Symptoms of prostate cancer

Early-stage prostate cancer can often cause only few symptoms or none at all. In fact, these symptoms may be similar to those caused by an enlarged prostate gland – also called benign prostatic hyperplasia. Moreover, it is possible that prostate cancer and prostatic hyperplasia occur at the same time.

Enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia

The prostate has reached its normal size by puberty, but it may begin to grow again after midlife. The reasons for enlarged prostate are not fully known, but it is obviously caused by hormonal changes. As many as 80 percent of men older than age 60 are estimated to suffer from enlarged prostate, which means that the problem is quite common in ageing men.

Urinary symptoms

Typical symptoms for both prostate cancer and prostatic hyperplasia can include urinary incontinence or urinary retention. Such problems can include for example the following:

•  Frequent urge to urinate
• Nighttime urge to urinate
• Sudden urge to urinate
• Difficulty to start urination
• Extra need for effort during urination/difficulty to completely empty the bladder
• A weak urine stream

At worst, benign prostatic hyperplasia can lead to urinary retention, which is the inability to urinate, even though the bladder is full.

Typical symptoms of prostate cancer can also include:

• Blood in urine
• Painful urination
• Impotence
• Bone pain (backache, pelvic or hip pain, in case cancer has spread to bones)

Prostate infection – prostatitis

Prostate pain typically refers to the infection of the prostate gland. Pain can occur in the genital area, e.g. in the perineum, testicles or groin region. In addition to the pain in the genital area, typical symptoms include pain in the pelvic area, nonspecific pain in lower abdomen, urination problems as well as stinging when urinating. Even ejaculation or sitting can be painful for some men. In addition, blood can appear in the semen. The infection of the prostate gland can be either non-bacterial or bacterial,  the first one being more common. The infection can be acute or chronic, while an acute infection can also progress to a chronic one.

Prostate problems – there is always reason to examine what may lie behind the symptoms

There is always reason to ask a specialist to examine all the above mentioned and other nonspecific prostate symptoms, as only more accurate examinations can help in finding out whether or not such symptoms are associated with prostate cancer.

In order to detect asymptomatic prostate cancer, patients should undergo PSA screening, Proclarix or Stockholm3 (STHLM3) tests on a regular basis. Screening increases the chances of finding the cancer in its early stage, when it can be more certainly cured.

Docrates Cancer Center provides cutting-edge equipment to examine prostate problems, and first and foremost, an experienced treatment team. In case you have symptoms of prostate problems or you suspect prostate cancer, do not hesitate to contact our phone service: +358 10 773 2010.