One of the reasons prostate cancer is so common is because it's
very difficult to detect in the early stages. Around 50% of sufferers
are 75 years of age or older, and often the symptoms are simply put down
to old age. Prostate cancer is sometimes called the silent disease,
simply because it sneaks up on the sufferer without any obvious warning.
It's a sad fact, but many men don't take the threat of prostate cancer in the manner they should. Perhaps this is because of the embarrassment and joking surround the idea of a prostate examination. Unfortunately, the more advanced the cancer is when it's discovered, the harder it is to cure. Early detection gives a high chance of recovery. Some medical professionals have suggested an annual blood test to determine if prostate cancer is present, but so far this suggestions hasn't met with widespread acceptance.
Some of the most common symptoms of prostate cancer are listed below. It's important to realize that many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions as well, so the presence of one or more may not indicate prostate cancer. However if you experience these symptoms regularly, it's a good idea to have yourself checked by your doctor, so that he can make an accurate diagnosis of the problem. The symptoms to look for include:
Difficulty commencing urination
Increased frequency of urge to urinate, particularly at night
Feeling like you need to hurry when urinating
Feeling that your bladder isn't empty when you've finished urinating
It takes a long time to finish urinating, with the last part coming out as a dribble
Pain upon urinating
Much weaker urine stream than usual
Painful ejaculations
Urine that contains blood
Pain occurring in the genital area
Difficulty getting or maintaining an erection
Pain isolated in the lower back
Pain in the hip area and pelvic regions
As the disease
can progress unnoticed for some time, many men don't recognize they have
a problem until they develop more severe symptoms, such as:
An unexplained weight loss
Extreme tiredness or fatigue
Isolated pain in the bones of the back, hips, thighs and neck
Anemia
Another element to be aware of is that prostate
cancer may run in families. So if you have a close male relative
diagnosed with prostate cancer, such as a brother, then your risk of
developing the cancer yourself is three times higher than average. If
your brother was still under sixty, then your risk is four times higher.
Even if the male relative isn't so closely related, it's possible your
risk level is higher, so annual examinations over the age of fifty are a
good idea.
It's important to consider the age at which male relatives develop prostate cancer, because if the sufferers are fairly young (i.e. between 50 and 60) then it's highly likely a faulty gene is causing the cancer - and it's also highly likely that you have the same gene. There's no way of testing this, so the only prevention possible is to keep having the prostate gland checked by your doctor, so that at least any problems can be detected as early as possible, which gives you a much better chance of a cure.
It's a sad fact, but many men don't take the threat of prostate cancer in the manner they should. Perhaps this is because of the embarrassment and joking surround the idea of a prostate examination. Unfortunately, the more advanced the cancer is when it's discovered, the harder it is to cure. Early detection gives a high chance of recovery. Some medical professionals have suggested an annual blood test to determine if prostate cancer is present, but so far this suggestions hasn't met with widespread acceptance.
Some of the most common symptoms of prostate cancer are listed below. It's important to realize that many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions as well, so the presence of one or more may not indicate prostate cancer. However if you experience these symptoms regularly, it's a good idea to have yourself checked by your doctor, so that he can make an accurate diagnosis of the problem. The symptoms to look for include:
It's important to consider the age at which male relatives develop prostate cancer, because if the sufferers are fairly young (i.e. between 50 and 60) then it's highly likely a faulty gene is causing the cancer - and it's also highly likely that you have the same gene. There's no way of testing this, so the only prevention possible is to keep having the prostate gland checked by your doctor, so that at least any problems can be detected as early as possible, which gives you a much better chance of a cure.
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