When prostate problems first appear there are often very few if any symptoms and this is one of the major difficulties with prostate problems, and in particular prostate cancer, as many men do not even realize that they have a problem until it is quite well advanced.

The first signs of any problem are often spotted during a routine medical examination by your doctor, as many doctors will now routinely carry out a simple blood test, know as a prostate specific antigen, or PSA, test for male patients over a certain age. This is not however done in all cases and so there are still a large number of men for whom even a routine medical examination will not detect the presence of a problem.

However, if screening is not carried out the problem will nonetheless become apparent at some point as more and more prostate problem symptoms slowly begin to appear.

One of the first prostate problem symptoms to emerge will be the need to urinate more frequently and a difficulty in maintaining a steady flow or urine. It may also be difficult to start urinating and you may need to strain to begin the flow of urine. There may also be some mild pain when urinating.

As problems continue to develop you'll find that it is difficult to get through the night without having to visit the bathroom and may find urination becoming increasingly difficult and possibly painful. There may also be some signs of blood in the urine.

The presence of prostate problems can also affect your sexual experience and you may find it difficult to get and to maintain an erection. Ejaculation may also prove painful and blood may start to appear in your semen.

At this stage these prostate problem symptoms clearly indicate that something is wrong, but don't necessarily point to prostate cancer as being the cause. Indeed, in many cases these symptoms will result from an enlargement of the prostate gland which is a benign condition often referred to as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or bph. This condition can often be treated quite easily, although treatment does of course become more difficult if the problem is left unattended for too long.

The real problem however is that these symptoms can also be caused by prostate cancer and, while this is a wholly treatable condition if it is caught early enough, once cancer begins to spread outside of the prostate gland, treatment becomes increasingly difficult. Indeed, should the cancer spread to other areas of the body before it is detected, it may not be possible to cure the disease and any treatment would simply be to slow the progression of the disease and to manage its symptoms.

Prostate problem symptoms are frequently ignored as, in the early stages, they are often mild and don't really pose any great problem in terms of day to day living. Also, many men simply put them down to part of the inevitable process of ageing. However, prostate cancer is a killer and it kills on a massive scale each year with a substantial proportion of deaths being wholly preventable.

So, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, or indeed are symptom free but over the age of 40, it's a good idea to ask your doctor to run a simple prostate screening test at your next physical examination. It may just save your life!

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