Symptoms, Treatment & Surgery Information

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Generally speaking, prostate cancer does not produce any glaring symptoms during the early stages of the disease. Unfortunately, this leads to many cases of prostate cancer being diagnosed during the advanced stages in which the disease has spread to other parts of the body, often including the bones. Due to the fact that symptoms are not usually noticeable during early stages, doctors suggest screening for at-risk men once per year. This will help doctors to detect any prostate cancer at an early stage before symptoms arise. Early detection is essential to long term survival, and has gone a long way in controlling the number of related deaths over the past 15 years.

For most men, prostate cancer is first detected through routine screening such as a digital rectal exam (DRE) or prostate specific antigen (PSA). Once again, this is the case because prostate cancer does not usually lead to any symptoms during its early stages.

With that being said, there are some early warning signs and symptoms of prostate cancer to keep an eye out for. While not common, they can (and do) occur. Of course, if you are over the age of 50, you need to pay even more attention to these signs. This is the age at which you are most at-risk for prostate cancer and other related problems.

A large number of symptoms caused by prostate cancer are based around urinary problems. The reason for this is that a tumor on the prostate can press on the bladder and/or the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder. That being said, urinary symptoms are more times than not caused by relatively benign problems such as an enlarged prostate or an infection of the gland.

Although urinary symptoms are not common during the early stages of prostate cancer, there are some to be aware of. They include:

  1. Difficulty urinating
  2. Trouble maintaining a steady stream during urination
  3. Starting and stopping while urinating
If you are suffering from prostate cancer, either local or regional, you may experience additional symptoms including:
  1. Blood in your semen during ejaculation
  2. Blood in your urine. This may or may not be visible by the human eye.
If the cancer has spread from your prostate to the lymph nodes, especially those in the pelvic region, you may face the following symptoms:
  1. Discomfort and/or pain in the pelvic region
  2. Swelling in your legs
Finally, if not diagnosed early enough, prostate cancer can spread to distant parts of the body including bones. In this case, you will more than likely experience many of the urinary symptoms listed above, as well as others including:
  1. Bone fractures or breaks
  2. Bone pain that persists day in and day out
  3. Compression of the spine which can in turn lead to pain
While every case of prostate cancer is different, there are other generalized symptoms that you may suffer from. They include:
  1. Burning or pain during urination
  2. Pain during ejaculation
  3. Difficulty sustaining or maintaining an erection
If the cancer is caught at an early stage, most men never have to deal with these symptoms. It is the cases when prostate cancer is more advanced that men begin to face these symptoms and the discomfort that goes along with them.

It is important to keep in mind that the majority of these symptoms are shared with other less serious problems. Some of the other medical issues that can lead to these symptoms include an enlarged prostate, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, and Prostatitis.

Unlike many other types of cancer, prostate cancer symptoms do not usually appear during the early stages. To help catch the disease before it spreads, regular prostate screening is a must.


Sponsored Resources: