0.1% or 0.001. In contrast, the same study found that 30-100 men will suffer from urinary incontinence, impotence, erectile dysfunction, or debilitating surgical complications. That is 3-10%.

There is no study that has measured the worry, anxiety, and fretting that men go through.  Nor is there any study assessing the impact worrying about prostate cancer has on your love life with your partner.

As you can see, I have seriously been looking into this topic.  My research is somewhat by chance.  I scheduled to have a prominent urologist as a guest on Graceful Aging, the community access television show that I host and produce. Dr. Michael Lutz, MD and principal with the nation’s third largest urology practice came to the studio after the release of the USPSTF’s report.  He and I engaged in a spirited and informative conversation about this very topic.  I was so glad I was prepared because it allowed our conversation to reach a level that will cause viewers to think.

Our Graceful Aging show “Prostate Health: Should Otherwise Healthy Males Get Tested Anymore?” is available on the Graceful Aging You Tube Channel at http://youtu.be/bUX7-iOmkdc and on our website at www.gracefulaging.com.

I decided that routine PSA testing is not something I will participate in any longer. From all I have studied, as a healthy male over 50 PSA testing will only subject me to unnecessary worry, discomfort, and cost.  I am also swayed by Richard J. Ablin, a research professor of immunobiology and pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine who discovered the prostate specific antigen the PSA tests for.

Dr. Ablin says: “I never dreamed that my discovery four decades ago would lead to such a profit-driven public health disaster. The medical community must confront reality and stop the inappropriate use of P.S.A. screening. Doing so would save billions of dollars and rescue millions of men from unnecessary, debilitating treatments.

Certainly, if I were an African American male or if my father or brother suffered from prostate cancer problems, I’d consider taking the PSA. Everyone seems to agree on that point.

Since neither of those conditions prevail for me, I am comfortable without the PSA.  What I learned is for me. You or your partner should do their own careful study. Begin with watching Graceful Aging’s show and continue with reading some of the material available below. Then talk with your doctor.  Men do have the right to choose to know. Do all this BEFORE taking the PSA.

Readings That May Now Interest You (as a starter):

The Great Prostate Mistake

Screening for Prostate CancerA Review of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Should You Have a PSA Test for Prostate Cancer?

Handling new recommendations against PSA testing

AUA RESPONDS TO NEW RECOMMENDATIONS ON PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING

U.S.Panel Says “No” to PSA Screening

This show provides a sampling of upcoming shows that are aired on over 225 community access stations across America. See why we’ve become the most popularly downloaded community access TV show in the country according to www.pegmedia.org.

The goal on Graceful Aging is to inform, educate, and entertain. Our guests are experts in their field and motivated to share their expertise with you.

Host Gregory Bator uses his extensive professional experience as a lawyer specializing in elder care matters for 30 years to bring out the best in each guest. You’ll be pleased to watch how the conversation on each show advances your understanding of challenging topics. You’ll laugh, think, and be inspired to improve your life.

In this episode, Graceful Aging explores how to try to help someone inundated with stuff. Our guests describe diplomatic ways to intervene for the hoarder’s well-being. “This is no easy task. You have to pick the right words, the right place, and the right time to be effective,” says guest Harriet Bakalar, an expert on hoarding interventions.

“Hoarding’s effect upon families, friends, and communities is significant. Beyond the titillating stories, time, money, and safety are at issue,” says Graceful Aging host Gregory Bator. “Join us as we highlight effective practices for individuals and communities on the problems excessive stuff can bring.”

Older displaced workers always face a more difficult challenge in finding the right job. In this tough economy, finding even a suitable job is a big task.

Forced and unforced career changes thrust seniors into the job market. Many have not looked for a job in decades. “Finding the right job, the right career, is possible,” says John Patricolo, an employment expert. John works exclusively with individuals displaced from employment and readies them to find and succeed in a new career. “We are grateful that John is sharing his expertise for older workers on today’s show,” says Graceful Aging host Gregory Bator.

The techniques, tips, and temperament necessary to secure the right job today are the focus of “Career Changes for Older Adults”. Join us and provide your viewers with valuable expert counsel. All job seekers, and especially senior job seekers, will be rewarded with solid practical guidance. Please help seniors give the job hunt their very best shot.