Health Topics A-Z

What Are the Symptoms?

There are no warning signs or symptoms of early prostate cancer. Once a malignant tumor causes the prostate gland to swell significantly, or once cancer spreads beyond the prostate, the following symptoms may be present:

• A frequent need to urinate, especially at night.
• Difficulty starting or stopping the urinary stream.
• A weak or interrupted urinary stream.
• A painful or burning sensation during urination or ejaculation.
• Blood in urine or semen.

These are not symptoms of the cancer itself. Instead, they are the symptoms of the blockage from the cancer growth within the prostate and surrounding tissues.

Symptoms of advanced prostate cancer include:

• Dull, incessant pain or stiffness in the pelvis, lower back, or upper thighs; arthritic pain in the bones of those areas.
• Loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, nausea, or vomiting.

Call Your Doctor If:

• You have difficulty urinating or find that urination is painful or otherwise abnormal. Your doctor will examine your prostate gland to determine whether it is enlarged, inflamed with an infection, or may have cancer.
• You have chronic pain in your lower back, pelvis, upper thighbones, or other bones. Ongoing pain without explanation always merits medical attention. Pain in these areas can have various causes but may be from the spread of advanced prostate cancer.
• You experience unexplained weight loss.