Most prostate cancer is slow growing and doesn’t cause any symptoms. But it can develop into more aggressive cancer that does cause symptoms. These include back pain and blood in the urine or semen.
Your doctor will recommend treatment based on the size of your tumor and how far it has spread. They may also recommend watchful waiting (active surveillance).
Pain
A tumor in the prostate is usually slow-growing and doesn’t cause symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. Symptoms include pain when you’re urinating and difficulty having or keeping an erection. If you have one or more of these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor because they may be a sign that the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of your body.
Prostate cancer is most common in men over the age of 50, although it can occur in people of any age. The most common type is adenocarcinoma, which starts in gland cells in the prostate. Other types of prostate cancer include small cell carcinomas, neuroendocrine tumors, and transitional cell carcinomas. The type of prostate cancer you have determines the severity of your symptoms.
Most prostate cancers start in the outer part of the gland. To cause a symptom, a cancer has to grow large enough to press on the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis (the urethra). This is why many men who have prostate cancer don’t experience urinary problems until they’ve reached an advanced stage. Urinary symptoms such as an urgent need to pee, a weak flow of urine, or a flow that stops and starts can also be caused by a benign (noncancerous) enlarged prostate or other health conditions.
If the cancer grows and spreads, it can compress your spinal cord, which causes back pain. This can be a serious condition called metastatic spinal cord compression and is sometimes the first symptom of prostate cancer that has spread to the spine.
The cancer can also affect your bones. This can lead to back pain or a feeling that your bones are being crushed. It can also make it difficult to move around or exercise, and it increases your risk of breaking a bone (fractures). Some types of hormone therapy used in the treatment of prostate cancer can lead to weakened bones, too.
Emotional effects, such as anxiety and depression, are also common in men with prostate cancer. If you’re experiencing these emotions, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider or a counselor. You can work together to find ways to cope and feel better.
Swelling
Prostate cancer grows slowly and most people don’t have symptoms at the time of diagnosis. However, the cancer can spread and cause symptoms that may affect a man’s quality of life. Symptoms are often confused with those of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH). Pain or a feeling that you need to urinate more frequently can be a sign of advanced prostate cancer. If you are experiencing these symptoms, talk to your doctor about them.
Prostate cancer is most common in men over the age of 50. Men with a family history of the disease are at higher risk. Having African-American or Caribbean ancestry also increases a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Other factors that increase a man’s risk of developing prostate disease are being overweight, drinking too much alcohol and smoking.
A man with prostate cancer may have pain or a feeling that he needs to urinate more often, especially at night. Urinary retention (the inability to fully empty the bladder) is a serious sign of the disease and requires medical attention.
Weak flow of urine, trouble starting the flow of urine and blood in the urine are signs that you should seek medical attention immediately. In these cases, you should make an appointment with your GP or urologist.
During a physical, your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and how long they have been a problem. They will also take a urine sample for testing. If the tests show that you have a high PSA level, your doctor will most likely perform a prostate biopsy. A biopsy is when your doctor removes small pieces of the prostate for examination under a microscope. The doctor will then “grade” the tissue based on how quickly it’s likely to grow or spread.
If the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate, your doctor can use a treatment called active surveillance. This involves monitoring the condition regularly with PSA tests and a prostate exam, and only treating your symptoms when necessary. Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of this option to you. Treatment options for prostate cancer that has spread outside of the prostate gland include surgery, radiation therapy and hormone therapy. Hormone therapy blocks the production of testosterone, which can stimulate prostate cell growth. If your doctor decides that the cancer is progressing, he or she will prescribe the appropriate treatment for you.
Erectile dysfunction
Prostate cancer treatments can sometimes cause side effects that affect sexual desire and function. But most of these effects are temporary. Your doctor can help you understand what you’re experiencing and talk to you about ways to manage it.
During sexual arousal, brain signals send messages to the muscles near the prostate that make the blood vessels in the penis enlarge. The incoming blood makes the penis bigger and harder, causing an erection. But if a man can’t get an erection, it can interfere with sexual satisfaction and enjoyment. This is called erectile dysfunction (ED).
The prostate gland is the largest of the male reproductive organs. It is about the size of a walnut and surrounds part of the urethra. The prostate produces semen, which is a fluid that is part of the semen that goes into the urethra when you pee. The prostate also makes testosterone, a hormone that helps men have a full, firm erection during sex.
When abnormal cells grow in the prostate, they can affect its normal function and may spread to other parts of the body. Most of these growths are not cancerous, but some are, and they can be high or low grade. High grade tumors are more likely to grow and spread than low grade ones.
A prostate biopsy is a test that checks for cancer in the prostate gland. It is done with a needle through the skin of the perineum or the rectum, or by inserting a tube into the urethra and collecting samples from inside the prostate. The sample is then studied under a microscope by a pathologist to look for cancer cells.
There are other conditions that can cause ED, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, a stroke, a hernia or having over 300 in your cholesterol. Other causes are medicines that reduce sperm production, such as birth control pills or steroids, and some cancer treatments.
Having a family history of prostate cancer also increases your risk. Other risk factors include age — it’s most common in people over 50 — race, especially black men; and having a close relative with the condition.
If your screening tests suggest that you might have prostate cancer, your doctor will probably order a prostate biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. A biopsy is an invasive procedure that removes tissue from the prostate to examine it under a microscope for cancer cells. You will have anesthesia for this. Your doctor will talk to you about the benefits of a prostate biopsy and any possible risks. Depending on how the biopsy is done, you may need to stay in the hospital for 10 to 20 minutes. Other tests, including a PSA and digital rectal exam, are usually done at the same time as the biopsy.
