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Prostate Cancer Symptoms - Do You Know What They Are?

Early prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems. About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease. Men who are younger than 40 are rarely diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Cancer that grows in the prostate gland is called prostate cancer. The most common cancer in American men, excluding skin cancer, is prostate cancer. It's estimated that approximately 234,460 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and approximately 27,350 will die of the disease.

One symptom is a need to urinate frequently, especially at night. One of the most common symptoms is the inability to urinate at all. Some men will experience symptoms that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer.

If cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms. If you have one or more prostate cancer symptoms, you should see a qualified doctor as soon as possible. Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for.

One downside to PSA testing is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. There is a newer test called AMACR that is more sensitive than the PSA test for determining the presence of prostate cancer. Your doctor may use either one or two of the most common tests for prostate cancer detection.

The decision about whether to pursue a PSA test should be based on a discussion between you and your doctor. A PSA test with a high level can also be from a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA enzyme in your blood for abnormalities.

Impotence is a potential complication after the prostatectomy or after radiation therapy. Recent improvements in surgical procedures have made complications occur less often. The approaches to treatment include: ever watchful waiting to see whether the cancer is growing slowly and not causing any symptoms.

In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor. Surgery is usually only recommended after thorough evaluation and discussion of all available treatment options. Anyone considering surgery should be aware of the benefits, risks and the extent of the procedure.

Side effects of chemotherapy drugs depend on which ones you're taking and how often and how long they're taken. Medicines can be used to adjust the levels of testosterone; called hormonal manipulation. What you can do now is begin to understand what exactly your treatment options are and where you're going to begin.

Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal, both of which use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. The conventional treatment of prostate cancer is often controversial. Surgery, called a radical prostatectomy, removes the entire prostate gland and some of the surrounding tissues.

Treatment options can vary based on the stage of the tumor. Prostate cancer that has spread (metastasized) may be treated conventionally with drugs to reduce testosterone levels, surgery to remove the testes, chemotherapy or nothing at all.

The outcome of prostate cancer varies greatly; mostly because the disease is found in older men who may have a variety of other complicating diseases or conditions, such as cardiac or respiratory disease, or disabilities that immobilize or greatly decrease their activities. Just about all men with prostate cancer survive at least five years after their diagnosis, 93% survive at least 10 years, and 67% survive more than 15 years. Make sure to read everything you can get your hands on and mull it all over.

What Are the Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in a man's prostate gland. It occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control. Prostate cancer is common in men older than 65. It usually grows slowly and can take years to grow large enough to cause any problems. Most cases are treatable, because they are found with screening tests before the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Knowing what are the symptoms of prostate cancer is important because it helps reduce risks.

Most men do not know they even have prostate cancer because it usually does not cause symptoms in the early stages. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, problems during sexual intercourse, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms. However those symptoms are present only in an advanced stage of the disease. Here are the main symptoms and if you have one or more of these symptoms then you should see the doctor just in case.

- Having a weaker than normal urine stream
- Having trouble starting your urine stream
- Having to urinate very often
- Having to get up at night to urinate
- Feeling that your bladder is not completely empty when you urinate
- Having burning or pain when you urinate
- Unable to urinate at all

Advanced prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body and this may cause additional symptoms. The most common symptom is bone pain, often in the vertebrae (bones of the spine), pelvis or ribs. Prostate cancer in the spine can also compress the spinal cord, causing leg weakness and urinary and fecal incontinence.

Experts don't know what causes prostate cancer, but they believe that your age, genetics, and race affect your chances of getting it. What you eat, such as foods high in fats, may also play a part.

7 Common Prostate Symptoms That Should Not Be Ignored

Prostate problems will develop in the vast majority of men as they grow older, commonly starting at around 50 years of age. By 60 about half of all men will be affected and by the age of 80 nine out of every ten men will be experiencing some sort of prostate symptoms.

In many cases prostate symptoms will be quite mild and, because at this time in life most of us are starting to develop a range of medical problems, we tend to ignore prostate symptoms as being nothing more than a normal part of the ageing process. In many cases this is fine as most of the problems seen with the prostate are not serious and, as long as the symptoms don't bother you too much you can live with them quite happily, they won't do you any harm.

