Prostate Cancer: Signs & Symptoms
Prostate cancer effects 1 in 8 men during their lifetime, and different men experience different symptoms. Many men with early stage prostate cancer experience no symptoms at all. Localised, early stage, prostate cancer – confined within the prostate – often doesn’t cause any symptoms. Symptoms can develop over many years. The most common signs of a prostate problem (though not necessarily cancer) are urinary problems. These include:
- Needing to urinate frequently, including at night
- Difficulty starting to urinate
- A weak flow of urine
- Dificultad para vaciar la vejiga del todo
- Taking a long time to finish urinating
- A sudden urgency to urinate
- Falta de control de la vejiga
- Pain when urinating
Less common symptoms include
- Pain during ejaculation
- Pain in the back, hips, chest or pelvis, which doesn’t go away
- Weakness of numbness in the legs and feet
- Sangre en la orina o en el semen
- Problems maintaining an erection
Although all these symptoms can indicate a problem with the prostate they could also be linked to a number of other conditions. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should consult your GP immediately. If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer a number of treatment options will be available to you. One of these is LDR brachytherapy. This is a targeted form of internal radiotherapy, where radioactive seeds are placed within the prostate. This effective, minimally invasive procedure offers significant quality of life benefits over alternative treatments such as surgery.