Men's Health Archive

Saw palmetto is a popular "natural" choice for urinary symptoms from an enlarged prostate, but high-quality studies show little or no real benefit. Men are urged to talk with a doctor first, both to rule out serious causes and avoid misplaced hope.

With advances beyond blood tests to screen for prostate cancer, men and their doctors now have additional-and better-information to guide diagnosis and potential treatment. Examples include MRI scans and also urine tests that look for biological markers of cancer.

What happens if PSA levels start rising after surgery or radiation for prostate cancer? Sometimes men live the rest of their lives with a rising PSA without ever developing metastases. Now, an ultra-sensitive scanning technology is raising new questions about biochemical recurrence and how to manage it.

Men and women can experience many age-related changes and health conditions that can cause their sex drives to decline. Couples who deal with mismatched or missing sex drives should communicate about how they can work together to get back in sync. Both partners should share what they enjoy before and during sex, what issues may be hindering their sex drive, and what strategies they can try, such as recreating dating, planning time for intimacy, and exploring new ways to create romantic moods.

Although urinary tract infections (UTIs) are far more common in women, men can also get them. Signs and symptoms include frequent urination, burning or tingling during or just after urination, cloudy urine with a strong odor, or blood in the urine. UTIs can be treated with antibiotics.

The long-term outlook for men diagnosed with prostate cancer continues to improve. These medical advances, however, have also drawn attention to the mental health challenges many survivors encounter. It's still common for survivors to struggle with loss of masculine self-esteem and changes in body image.

More men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a 2025 study. Black men have a higher incidence of cancer and are twice as likely to die from the condition compared with white men.

A PSA test can detect early-stage prostate cancer while it's still asymptomatic, but some men are diagnosed with prostate cancer only after symptoms appear. The editor in chief of the Harvard Medical School Guide to Prostate Diseases answers questions about how doctors distinguish prostate cancer from other noncancerous problems affecting the prostate.