PROSTATE cancer will affect one in every eight British men at some point in their lifetime.
Yet many men won’t be able to name one symptom of the disease.
In most cases, prostate cancer doesn’t have any symptoms for quite some time
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men across the UK with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
The disease is very treatable if caught early and charities are now urging people to be aware of the signs in order to stop the illness in its tracks.
According to Cancer UK, the illness doesn’t have any symptoms until the growth is big enough to put pressure on the urethra – that tube you pee through.
When this happens, some people may experience the following:
Needing to urinate more often, especially at nightNeeding to rush to the toiletDifficulty in starting to peeWeak flowStraining and taking a long time while peeingFeeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied fully
The prostate is a small, gland, that only men have.
II can be found around the urethra, between the penis and the bladder.
Many men’s prostates get bigger as they age because of two non-cancerous conditions: prostate enlargement and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
In fact, these conditions are more common than prostate cancer – but that doesn’t mean symptoms should be ignored, the charity said.
If the disease has spread to other parts of the body – which is when it’s known as advanced or metastatic prostate cancer – it can cause several other symptoms, including:
back or bone pain that doesn’t go away with resttirednessweight loss for no reason
What causes prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is very common, but it’s causes are unknown, the NHS says.
Most cases occur in men aged 50 or over, while prostate cancer is more common in men of African or Caribbean descent, and less common in Asian men.
One in four black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime.
A survey by Prostate Cancer UK previously revealed men over 45 knew the least about the killer disease and more than half of black African and Caribbean men did not know their ethnicity increased their risk.
Having a dad or brother who had prostate cancer can also increases your risk.
Recent research suggests obesity increases your risk of prostate cancer while exercising regularly lowers it.
A high-calcium diet, rich in dairy, is also thought to be unfavourable when it comes to risk level, the NHS says.
Eating foods that contain lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer developing, Cancer Research UK says.
This includes tomatoes and tomato-based foods, particularly when cooked.
To take an online test to reveal your risk of prostate cancer, click here.