Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : August 21, 2018 6:32 PM IST
Calcium rich diets can also be a rare risk factor of prostate cancer. © Shutterstock
Prostate cancer is largely asymptomatic, which means it doesn t show any symptoms and this is a reason why it is diagnosed late. Probably the symptoms start to show when the tumour becomes large enough to press on the urethra and create problems during urination. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis and expels it out of the body. So when a tumour presses on it, it also creates problems in urine passage and frequency.
Frequent urination could be a sign that your prostate needs help and might not particularly be a symptom of prostate cancer. Passing urine more often is just one of the issues that can occur, but the disease can also be identified by colour urine and the pattern. Here is how your urine can be a predictor of prostate cancer.
Coloured urine: Your urine should be pale yellow in colour but if it changes in colour and have a reddish tint it could indicate cancer. Blood in semen also indicates the same
Increased frequency of urine: Passing urine more often might be a red flag. This could be because one finds it difficult to empty the bladder since a tumour keeps pressing on the urethra. This might be the reason you have to wake up quite often at night to pee.
Difficulty passing urine: As the tumour presses on the urethra it makes it difficult for the urine to pass. It might be harder to empty the bladder. This is called urinary hesitancy. Also, the flow might become weaker and despite the urge to empty the bladder, you might be straining yourself to empty the bladder.
Sudden urge to urinate: You might often have a sudden strong urge to empty your bladder. And you may need to rush to the toilet but might again find yourself struggling to empty the bladder.
Leaking of urine: Since the bladder doesn t empty fully you might keep leaking some amounts of urine continuously.
Many men could confuse an enlarged prostate with one of the symptoms of prostate cancer. But if you are facing these problems it is better to get it checked by the doctor who would do a biopsy to see if you have an enlarged prostate or there is a malignancy.
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