Unfortunately, however, in all too many cases prostate cancer is present which, if ignored, will eventually spread and probably kill you. Indeed, prostate cancer accounts for the second highest cancer death toll in the United States today.

So, what should you be on the lookout for?

There are a range of different prostate symptoms that might point to developing problems and, as with most things, these symptoms can also be caused by a whole range of other problems. In most cases however if the symptoms are not being caused by problems with the prostate they will tend to be short lived, arising perhaps from a bacterial infection which clears up in a week or two without the need for treatment. If however any of these symptoms appear on a regular basis, or appear and stay with you, then there it is likely that they will originate in the prostate gland. The symptoms are:

• Difficulty in starting to urinate and a need to strain in order to start urinating.
• A weak flow of urine.
• A tendency for the flow of urine to stop and start.
• A feeling that you have not emptied your bladder even after you've just been to the bathroom.
• A feeling that you need to visit the bathroom urgently and difficulty in "holding on".
• The need for more frequent visits to the bathroom and, in particular, a need to get up during the night.
• A tendency to continue to dribble urine after you have finished in the bathroom.

These prostate symptoms are the body's warning signs that problems may be starting to develop and, whilst in most cases, this is not serious and nothing to be worried about, for all too many men these are the warning signs of a serious and in many cases fatal disease.

The only way to find out whether you fall into the former or the latter category is get yourself checked out and that means not ignoring the warning signs but talking to your doctor without delay.

Prostate Problem Symptoms - The Signs To Look For

When prostate problems first appear there are often very few if any symptoms and this is one of the major difficulties with prostate problems, and in particular prostate cancer, as many men do not even realize that they have a problem until it is quite well advanced.

The first signs of any problem are often spotted during a routine medical examination by your doctor, as many doctors will now routinely carry out a simple blood test, know as a prostate specific antigen, or PSA, test for male patients over a certain age. This is not however done in all cases and so there are still a large number of men for whom even a routine medical examination will not detect the presence of a problem.

However, if screening is not carried out the problem will nonetheless become apparent at some point as more and more prostate problem symptoms slowly begin to appear.

One of the first prostate problem symptoms to emerge will be the need to urinate more frequently and a difficulty in maintaining a steady flow or urine. It may also be difficult to start urinating and you may need to strain to begin the flow of urine. There may also be some mild pain when urinating.

As problems continue to develop you'll find that it is difficult to get through the night without having to visit the bathroom and may find urination becoming increasingly difficult and possibly painful. There may also be some signs of blood in the urine.

The presence of prostate problems can also affect your sexual experience and you may find it difficult to get and to maintain an erection. Ejaculation may also prove painful and blood may start to appear in your semen.

At this stage these prostate problem symptoms clearly indicate that something is wrong, but don't necessarily point to prostate cancer as being the cause. Indeed, in many cases these symptoms will result from an enlargement of the prostate gland which is a benign condition often referred to as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or bph. This condition can often be treated quite easily, although treatment does of course become more difficult if the problem is left unattended for too long.

The real problem however is that these symptoms can also be caused by prostate cancer and, while this is a wholly treatable condition if it is caught early enough, once cancer begins to spread outside of the prostate gland, treatment becomes increasingly difficult. Indeed, should the cancer spread to other areas of the body before it is detected, it may not be possible to cure the disease and any treatment would simply be to slow the progression of the disease and to manage its symptoms.

Prostate problem symptoms are frequently ignored as, in the early stages, they are often mild and don't really pose any great problem in terms of day to day living. Also, many men simply put them down to part of the inevitable process of aging. However, prostate cancer is a killer and it kills on a massive scale each year with a substantial proportion of deaths being wholly preventable.

So, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, or indeed are symptom free but over the age of 40, it's a good idea to ask your doctor to run a simple prostate screening test at your next physical examination. It may just save your life!

