Private MD News

App helps men keep track of prostate symptoms

Category: Prostate

Men may soon be able to consult their smart phone to know when it is time to talk to their doctor about PSA testing for prostate cancer. A urologist from Concord Hospital in New Hampshire recently developed an application for the iPhone that allows men to track symptoms and alerts them when it may be time to talk to a doctor, according to the Boston Globe.

The application has three components. It includes a voiding diary that enables men to keep track of the fluids they drink and how often they use the bathroom, a symptom questionnaire from the American Urologic Association and an area to keep track of PSA test results.

"There are millions of men around the world who have these problems, and it makes them feel quite helpless," Dr. Ronald Yap, the app's developer, told the news source. "When you have an app, you can take charge of it. It empowers the patient to log the symptoms and keep track of them."

More than 223,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tools like this may help more men catch the disease in its early stages, when it is most treatable.