Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Symptoms of benign and malignant tumours

As men get older their prostate gland often enlarges. This is usually not due to cancer. It is a condition called 'benign prostatic hyperplasia'. The symptoms of both benign and malignant tumours are similar

Difficulty in passing urine
Passing urine more often than usual, especially at night
Pain on passing urine
Blood in the urine

The last two symptoms - pain and blood - are rare in prostate cancer.

What causes these symptoms?

With both prostate cancers and non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, the symptoms are usually caused because the growth
Presses on the urethra
Blocks the flow of urine

Remember - if you have any symptoms you should be checked by your doctor. But most enlargements of the prostate are benign. That means they are not cancer and can be easily treated.

Other symptoms of prostate cancer

Cancer of the prostate often grows slowly, especially in older men. Symptoms may be mild and occur over many years. Sometimes the first symptoms are from prostate cancer cells which have spread to your bones. This may cause pain in your
Back
Hips
Pelvis
Other bony areas

This is known as secondary prostate cancer. There is information about the treatment of secondary prostate cancer in this section of CancerHelp UK.Other suspicious symptoms are weight loss, particularly in elderly men, and difficulty getting an erection (where you haven't had difficulty before).

What your GP should do

There are guidelines issued to GPs suggesting what they should look out for, and when they should think about sending you to a specialist. The guidelines say that men who have suspicious symptoms should be offered a PSA Test and a rectal examination. If you have a borderline PSA result, the guidelines say you should have another test in 1 -3 months time to check if it is going up or stable. We can't tell you exactly what reading would be borderline, because it depends on your age.If you have a suspicious PSA reading and other symptoms that could be related to prostate cancer, the guidelines say your GP should consider referring you to a specialist urgently.

Remember - your GP may delay a PSA test for good reason. There are a few situations that can affect the reading and make it less accurate. For example, a urine infection. This should be ruled out before testing, and a test delayed for a month after you've had treatment for a urine infection. If your GP wants to delay doing a test, just ask him or her to explain why.

Points to remember about these guidelines

While reading these guidelines, it is important to remember that
More than 99 out of every 100 men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over 50
About 75 out of every 100 men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over 70
Difficulty passing urine is common in the general population and on its own, is not a reason for your GP to suspect prostate cancer;
The most common symptoms of prostate cancer are a raised PSA blood test bone pain and abnormality found by your GP during an examination of your prostate via your back passage
A normal PSA reading varies depending on your age.
Men with a first degree relative (mother, father, son or daughter) who have prostate or breast cancer are at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer themselves

PSA testing

PSA stands for prostate specific antigen. This is a substance made by normal and cancerous prostate cells and released into the blood stream. The level in your blood goes up in prostate cancer because more PSA leaks into the bloodstream from the cancerous cells. It also goes up with age and if you have a benign enlarged prostate. So it is not a specific test for cancer. There is a range of normal PSA readings for every age. The upper normal limit for someone aged 50 is around 3.0 ng/ml but this increases to 5.0 ng/ml if you are 70.The UK does not have a national policy for PSA testing of all men at a certain age or a national screening programme in place for prostate cancer. If you do not have any symptoms of prostate cancer but still want a PSA test then your GP will need to provide you with information about what to expect from the test