Possible Symptoms Of Prostate Problems

Much like women going to menopause, many fear aging and the associated prostate problems that come along with it. Some of the more common symptoms of prostate problems included erectile difficulties, sexual dysfunction, and a low libido.

Symptoms of prostate problems not only encompass sexual dysfunctions and low libido is, they also include painful and difficult urination. An important in startling fact is that prostate problems do not only affect old men, rather they can affect any man.

While most people consider symptoms of prostate problems been only related to prostate cancer there is actually a relatively small percentage of prostate problems related to cancer. Below are various prostate problems, and there associated symptoms.

Prostateism is a little known about disease that is often mistakenly believed to be a sexually transmitted disease. Prostateism is not a sexually transmitted disease, and carries no risk of being contracted by a sexual partner. In fact prostateism is bacterial disease often caused by an obstruction of the urethra or leading to increased bacterial levels.

These obstructions can come from many sources, some of the more common ones are bacterial penetration from chlamydia, bladder infections, and careless use of a catheter. Some symptoms of prostate problems, specifically Prostateism include lower back pain, fever, chills, pain in the genital area, painful urination, urgent urination, and penile discharges.

Benign prosthetic hyperplasia, BPH, is a prostate problem most common among older males. BPH results in the enlargement of the prostate, with it alternately pressing up against the urethra and bladder. The symptoms of prostate problems in this case specifically BPH include a high frequency of urination, problems beginning urination, inability to pass large amounts of urine. BPH also leads to sexual dysfunction; however modern medicine is still unable to understand why. Those affected with BPH tend to have low libidos, and erectile dysfunction.

Prostate cancer is best defined as cancerous growths growing within or on the prostate. Prostate cancer becomes quite deadly because it manifests itself with a wide range of symptoms of prostate problems. That is to say without regular checkups prostate cancer can have the same symptoms of prostate problems such as BPH or Prostateism.

For this reason it is highly important, in fact imperative, that all males above a certain age receive annual prostate exams. The best course of action is to discuss this with your physician to find out when you should start receiving your prostate exam, and if there are any lifestyle changes that you should make to help maintain a healthy prostate. These can include leafy greens, and specific multivitamins that are targeted towards prostate health.

How To Spot Enlarged Prostate Symptoms And Seek Treatment?

Men undergo transformation as they ages and the body will experience internal and external changes. As men approaches forty, there is a need to be alert to their prostate health. The health of the reproductive system plus the urinary system has been associated with prostate gland. Knowledge of the enlarged prostate and prostate cancer can go a long way in staying in the pink of health.

With aging and leading a predominant carefree lifestyle; enlargement of the prostate can and do occur. Majority of the symptoms are linked to the bladder as the prostate bear down on it. As pressure bear on the bladder, problem in urinating, urine remaining in the bladder and lack of control of the urine are the results of an enlarged prostate.

Common symptom of an enlarged prostate that caused discomfort is problem with urinating. Complaints are frequency of urinating at night, initiating or ending urinating and drizzle of urine after finishing. Blood is sometimes found in some patient and in the worst case, pus is present. Majority also has problem getting an erection and trouble ejaculating.

Rectal examination is usually used to diagnose the above symptoms and the physician may carry out other tests to determine if there is cancer. Surgical procedure is considered to shrink an enlarged prostate if the symptoms are not lessened. Even though symptoms of the enlarged prostate and prostate cancer can have common characteristics, the enlargement of prostate does not mean cancer.

Besides the above mentioned symptoms, other includes sexual impotency and painful ejaculation. Prostate cancer is more difficult to diagnose than enlarged prostate as it requires the tumor to be considerable before a rectal exam can spot it. By recognizing the difference between the two, getting an enlarged prostate doesn't mean cancer so you don't have to be unduly worried. Getting in touch with the physician to evaluate the seriousness of the enlarged prostate as delaying treatment could be damaging to your health.

At the age of fifty, men should go for regular prostate examination as the test is not as insidious as one might imagine. It is simply just an insertion of the gloved finger into the anus. Once done with the test, physician will recommend treatments and medicine is usually given as seventy five percent of the men found it to be effective. Delaying can be detrimental as enlarged prostate might turn up to be prostate cancer. By not taking care of your prostate health can lead to serious health problem and even death. With early detection and awareness, a knowledgeable choice on the types of treatments can be made.

