![]() “Surgery does not guarantee all the cancerous cells will be removed. But that surgery comes with certain risks, particularly incontinence and the loss of sexual function. “Some patients will opt for a prostatectomy – the surgical removal of your prostate gland. It’s not uncommon, particularly among older men, for a ‘watchful waiting’ approach to be adopted, where a patient simply begins active surveillance on the tumour – having regular tests – to see if it gets worse and starts to cause symptoms. ![]() Your GP may not feel that any invasive surgery or treatment is necessary. What happens next will depend on the result of those tests.” Most patients will undergo a biopsy of the tumour, with samples of tissue studied in a lab to see how quickly the cancer will spread. “The good news is that the chances of surviving the disease is good if you catch it early enough. “We see many patients - in fact the majority - who’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer having had absolutely no symptoms whatsoever.” But men also need to be aware that prostate cancer can be symptomless until the tumour has grown large enough to pose a real problem. Meanwhile, blood in your urine or semen is another obvious warning sign. “Some sufferers notice that their bladder feels like it’s not been fully emptied. ![]() You may also notice a hesitancy when you try to pee, or straining and taking a lot of time, as well as a weak flow. If you’re finding you need to wee more frequently, or you’re getting up often during the night, then you need to investigate the cause. “The main indicator that something is wrong is in your toilet habits. “Research has found that around a third of men have no idea what to look out for when it comes to prostate cancer.” It’s also important to stress that you should be looking out for the early warning signs of the disease as soon as you hit your 40s. They too can request a PSA test at 45 years old due to the fact that studies have shown they’re genetically more at risk of contracting the disease. However – and this is crucial – if there’s any family history of prostate cancer, you can demand a PSA test five to ten years sooner, at the age of 40-45. “According to NHS guidelines, if you’re 50 years old or over, you can ask your GP for a PSA test. If the PSA test indicates a problem, you’re likely to have a digital rectal examination as well as an MRI scan of the prostate.” “According to NHS guidelines, if you’re aged 50 to 69, a PSA reading of 3ng/ml or higher represents a ‘raised’ level and cause for concern. Raised levels, discovered through a simple blood test, can indicate a tumour. PSA is a protein often produced by prostate cancer cells. But men need to know what these checks actually entail and at what age they should be approaching their GP asking for a test.”ĭr Kubes said: “While there’s no national screening programme for prostate cancer, a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test is used as a diagnostic tool in the UK. He said: “There’s been a huge attempt to raise awareness about the disease in the past few years. Dr Kubes is Medical Director at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic – a facility that treats many UK prostate cancer patients with pioneering proton beam therapy radiation. And there are some symptoms to watch out for. The illness – the third biggest cancer killer in the UK – was brought into sharp focus last month when Oscar-winning Hollywood actor William Hurt died four years after a terminal prostate cancer diagnosis.Īccording to expert Dr Jiri Kubes it’s vital men are aware of precisely when, and at what age, they are eligible to get checked by their GP. Around 48,000 British men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, with one man dying every 45 minutes from the disease.
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