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

Obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension form deadly trio

It's now a commonly known fact that hypertension, diabetes and obesity pose a risk of cardio-vascular diseases। The lesser known medical truth, however, is that the three form even a deadlier combination. This was revealed at the ongoing annual conference of Indian Society of Hypertension (ISH) recently. The conference which focuses on 'Artherosclerosis in hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart diseases' is being supported by clinical and experimental medicine division, Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) and department of medicine, King George's Medical University (KGMU). Experts said that hypertension, diabetes and obesity generate a condition called metabolic syndrome (MS). Simply speaking, MS is defined as a cluster of the most dangerous heart attack risk factors. A person is said to be having MS has central obesity in addition with two of the following factors: increased triglycerides, reduced HDL-cholesterol, raised blood pressure or raised fasting plasma glucose level. "People with MS are at the risk of cardiovascular disease, being twice as likely to die and three times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to people without the syndrome," explained president, ISH, Dr Sridhar Diwedi. Quoting international diabetes association (IDH) he said that such persons have a five times greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a condition which is strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases, as up to 80 per cent of almost 200 million adults globally with diabetes will die of cardiovascular disease. According to statistics available at IDF, 1/4th of the world’s adult population suffers with MS. Its frequency increases with the age. However, the condition is also afflicting an increasing number of children and adolescents as the worldwide epidemic of obesity spreads across the age groups. The irony is that the problem is yet to be identified as a health hazard. The key in tackling the metabolic syndrome lies in a better understanding and its early diagnosis and treatment. While no single treatment for the metabolic syndrome available, lifestyle modification forms the underlying strategy of treatment. In cases where lifestyle modification does not help, drug therapy may also be used, the experts suggested. In his inaugural address, chief guest, state representative, UNICEF, Nimal Hettiaratchy said that the topic for the conference was relevant in view of the myth that people in the developing world were away from lifestyle diseases. He stressed on the need of creating awareness on intake of nutritional food and healthy lifestyle.