Signs of Prostate Cancer

Understading The Warning Signs Of Prostate Cancer.

When men get older, many get prostate cancer. If it’s not detected early, it can spread to other parts of the body and hinder treatment. Signs of prostate cancer don’t always show up when it first appears in the body. This is why men of a certain age are encouraged to receive regular prostate exams.

Responsible for producing semen, the prostate is a gland the size of a walnut. Just underneath the bladder, it’s located around the bottom of the urethra. As it expands during prostate cancer, it chokes off the urethra and causes urination problems.

Most men go through a second stage of prostate development over the age of 40. During this stage, cells within the gland develop more rapidly than before. This regular prostate expansion also reduces urine production. This condition is called BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects more than half of men over 60 and more than eighty percent of men over 80.

The early signs of prostate cancer aren’t always easy to recognize. Many men associate the symptoms with aging and nothing else. That’s precisely why knowing and learning to recognize the warning signs of prostate cancer is so important.

Prostate cancer tumors can stay in the prostate or spread. It’s really a luck of the draw sort of thing. If the cancer does spread, the new malignancies share the same cell types as the primary tumor, which does make treatment a bit easier.

Early signs of prostate cancer do include urinary problems which is also associated with the non-cancerous BPH. Among the various urination troubles, there are:

unable to urinate
burning or pain while urinating
constant urination at night
low, weak or spotty flow
painful ejaculation
bloody semen or urine
constant aching pain in hips, lower back and thighs
problems beginning urination.

While these could be signs of normal aging, when these signs of prostate cancer start showing up, it’s important to be screened by a doctor right away. In terms of what to expect at the doctor, there are generally three main types of tests. There’s a rectal exam, which most men have already experienced. Second, there’s the PSA scan, which is a blood test used to determine whether one’s PSA levels are elevated. Elevated PSA levels are usually a warning sign of prostate cancer.

The third is a CT scan or ultrasound, which is used to look at the area of the prostate more thoroughly. X-rays are also used sometimes. Whether it turns out to be nothing or gets diagnosed as cancer, the sooner you know, the better your chances.