Prostate cancer: Dr Hilary outlines signs and symptoms
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Prostate cancer doesn’t usually trigger symptoms until the cancer has become large enough to put pressure on the urethra. In case you’re not aware, urethra details the tube that carries urine from your bladder out of your body.
As the cancer starts putting pressure on this tube, warning signs might occur.
When it comes to pain, this sign is associated with cancer that has spread.
The two areas which might ring the alarm bells are your back and your hips, according to Dr Hilary.
Listing the symptoms of prostate cancer on TV, the doctor shared that pain occurs if there’s bone involved or there’s referred pain from the prostate.
ProstateCancer.net explains this happens in the case of advanced prostate cancer.
Other areas that could also radiate pain are the ribs or your groin.
The health portal shares this pain is dull and deep, resembling a toothache.
It adds that this type of pain feels “much different” to most other pain that comes from general soreness.
Apart from back pain, the NHS notes that prostate cancer that has spread to the bone can also announce itself with a loss of appetite, weight loss and pain in the testicles.
However, as pain only occurs once the cancer has spread, other symptoms might precede.
Dr Hilary said: “We’ve got a nice graphic here which shows the inside of the human body and the orange ball there is the bladder.
“And right in the face of the bladder, you’ve got the prostate gland, which is about the size of a chestnut and surrounds the water pipe.”
He said when it enlarges because of prostate cancer, these things happen:
- Difficulties starting the flow of urine – what we call hesitancy
- Difficulty emptying the bladder fully – you need to go again straight afterwards
- A weaker flow – the pressure isn’t that great
- Needing to urinate more frequently often at night
- A sudden need to go – urgency
- Blood in the urine.
The NHS urges that these symptoms shouldn’t be ignored and you should speak to a doctor.
Dr Hilary noted that while in nine out of 10 cases symptoms like these will be benign, 10 percent might be cancerous.
For example, signs like these could be also caused by prostate enlargement – a common condition in men over 50.
The doctor added: “[Around] 11,500 men die every year of prostate cancer, there’s probably 400,000 living with cancer right now.
“That’s 30 [dying] every day, including Father’s Day – when you start thinking about it.”
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