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Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

King Charles III was recently diagnosed with an enlarged prostate or BHP (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and underwent treatment but Buckingham Palace was a bit vague about what this treatment entailed. They did not reveal whether or not this treatment involved surgery.

Following news of King Charles’ condition though, the Internet went into overdrive. The NHS (National Health Service) of the UK alone received 11 times the normal daily visits searching for information about the monarch’s condition.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/18/searches-enlarged-prostrate-soar-king-charles-announcement

Your prostate gland naturally gets bigger as you age so at the age of 75, it’s not surprising that King Charles is having problems with his prostate. Most men over the age of sixty will experience benign prostatic hyperplasia at different levels of severity but that doesn’t mean you have cancer. The operative word here is benign. Benign means that the prostate cells are increasing at an abnormal rate but the swelling that ensues remains localized and the cells do not spread to other organs.

My father was diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia when he was in his mid-60s. His treatment did involve surgery. He has a TURP: a transurethral resection of the prostate, which is a surgical procedure to cut away part of the prostate to relieve pressure on the urethra. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think King Charles probably had the same procedure.

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John McInnes- fiction writer and health topics too
John McInnes- fiction writer and health topics too

Written by John McInnes- fiction writer and health topics too

I am a fiction writer, teacher and photographer. I also like to write about health topics, food and travel. I think there is a novel in me somewhere.