Examine Yourself: The warning signs and how to reduce risk of prostate cancer

Did you know?

Your risk of prostate cancer increases as you get older. Most men with the disease are over 50. If your brother or father has had prostate cancer, your risk is also higher.

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer happens when the normal cells in the prostate gland change and grow to form a mass of cells called a tumour. These cancer cells can affect how the prostate works.

Prostate cancer cells may not grow at all or else grow slowly during a man’s lifetime. Many men never develop problems or symptoms from their prostate cancer.

In some, prostate cancer grows more quickly and needs treatment to prevent it spreading outside of the prostate gland.

In most cases, prostate cancer can be cured or kept under control.

Prostate cancer most often occurs in men in their fifties and onwards. It can occur on rare occasions in men in their late forties.

The risk of developing prostate cancer rises with age.

Early prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is most often diagnosed in the early stages, before it has begun to spread beyond the prostate gland.

Early prostate cancer is also called localised prostate cancer. This means it is confined to the prostate gland only. It has not spread outside of the prostate gland.

Often it is so small it cannot be felt by the doctor on examination of your back passage and it may have no symptoms. Your doctor may suspect prostate cancer after doing a PSA blood test.

There are several treatment options available to treat early prostate cancer. Most of these treatments aim to cure the cancer.

Sometimes a doctor may suggest having no treatment straight away. Instead he or she will monitor the cancer regularly to see if treatment becomes necessary. This is called active surveillance.

Warning signs

• Difficulty passing urine
• Passing urine more often than usual, especially at night
• Needing to rush to the toilet
• Stopping and starting while passing urine, or a weak flow
• Feeling like you are not emptying your bladder fully
• Blood in your urine
• Pain when passing urine

Get the tools to reduce your prostate cancer risk

Be active in everyday life

Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day.

Be a healthy weight

As the amount of fat in the body increases, so does your chance of cancer.

Have a healthy diet

Eat fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses.

Limit foods high in sugar, salt and fat. Avoid processed meat and limit red meat.

Get checked out

If you are over 50, you should see your doctor every year for a check-up.

If you have a family history of prostate cancer you should have regular check-ups from the age of 40.

A check-up should include the following tests:

Digital rectal examination. Your doctor will put a gloved finger into your rectum (back passage) to see if the prostate gland is enlarged or abnormal.

PSA blood test. This test measures the level of a substance called PSA (prostate specific antigen) in the blood. Men with prostate cancer can have a raised level of PSA.