Prostate cancer symptoms typically don’t appear early in the disease. In many men, physicians first detect signs of prostate cancer during a routine check-up. If you have symptoms, they may include:
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine
- Urinating often (especially at night)
- Difficulty starting or stopping urination
- Pain or burning during urination
- Difficulty getting or sustaining an erection (impotence)
- Painful ejaculation
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs
Many of these symptoms also happen in other conditions that aren’t cancer. They may be symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia) or inflammation or infection of the prostate (prostatitis). If you have any symptoms that you think might relate to your prostate, let your primary care provider know. They can help you figure out the cause.
Take Charge of Your Health
Talk to your primary care provider if you have symptoms that you think may be prostate cancer. UW Medicine Primary Care can help you get started. Learn about Fred Hutch's relationship with UW Medicine.
Travel Writer Takes an Unexpected Cancer Journey
Well-known travel writer and TV host Rick Steves, 69, was sitting across from his new primary care provider at UW Medicine, who suggested a wellness checkup, a few dietary tweaks, maybe tai chi? And how about a blood test?
“A few days later, my doctor calls me and asks if there is a quiet place to sit down,” Steves remembered. “He then told me my PSAs were off the charts.”
Prostate Cancer Symptoms FAQ
Your primary care provider will ask you about your symptoms, your health history and your family history. They’ll also ask about factors that might put you at risk for other conditions that could cause the same symptoms. They’ll examine you to check for clues about what’s been bothering you. They may do a digital rectal exam. In this exam, they insert a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum for feel your prostate for anything out of the ordinary.
Based on your conversation and exam, your provider may order tests to get more information. These could include a blood test to check your prostate-specific antigen level and a urine test. If the provider is concerned you might have prostate cancer, they’ll ask for a biopsy. In a biopsy, your provider takes a small sample of tissue from your prostate. A pathologist looks at the sample under a microscope to check for signs of cancer.
Medical tests can sometimes lead to either false-positive or false-negative results. In cancer diagnosis:
- A false positive means the test shows cancer is present when it really isn’t. If you get a false positive, it can cause anxiety and lead you to have more tests, which have their own risks.
- A false negative means the test shows there’s no cancer even though there is. If you get a false negative, you might delay getting treatment.
Prostate cancer is rare before age 40. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases after age 50 and on average, is diagnosed around age 67. Even at the time diagnosis, most men have no symptoms. Often, their cancer was found for other reasons than symptoms, like a prostate cancer screening test.
Prostate cancer can spread to distant parts of the body. When it does, it often spreads to the bones. This can cause pain and sometimes other problems like fractures or pressure on the spinal cord. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, we do more than treat your cancer. We also treat the ways cancer can affect your body. This may include medicines, radiation therapy, surgery and other ablative methods to slow bone tumors, prevent fractures and relieve pain.