The prostate is a small gland located deep in the pelvis between the bladder and the rectum. It surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Similar to any other organ in your body, the prostate can grow malignant tumors, and prostate cancer increases its incidence as we age.
Prostate cancer is a very common type of cancer in males. A high number of men will have prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime, but only a few develop signs and symptoms of the disease. The majority do not experience complications because it is a type of slow-growing cancer in most cases. However, other patients have a very aggressive type of prostate cancer, and underestimating the disease would be a mistake.
Thus, being aware of prostate cancer symptoms is important to detect the disease and go to the doctor to see if there’s a real problem you need to care about. Knowing the signs of prostate cancer and what to do if they start to occur is also essential to avoid complications or even death.
Prostate Cancer Symptoms
In general, prostate cancer symptoms are similar to those of any other type of cancer. Still, additional symptoms are only found in this disease and other prostate-related conditions. Men commonly experience a change in their urinary stream, an early symptom that can be easily confused with a urinary tract infection. Other common symptoms include pain in the pelvic area, difficulty urinating, frequent urination, and blood in the urine.
Because the disease is not detectable immediately, it is sometimes difficult for doctors to diagnose it early. Patients tend to get used to their urinary stream and other urinary symptoms and don’t realize when they worsen. This leads to more advanced stages of the disease when treatment is required. Thus, the best way to prevent prostate cancer progression is to pay attention to these symptoms, trying not to underestimate the problem, and raise self-awareness and understanding of the disease.
So, stay attentive. The following symptoms may indicate you have prostate cancer or another condition that affects your prostate:
1) Urgency to urinate
It is not uncommon to feel like you need to urinate, especially at night. But the urgency to urinate is not a simple need to urinate. As the name implies, it is an urgent need with significant discomfort and the sensation that you can’t hold the urine. Urgency refers to a sudden and strong desire to go to the bathroom. The feeling of urgency often comes without an apparent reason. The urgency to urinate is an irritative symptom of the bladder, which reduces its storage capacity.