Once diagnosed, physician will discuss with the patient and recommend the types of treatments hinging on the seriousness of the symptoms and the patient medical history. Two different but efficient treatment of an enlarged prostate are alpha blocker and finasteride.

Alpha blocker assists in loosening of the surrounding wall of the bladder, easing urination. Seventy five percent of the men found it to be effective and once consumed, the patient can feel the difference.

The other medicine for an enlarged prostate is finasteride and it has been known to reduce the size of the prostate but it may be up to a year. The choice between the two medicine rests on the physician and how enlarged the prostate is.

Another herbal alternative is saw palmetto as it has been extensively tested and found to be effective. The herb will produce hormones in the prostate, for instant testosterone and relieve the symptoms the patient has gone through. The herbal treatment is found to be as effective as other medicines in treating enlarged prostate. A perceived difference should be noticed in the first three months, if not abandoned it and seek other treatment.

A less widespread procedure is the surgical method but it is, in the long term, the most efficient treatment for an enlarged prostate. Most of the surgical procedures require extended stay in hospital and long period of recuperation. Once diagnosis is carried out by your physician, he will go through with you all existing choices and its suitability, and then propose the best surgical method for you. Don't procrastinate in having a prostate examination as putting off can be damaging and harmful to your health.

7 Prostate Symptoms Which You Should Watch For

The vast majority of men will develop prostate problems of some description as they get older, with the first signs of trouble appearing for a few men at about the age of 50, or possibly slightly earlier. By the age of 60 about half of all men will be experiencing prostate symptoms and this figure will have increased to about ninety percent by the age of 80.

For most men prostate symptoms will be fairly mild and, because most of us begin to develop a range of medical problems at this point in our lives, it is not uncommon for men to simply ignore prostate symptoms as nothing more than a normal part ageing. As many prostate problems are not serious, and the symptoms can often be very mild, this is not necessarily a problem and you can live with many prostate problems quite happily and without them doing you any real harm.

However, not all prostate problems are harmless and if your particular prostate problem happens to be prostate cancer and you ignore it then it could quite easily start to spread and eventually kill you. Indeed, ignoring prostate symptoms is the main reason why prostate cancer represents the second highest cause of cancer death the United States.

There are many different symptoms which might point to a developing prostate problem and one difficulty we have in recognizing the cause of these symptoms is that they are often symptoms which could arise for many different reasons. However, if symptoms are not being caused by prostate problems then they will often to be short lived (stemming from a bacterial infection for example) and will disappear in a matter of days without the need for treatment. However, where symptoms stay with you, or appear on a regular basis, then there it is likely that they are being caused by a problem with the prostate gland.

Common symptoms include:

• Difficulty beginning urination and the need to strain in order to start urination.
• A loss of strength in the flow of urine.
• A flow of urine which tends to stop and start.
• A feeling that you need to urinate even after you’ve just been to the bathroom.
• A need to visit the bathroom urgently and problems in 'waiting'.
• The need to visit the bathroom more frequently and, in particular, to get up to visit the bathroom during the night.
• A tendency to dribble urine for a while after you have finished in the bathroom.

These symptoms indicate that prostate problems may be developing and although, in most cases, such problems will not be serious this is not always the case.

Accordingly, as soon as these symptoms appear, you should consult your doctor who will be able to tell you exactly what the problem is and how to treat it. More importantly, if the problem does turn out to be prostate cancer, he can recommend treatment while the problem is in its early stages and can be relatively easily treated and, hopefully, eliminated altogether.

Prostate Symptoms Men Need to be Aware Of

For many men prostate symptoms are just something that they consider a part of growing old. This isn't always necessarily true and any sign or symptom of prostate trouble needs to be checked by a doctor. In all likelihood any symptoms experienced will be the result of an enlarged prostate and not cancer. The earlier symptoms are diagnosed the sooner the condition can be treated and relieved.

