The biggest danger of prostate cancer is that the patient has no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. It often happens that the tumour is discovered only on the basis of distant metastases.
Therefore, prevention plays a key role in the treatment of prostate cancer.
In the later stages of the disease, a person affected by prostate cancer may experience a number of symptoms, but many of them may also suggest other diseases. These symptoms include the need to urinate frequently (especially at night), difficulty urinating, blood in the urine or semen, difficulty getting an erection, pain during ejaculation, frequent pain or stiffness in the hips, sides, or upper thighs.
The simplest and most clinically relevant indicator of prostate cancer is prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An increased concentration of PSA in the blood indicates that the permeability of the prostate walls has increased as a result of pathological changes, for example a tumour, which can usually be detected at an early stage using a blood test.
Prostate cancer most often metastasises via the lymph nodes to the bones, lungs, liver, nervous system, and kidneys. If prevention is neglected, prostate cancer is often detected only at the stage of metastases, which cause pain or stiffness in the back, hips, and limbs. Cancer is also accompanied by general weakness, loss of appetite and weight loss.
