Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

Prostate cancer often doesn't produce any symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer, and which should be followed up with a visit to the doctor, include:

• Frequent urination, especially at night
• Urgency in urinating
• Trouble starting your urine stream
• A weak or interrupted urine stream
• Pain or burning during urination
• A feeling that your bladder doesn't empty completely
• Blood in the urine
• A nagging pain in the back, hips or pelvis

Although these symptoms may indicate prostate cancer, they also can be caused by other conditions that are not cancer, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). As men age, the prostate often enlarges and can press on and block the urethra and bladder, producing some of the symptoms described above. BPH can be successfully treated with medication or surgery.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated September 22, 2008