Prostate cancer is an abnormal growth of cells within the prostate gland. These abnormal or malignant cells grow more rapidly than normal prostate cells.

These cells have the potential to break out from the prostate and spread to other parts of the body such as lymph nodes or the bones. When a cancer spreads to other parts of the body it is referred to as a metastasis or a secondary tumor. When this occurs, cure is usually not possible. Prostate Cancer statistics show that the number of Australian men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year is steadily increasing and currently almost 20, 000 men are diagnosed each year.

What are the Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?

In the early stages of Prostate Cancer, there may be no symptoms. This makes the disease different from other urinary disorders such as BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) or prostatitis (infection of the prostate) which may present with symptoms such as:

• frequency of urination
• feeling of urgency to urinate
• difficulty in starting to urinate
• slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
• a feeling of discomfort when urinating
• waking up at night to urinate
• perineal (the area between your anus and scrotum) or lower abdominal pain