By 60 about half of all men will be affected and by the age of 80 nine out of every ten men will be experiencing some sort of prostate symptoms. There are a range of different prostate symptoms that might point to developing problems and, as with most things, these symptoms can also be caused by a whole range of other problems.

Symptoms are usually those of a benign condition, such as benign prostate hyperplasia, and treatment can improve quality of life. Symptoms of BPH include a hesitant or weak stream, straining to urinate, a feeling that the bladder does not empty completely, urge incontinence (an involuntary loss of urine preceded by an uncontrollable sense of urgency), increased frequency of urination (particularly at night), an urgent need to urinate, and pain or irritation when urinating. Other symptoms include continuing pain in the lower back; pelvis, or upper thighs. Because prostate cancer tends to metastasize to the bone, bone pain, particularly in the back, can be another symptom of prostate cancer.

Prostate problems will develop in the vast majority of men as they grow older, commonly starting at around 50 years of age. Like other cancers, prostate cancer is a disease of cells growing out of control. Prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing type of disease, but there are some fast growing prostate cancers as well. It often causes no symptoms at all, especially in its early stages. Prostate cancer, relatively unheard of until recently, has become the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and a leading cause of premature death. In many cases prostate symptoms will be quite mild and, because at this time in life most of us are starting to develop a range of medical problems, we tend to ignore prostate symptoms as being nothing more than a normal part of the ageing process.

These prostate symptoms are the body's warning signs that problems may be starting to develop and, whilst in most cases, this is not serious and nothing to be worried about, for all too many men these are the warning signs of a serious and in many cases fatal disease. Hopefully, with increased awareness of prostate problems, fewer men will present at this late stage of the disease and get treatment before it becomes a problem.

Enlarged Prostate Symptoms: How to Tell When a Man Has BPH

Enlarged prostate symptoms rarely manifest before the age of 40. For some men, symptoms might not even occur at all. However, the condition called BPH or enlarged prostate affects almost 90 percent of men in their seventies and eighties, while more than 50 percent of men who reach their sixties experience symptoms.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) or Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy is a condition characterized by the enlargement of the prostate gland; a common occurrence since it is quite normal for men's prostates to enlarge as they age. The growth of the prostate has two main phases; the first is during puberty, when the size of the gland doubles; and the second is at around age 25, when the gland starts growing again. The second growth phase often results in BPH years later. Some of the more common enlarged prostate symptoms include weak stream of urine, difficulty in starting urination, dribbling and leaking of urine, a strong and sudden desire to urinate especially at night, a feeling of not emptying the bladder, and in some cases, blood in the urine.

As a man's prostate enlarges, the layer of tissue surrounding it prevents the gland from expanding which causes the gland to press against the urethra. The bladder wall becomes thicker and irritable resulting in contraction which causes frequent urination. Eventually, the bladder becomes weaker and might not be able to empty itself which could result in urine being trapped in the bladder. The narrowing of the urethra and the inability of the bladder to fully empty itself cause many of the problems associated with enlarged prostate.

The cause of enlarged prostate has yet to be fully understood. Since BPH occurs in older men and does not develop in those whose testes were removed during puberty, researchers believe that factors related to aging and the testes contribute to the development of the condition. Some studies have also theorized that BPH occurs because the amount of testosterone (male hormone) in the blood decreases as a man ages, leaving a higher proportion of estrogen (female hormone) which results in the increased activity of substances associated with cell growth.

Majority of BPH symptoms stem from urethral obstruction and gradual loss of bladder function. The extent by which a man's prostate has grown does not always determine how severe the condition is. Some men with greatly enlarged prostate experience little problems and manifest few symptoms, while others whose prostates are less enlarged may have severe obstruction, more blockage and experience more discomfort or pain.

Despite similarities between prostate cancer and enlarged prostate symptoms, having the latter does not mean that chances of getting the former are increased. Researchers have not found any direct connection between BPH and prostate cancer, but it is still highly imperative that men over the age of 40, whether they have or do not have enlarged prostates, undergo a rectal exam to screen for prostate cancer.