I’m fifty and have urges to urinate often during the day, but when I stand at the urinal, my urine comes out very slowly. Does this mean I have prostate cancer?
Bladders have sensory nerves that are activated when your bladder is full. Prostates enlarge with age. A larger prostate pushes on these same nerve endings, creating the sensation of needing to urinate. A larger prostate also constricts your urinary tract, so urine does not flow as freely as it once did. You can get prescription medicine from your doctor that works on this prostate/urinary tract issue. You can also try to squat flat on your feet, like kids do when they pee. This might help for a short period, but you may find it uncomfortable.
Prostate cancer is relatively rare and common. Rarely will it kill you, but it is common in that nearly all men get some form of it in their prostate as they age. The prostate has relatively little blood flow, so it’s harder for your body to keep it “refreshed” as, for example, your skin is refreshed/rebuilt with blood that goes to it daily.
Most literature recommends a prostate exam yearly. There are two parts, a blood test and your doctor’s gloved, lubricated finger in your rectum that he/she uses to feel the texture of the top of your prostate. The best test would be a trans rectal prostate exam as it tells the true size of the prostate. It is not performed as often as is should be because the medical profession has relied on the PSA (Prostatic Specific Antigen), which has fallen out of favor as it has not proven to be as helpful at diagnosing prostate cancer as doctors had originally hoped.