What are the Serious Signs of Prostate Cancer?

If you have any of the following symptoms, it's important to see your doctor right away: difficulty starting to urinate, weak or interrupted urine flow, frequent urination, especially at night, difficulty emptying the bladder completely, pain or burning when you urinate, blood in the urine, or semen. If the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland, men may experience swelling in the lower body, back, hip or bone pain, abnormal bowel or urinary habits, or unexplained weight loss. It's important to note that these symptoms don't necessarily mean you have prostate cancer. Prostatitis or BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy, also known as prostate enlargement) are benign diseases that can cause similar symptoms and are very common.

If you've recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may be wondering if there were any warning signs or symptoms that you should have noticed sooner. In some cases of prostate cancer, it may be beneficial to block the hormone with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which can delay the cancer or even cause it to go into remission. External beam radiation is another treatment option; high-energy beams that emit photons attack and destroy abnormal prostate cells outside the body. All of these treatments have side effects of varying degrees and have different success rates in treating prostate cancer.

A healthy diet and exercise can help your body's overall well-being and may reduce your chances of developing prostate cancer. If you have a very high risk of prostate cancer, you and your doctor may consider taking medications or other treatments to reduce your risk. Cancer researchers have identified several factors that could increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer. It's also important to note that the signs of prostate cancer are shared by many other, less serious conditions.

Other possible early signs of prostate cancer include unusually weak urine flow and unexplained pain around the prostate while sitting. If you have one or more signs of prostate cancer, be sure to see a doctor right away.