The Minster Practice, Lichfield

Prostate Cancer

Updated 13/03/2007

What is prostate cancer?

The prostate is a small gland that sits just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder into the penis).

Anatomical drawing showing where the prostate is Colour picture showing siite of prostate

As men get older, the prostate can get bigger and may cause problems with passing urine. In most cases, the prostate getting larger is not caused by cancer. Men who have prostate cancer might or might not have symptoms.

You should see your doctor if you have any worries or symptoms such as:

difficulty passing urine;

getting up regularly at night to pass urine; or

blood in your urine.

Prostate cancer mostly affects men over 65. It is normally a slow-growing cancer. Most men over 65 with the disease will die of something else, usually without even knowing they have prostate cancer. Only a few of the men who have prostate cancer have a cancer which may kill them. However, prostate cancer is the third commonest cause of cancer death among men in the UK, after lung cancer and large bowel cancer.

There has been much publicity about the prostate cancer PSA blood test. However, the situation is complex and men should understand the details and evidence regarding the test before having it done.

Some patients have reported difficulties accessing the information about the prostate cancer screening test (PSA) on the University Of York's server. With the team's permission it has been copied to our website. Click here for the information (The latest information is displayed on the latest updates on PSA page)
This is the original link:
Technical information behind this advice:

Department of Health Information Sheet

Prostate Cancer Charity: http://www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/

Gene therapy for prostate cancer

The University of Birmingham Cancer Institute and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are carrying out trials (September 2004) of this new approach to treatment. The tumour is injected with a harmless virus containing a gene which produces an enzyme. A drug is then injected which reacts with the enzyme converting it into a cancer killing toxin within the tumour.

Masturbation can stave off prostate cancer

Source: Daily Mirror Date: 29/10/2003
An Australian study involving more than 2,000 men has found that the more men ejaculate between the age of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to contract prostate cancer. Those who had ejaculated at least five times a week in their twenties were a third less likely to have developed prostate cancer in later life. Masturbation is said to be better than intercourse for preventing the disease, because men having intercourse are more vulnerable to sexually-transmitted infections.

Risk of prostate cancer is cut by regular sex

Source: Daily Mail Date: 08/04/2004
Report: Regular sex may protect men against prostate cancer, but frequent sex does not lessen the risk any further according to research in Boston. The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Scientists think sexual activity has a protective effect because the prostate secretes the bulk of the fluid in semen and sexual activity may flush out cancer-causing chemicals.