In its early stages, prostate cancer normally has few symptoms. Because of the absence of symptoms of prostate cancer, few men afflicted with it realize they have a problem.

But there are some distinct symptoms of prostate cancer, including:

1. Difficulty in starting a urine stream, a medical condition known as Hesitancy
2. A weaker than normal urine stream
3. Inability to urinate
4. Frequent urination
5. A feeling of a partially full bladder after urination
6. Nocturia, or frequent urination at night
7. Dysuria, or the feeling of pain and burning during urination
8. Hematuria, or blood in the urine
9. Hematospermia, or blood in the semen
10. Pain in the lower back, abdomen, and pelvis

The causes of these prostate cancer symptomsinclude benign hyperplasis, or an enlarged prostate, prostatitis, or a prostate infection, and urinary tract infection.
Remember, if you have any of these problems, they could be prostate cancer symptoms so consult your doctor immediately!

Men normally do not readily agree to a prostate exam, particularly when they do not have any abnormal symptoms. It takes a lot of persuading and entreaties from the wife or other close relative to make a man see a doctor and undergo a check up for egregious prostate symptoms. This is unfortunate as a prostate exam is very important, considering the often lack of prostate cancer symptoms.

However, with age, prostate symptoms could become more pronounced, possibly indicating a problem. It is at this point that men often seek a prostate exam. When doing so, the doctor will often ask the following questions:

1. Do you experience frequent urination during the day and especially at night?
2. Do you have some difficulty in starting the urination?
3. Does your urine come in drops, or drips, and stop in an irregular manner?
4. Do you experience the urge to urinate without the ability to do so?
5. Do you feel as if your bladder still contains urine after urination?
6. Do you feel pain and a burning sensation when you urinate?
7. Do you feel pain when you ejaculate?
8. Do you see blood in your urine or semen?
9. Do you experience pain in your lower back and other parts of your lower body?
10. Are you inadvertently losing weight?

Next, as part of the prostate exam, the doctor will probe the patient's prostate with his gloved finger to see if there is any enlargement or other abnormality. An enlargement could serve as an important prostate symptom that indicates a prostate problem.

For the patient, answering those questions listed above could be quite tedious. It could even be embarrassing. The gloved finger probing through the anus could be uncomfortable, even a little painful at times. The doctor, however, has to perform these procedures, as he needs to gather data for his prostate exam to be as thorough as possible.

Given the invasiveness of the procedure, it's no wonder that many fear the prostate exam and thus avoid it. But avoidance is a mistake! Prostate cancer is a major ailment that could be fatal. So get a prostate exam. Discomfort today could preserve your health tomorrow!