Cancer of Prostate

The thing about symptoms of prostate cancer is that usually there are none in the early stages, and in fact most cases are not detected until the cancer has spread beyond the prostate. Unfortunately the signs of the possible presence of this disease depend on how advanced it is and how far it has spread.

The most common complaint is urinary problems caused by the tumor pressing on the bladder or the urethra.

This would cause :

• inability or difficulty in urinating

• burning or pain in urination

• frequency of urination especially at night

• decrease in the stream of urine

• blood in the urine

• blood in the semen

As the cancer spreads, symptoms of prostate cancer will include:

• swelling of legs

• pain and/or discomfort in the pelvic area

With advanced cancer the patient may suffer :

• pain in the bones

• bone fractures

• pressure on the spine

• weight loss

• difficulty in getting erection where this has not been the case

While it is true that this is a cancer in which the tumor is very slow growing, it is also heartening to note that not all the symptoms mentioned above, especially in the primary stages, are an indication that the cancer is present. As men get older, their prostate gland often enlarges and this may not be necessarily because of cancer. Secondly urinary infection may be just that and will cause urinary difficulties which will disappear with the appropriate treatment for urinary infection. Most enlargements of the prostrate are benign and can be treated and they are not necessarily cancer.

Men with suspicious prostate cancer symptoms need to consult with the doctor so that the relevant testings can be done and the presence or absence of cancer be established. The treatment, management and  prostate cancer cure is possible and this is one ‘ terminal ‘ disease that a patient does not have to die from , whereas if left undetected it is a slow, silent killer.