Did you know that the prostate can grow throughout life?
This gland the size of a walnut, located between the penis and the bladder, becomes larger as you get older and can sometimes become inflamed or enlarged by various disorders, which do not have to be malignant.
The problem is that the symptoms may coincide with those of prostate cancer, because they are usually related to pain and difficulty urinating.
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This type of cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed in men: it is most common in men in the United States and the second most commonly identified in many other countries, usually after lung cancer.
But this cancer grows very slowly and can take a long time without symptoms.
When they eventually appear, it is usually because the cancer has grown enough to put pressure on the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis.
This means that patients can develop the following symptoms, according to the UK Public Health Service (NHS, for the acronym in English):
- have to urinate more often, usually at night
- urgently to the toilet
- difficulties to start urinating or interrupting while urinating
- have to try to pee or need a lot of time to do it
- have a weak flow of urine
- feel that the bladder is not completely empty
- have blood in the urine or semen
But having these symptoms does not mean you have cancer. Here we give you the details of two other common diseases of the prostate that are not cancer.
1. Prostatitis
This condition, which is due to inflammation of the prostate, can be very painful and annoying, but usually improves with the treatment.
It is in fact a very common condition in men. But, unlike other prostate diseases, which usually affect older men, prostatitis can affect men of all ages, although according to the NHS it is more common between 30 and 50 years. .
Neither prostatitis nor enlarged prostate is carcinogenic.
Some of the most common symptoms have to do with pain and difficulty urinating, such as in the case of prostate cancer.
But in addition, the condition is often accompanied by other problems, such as:
- pain, which can be severe, around the penis, testicles, anus, abdomen or back and defecation
- general malaise, with pain, which can be accompanied by fever
- there may be a thick liquid discharge through the urethra
If the patient is unable to urinate, this may be due to acute urinary retention requiring urgent medical attention.
There are two types of prostatitis: chronic and acute.
In the chronicle, the most common according to the NHS, symptoms usually come and go for several months. It is not usually caused by an infection.
In the case of acute symptoms, the symptoms usually appear suddenly and are more severe. It is caused by an infection and although it occurs less often, it usually requires immediate treatment, which usually consists of analgesics and antibiotics.
Currently, there are no indications that prostate inflammation can increase the risk of cancer.
2. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
The name with which it is popularly known is an enlarged prostate and experts still do not know what the cause is.
They believe it is related to the hormonal changes that take place as men grow older, allowing them to grow.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia often occurs from the age of 50 years.
It is in fact a very common condition from the age of 50, but it is usually not serious for health.
Although for some men the symptoms are very mild and do not require treatment, for others it can be very annoying.
In addition to the difficulties of urinating, such as the other two mentioned prostate problems, a general symptom of this condition is incontinence, which can occur before it reaches the bathroom or makes small efforts such as coughing, sneezing or lifting, as explained by the NHS.
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What the experts know is that an enlarged prostate is not linked to an increased risk of cancer in that gland.
The treatment will depend on the severity of the symptoms, but there is medication to reduce the gland and relax the bladder, as well as new laser treatments, which are less invasive than surgery, for the most serious cases.
Advise doctors to consult a doctor about a urinary problem. Even if the symptoms are not bothersome, it is important to identify or rule out the underlying causes.
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