5 Warning Signs Of Prostate Cancer You Shouldn't Ignore

Based on estimates from the American Cancer Society, more than 35,000 men will die of prostate cancer in 2024, and close to 300,000 new cases will be diagnosed. Second only to lung cancer in terms of its mortality rate for American men, prostate cancer is said to be a disease that approximately 12.5% of patients will knowingly grapple with. 

However, prostate cancer is certainly not a death sentence. In the United States, around 3.3 million men who have received a prostate cancer diagnosis continue to survive. Moreover, there has been a sharp decline in diagnosed prostate cancer cases within the last two decades, likely because experts are getting better at detecting and treating prostate cancer in its advanced stages. Per the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of prostate cancer rarely present in the disease's nascent phase. 

With that said, if you were assigned male at birth (AMAB), there are a few telltale signs that the disease may be progressing in your body — and that an urgent consultation with a healthcare professional should be your priority.

As explained by Healthwise experts (via MyHealth.Alberta.ca), the presence of a tumor in your prostate gland may cause it to press against your urethra, which in turn can cause urination problems. Thus, one of the common signs of possible prostate cancer is urinary retention, or when peeing (whether partially or completely) proves to be challenging for you. According to a 2021 study in The BMJ, severe urinary retention is a "presenting sign" of prostate cancer. With that said, it can be a symptom of other types of cancer as well, which makes it doubly important to have yourself checked if you experience it. 

Other issues related to urination can also clue you in on whether or not you may have prostate cancer. The Cleveland Clinic lists a number of urination-related prostate cancer symptoms, including dysuria (when urination is accompanied by a painful or burning sensation), difficulty in maintaining the consistency or strength of your urine flow, and urinary incontinence (when you have trouble controlling or holding back your pee).

While occasional pain in your pelvis may be easy to brush aside, when the pain becomes intense or chronic, it's something you shouldn't ignore. "As prostate cancer grows, it can start to invade the muscles in the pelvis or rectal wall," says urologic oncologist Lisly Chéry, M.D. (via the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center). "This can give you the sensation that you're sitting on a ball because the prostate may be inflamed."

One of the ways you can tell that your pelvic pain may be a sign of prostate cancer (instead of simply being caused by a pulled muscle) is if the pain persists instead of being sharp and sudden. Some have also described prostate cancer-related pelvic pain to be dull, heavy, coming from within the body (instead of from outside or on the skin), and about on the same level as a toothache. 

Of course, prostate cancer isn't the only condition that can explain chronic pelvin pain. There are other potential causes, such as having a non-cancerous enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), trouble in your digestive system, or a bacterial or viral infection.

When prostate cancer is in its more advanced stages, it can cause pain in other areas of your body, including your bones and joints. Typically, you would feel this pain in your ribs and hips, as well as along your backbone.

Bone pain in particular seems to have a strong connection to prostate cancer, based on the findings of a 2000 meta-analysis in Human Pathology. Researchers studied the results of over 1,500 autopsies of men above 40 years of age who were confirmed to have prostate cancer, and found that more than a third of them experienced hematogeneous metastases (meaning the cancer cells reached other parts of the body via the bloodstream). Among those, 90% involved the bones. Bone pain related to prostate cancer metastasis isn't like your typical bone pain. Aside from being persistent, such pain can also be intense enough to interrupt sleep or make movement difficult.

Interestingly, while having trouble urinating is a possible prostate cancer symptom, urinating too often can be a sign of the disease as well. Experts at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers clarify that nighttime urination can occur up to twice per night for men, and that an increased frequency in your need to pee (e.g., if you hear nature's call every half-hour) isn't automatically an indicator that something is seriously wrong with your body. After all, the amount of urine your body produces can be affected by how much you drink throughout the day or if you're taking diuretic medication.

If frequent urination proves troublesome enough to merit a doctor's consultation, expect that you will be asked to undergo a number of tests — including a digital rectal exam, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, or even a prostate MRI. This will allow your doctor to compare your past and present results and figure out what's really going on with your body.

Dr. Chéry stresses that the presence of blood in your urine is "a 'do not pass go' moment" (via the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center). Per the urologic oncologist: "Even if there is no pain or it only happens one time, get evaluated to see what's going on if you have blood in your urine."

According to the UK's National Health Service, when you have blood in your urine, you may sometimes notice blood in your semen, too. Although the latter case happens far less frequently, it should be taken equally seriously. Blood in the semen is typically indicated by tints of pink, reddish-brown, bright-red, or brown, as well as tiny blood clots. Aside from prostate cancer, other potential causes of blood in semen are sexually transmitted infections, urinary tract infections, enlarged prostate, or recent medical procedures or exams. Whatever the cause, though, it's best to err on the side of caution and have it checked.