Prostate Cancer Symptoms – Benefits of Early Diagnosis

Cancer of the prostate is typically a slow progressing cancer and symptoms often do not arise for many years. If the cancer is caught at an early stage, there might be no noticeable symptoms. Some men, however, will experience symptoms that could indicate the presence of prostate cancer. These might include:

A need for frequent urination, particularly at night
Difficulty starting urination
Weak or interrupted urine flow
Pain or a burning sensation during urination
Difficulty in obtaining an erection
Pain during ejaculation
Blood in the urine or in semen
Recurring pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs

Sometimes the first symptoms will be lower back, hip or pelvic pain caused by cancer which has already spread.

It is important to be aware that the symptoms of both benign enlargement of the prostate gland (i.e. non-cancerous) and malignant tumours (cancer) are similar and might include any of the following symptoms:

Difficulty starting urination
Frequent urination, particularly at night
Pain during urination
Blood in the urine

Also, men over 50 years of...