National Men's Health WeekAs part of National Men’s Health Week 2009, Strenua’s World is bringing you a series of special articles all week. One aim of this year’s NMHW is to improve men’s awareness of the range of health services and how to use them effectively. Today we are going to look at the second most common cause of cancer death in men prostate cancer.

One man dies from prostate cancer every hour in the UK (10,000 each year). Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with 35,000 men diagnosed with it every year in the UK although over 70% of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients survive over 5 years.

What is prostate cancer?

In men the prostate gland lies underneath the bladder and its main job is to make most of the fluid that carries sperm. Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate gland start to grow in an uncontrolled way. In most men prostate cancer grows slowly and may not cause any problems. But some prostate cancers grow quickly and need early treatment to stop or delay them from growing

What are the risk factors?

  • Age: Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over 50, although more than 8 out of 10 cancer cases (85%) are diagnosed in men over the age of 60.
  • Ethnicity: African Caribbean men are 3 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.
  • Family: 2 ½ times more likely to develop prostate cancer if your father or brother has had it.
  • Diet: No one knows how to prevent prostate cancer but diet and a healthy active lifestyle may be important in protecting against the disease. A diet high in animal fat will increase your risk so you should eat more fruit and vegetables and maintain a healthy weight

What are the symptoms?

Some men with prostate cancer may have no symptoms at all although some symptoms may include:

  • Weak or reduced urine flow
  • Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
  • A feeling your bladder has not emptied properly
  • Difficulty starting to pass urine
  • Needing to rush to the toilet
  • New pain in the lower back, hips or pelvis
  • Problems getting or keeping an erection
  • Less commonly may experience pain when passing urine, ejaculating or in the testicles, or have blood in the urine or semen (but this is rare)

You don’t need to have all these symptoms to have prostate cancer nor does having some of these symptoms mean that you have it. Other prostate problems such as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) or prostatitis, which is caused by an infection of the gland have similar symptoms and the only way to know for sure to is go to your GP to get checked out.

What are the tests for prostate problems?

There are a few tests the doctor may carry out to find out if you have a prostate problem.

  • A urine ‘dipstick’ test to check for infection
  • A blood test called a prostate specific antigen test, to test for a protein produced by the prostate gland
  • A physical examination
  • Test to measure speed of urine flow
  • Ultrasound scan to test whether your bladder is emptying properly

Your GP may do all or some of these tests or send you to see a urologist at the hospital who specialises in urinary problems

More information you can contact your doctor or the Prostate Cancer Charity either online www.prostate-cancer.org.uk or you can call their free and confidential helpline on 0800 074 8383.

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