Enlarged prostate - also called BPH - will affect most men as they get older; as many as 90% of men over the age of 70 will have the condition.

Urologist James Borden explains, "Prostate enlargement is quite common; in fact men between 60 and 70, 70% of them have an enlarged prostate. And men over 80, 80% of them have an enlarged prostate, so it's a fairly common problem.

Dr. Borden says that the prostate naturally enlarges over time but typically it doesn't become a problem until a man reaches middle age, which some say is around the age of 40. "It's natural for the prostate to grow, as you get older, that's a natural process. But as the prostate tends to obstruct the flow of urine it, causes a lot of urinary voiding symptoms. Frequency, urgency, difficulty going, getting up more at night, a lot of irritation like you have to go and sometimes urge incontinence."

Carlos Soto says that when it comes to prostate health, the best defense is a good offense, and that means regular prostate checks by your doctor. "I have a yearly exam and my physician checks the prostate to make sure it's not enlarged and I would imagine if it were enlarged that there would be some kind of medication or something that he would give me before it became too bad."

Dr. Borden says that Carlos is right - an enlarged prostate can easily and successfully be treated with medications. "There are medications to try and shrink your prostate, medications to try and relax some of constriction of the muscle of the prostate."

Dr. Borden also says that if medications don't work, more aggressive treatments have proven effective. "There are minimally invasive treatments; some of them involve microwave therapy or heat type thermal therapies."

In eight out of 10 cases, the symptoms we've mentioned suggest an enlarged prostate, but they also can signal other, more serious conditions that require prompt treatment. These conditions, including prostate cancer, can be ruled out only by a doctor's examination.

Early treatment of an enlarged prostate may not be needed, because the symptoms clear up on their own in as many as one-third of all mild cases. Simply, having regular checkups to watch for early problems are often the first course of treatment.