• Need for frequent urination, particularly at night


• History of urinary infections


• Difficulty beginning urination and/or weak flow


• Painful urination or ejaculation


• Difficulty having an erection


• Blood in urine and/or semen


• Pain or tenderness in penis, testicles and/or perineum (area between scrotum and rectum)


• Recurring pain in lower back, hips or thighs


• Pain having a bowel movement

Most of these symptoms may also indicate the possibility of prostate cancer. However, in the early stages, it’s possible to have no symptoms at all. It’s also possible to have these symptoms and no cancer.

The risk of prostate cancer, while rare under the age of 40, increases rapidly after the age of 50. Over 70% of the cases, for example, are diagnosed in men 65 and older. It’s very common in men 80 and older. Some researchers believe that as much as 50 and 80% of men 80 years and older may have cancer of the prostate.

Prostate cancer is also much more common in African American men, than in white, Asian, African and Native Americans. Plus, for unknown reasons, African American men are twice as likely to die from the disease as other racial groups. However, diet, smoking and environmental factors can alter these racial differences. For example, Japanese men living in Japan rarely have prostate cancer, but when they move to the U.S. the incidence increases greatly.

According to statistics, two other common risk factors for prostate cancer are obesity and a family history of the disease. Obese men have a much higher risk of getting the disease and are more likely to have a recurrence of the disease after surgery. Prostate cancer is also more prevalent among family members of individuals with the disease. Men who have a father, grandfather, uncle or brother diagnosed with prostate cancer have double the risk of getting it and the odds rapidly increase if more than one male relative is affected.

The American Cancer Society predicts over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with cancer of the prostate in 2004. And, even though, the great majority (seven to one) will not die, prostate cancer is still the number two cancer killer of men in the U.S. - after lung cancer.

Therefore, all men over the age of 50 should get a doctor’s examination or take a self-administered blood PSA (prostate specific antigen) test at least once a year. Early diagnosis and treatment of prostrate cancer greatly increases the odds of survival.