Diagnosis

What changes should you look out for?

Difficulties when urinating may indicate a prostate problem. Symptoms include:

Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
Difficulty in starting
Straining or taking a long time to finish.
A weak flow
A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly
Needing to rush urgently to the loo
Dribbling

Less common symptoms include:

Pain when peeing
Pain when ejaculating
Blood in urine or semen
Difficulty in getting or maintaining an erection (but this is more commomly caused by other health conditions).

If you have any of these symptoms, you may wish to get further advice or a check-up at your GP surgery. Every man over the age of 50 in the UK has the right to have a simple blood test called a Prostate Specific Antigen Test, usually called a PSA test. This can indicate problems with your prostate. Talk it over with your GP who may refer you to a specialist for further tests and advice.

What if cancer is diagnosed?

If the cancer is confined within the prostate, it is generally curable
Early detection can prevent death
Early stage disease allows a much wider choice of treatments – more than any other cancer. For further details of these treatments visit the Prostate Cancer UK website by clicking their logo at the bottom of this page
If the cancer has spread outside the prostate there are fewer options for treatment
Once the cancer has spread to other organs or bones, treatment is provided to control the condition.

The PSA Test

The PSA Test is a blood test which can detect the early signs of prostate cancer.
The test, which can be done at a GP surgery, measures the level of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in your blood. PSA is made by the prostate gland. Some of it will leak into your blood, and the amount depends on your age and the health of your prostate.

Raised PSA levels

The amount of PSA in your blood is measured in nanograms of PSA per millilitre of blood (ng/ml). PSA levels can range from 1ng/ml to hundreds of ng/ml.

If you're aged 40-49, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 2.5ng/ml or higher.

If you're aged 50–59, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 3.5ng/ml or higher.
If you're aged 60–69, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 4.5ng/ml or higher.
If you're aged 70 or over, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 6.5ng/ml or higher.

A raised PSA level in your blood may show that you have a problem with your prostate. However, this may not be prostate cancer. Other conditions, such as an enlarged prostate, prostatitis or a urinary infection, can also cause a raised PSA level.

Key Statistics

About 15% of men who have prostate cancer do not have a raised PSA level.

Three out of four men with a raised PSA level don't have prostate cancer.
One out of four men with a raised PSA level will have cancer.
Two out of three men who have a biopsy don’t have cancer.
Biopsies in one in five men fail to spot prostate cancer.