Prostate cancer: all you need to know about the most common cancer in men

Prostate cancer is a cancer of the prostate – a small gland in the pelvis, which is found only in humans, which produces the thick, white liquid that creates the sperm. According to Prostate Cancer UK, prostate cancer is diagnosed every year in more than 47,000 men in the UK. It's 129 men a day. One in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, about 400,000 men currently living with and after the disease. Every 45 minutes, a man dies of prostate cancer, more than 11,000 men each year.

What are the symptoms?

Prostate cancer usually does not cause symptoms until the cancer is sufficiently developed to exert pressure on the urethra.

When this happens, symptoms can occur, causing changes in the way you urinate.

These include the need to urinate more frequently – often during the night – the need to rush to the toilet, difficulty starting to pee, forcing or taking a lot of time while peeing, a low flow, a feeling of total emptiness the urine or sperm.

These symptoms do not always mean that you have prostate cancer. Some of them look like symptoms of a non-cancerous condition called prostate hypertrophy, which is common in men over 50 years old.

However, it is best to check all symptoms on a case-by-case basis.

"These symptoms should not be ignored, but they do not mean that you have prostate cancer," said the NHS.

How is prostate cancer treated?

The treatment of prostate cancer depends on individual circumstances. If prostate cancer is diagnosed at an early stage and the symptoms are not present, it may be advisable for some men not to follow treatment, but wait to see the onset of symptoms of an evolutionary cancer.

Indeed, treating prostate cancer prematurely can have unpleasant and unnecessary side effects.

When treatment is needed, the goal is to cure or control the disease so that it affects daily life as little as possible and does not shorten life expectancy.

Sometimes, if the cancer has already spread, the goal is not to cure it, but to prolong life and delay symptoms.

Who is at risk for prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer can affect any man, but many factors increase the risk of developing it.

For example, men over 50 are at higher risk than younger men, with the risk increasing with age.

Prostate cancer is also more common among men of African, Caribbean and African descent than among Asian men.

As with other male cancers, the risk is also higher if you have a family history of the disease.

In addition, some research suggests that obesity and adherence to a certain diet may increase the risk of prostate cancer.