Prostate cancer becomes an issue for men as they grow older. Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than 45. But after age 65, about one out of six men will be diagnosed with it. The average age at diagnosis is 70.

Many men have prostate cancer but never know it. It is often slow-growing and may not cause noticeable symptoms.

When it does cause symptoms, they may be a sign that the cancer is growing. Symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer include:

• Needing to urinate often, especially at night
• Having trouble starting or stopping the urine flow
• Pain or burning during urination
• Weak urine stream
• Blood in the urine

If you have any of these symptoms, report them to your doctor right away.

It's important to understand that these symptoms may not mean you have prostate cancer. They can also be caused by noncancerous conditions, including prostate infection (prostatitis) and an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). These conditions are very common in older men.

To determine what's causing the symptoms, your doctor may do:

• A digital rectal exam. For this test, the doctor puts a gloved finger into the rectum to feel whether the prostate is swollen.
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This is a blood test that is used to screen for prostate cancer.
• Urine tests. Urine tests are done to look for infection or other conditions.
• Transrectal ultrasound. For this test, a doctor inserts a probe into the rectum. Ultrasound uses sound waves to create images of the prostate gland.

If cancer is suspected, you may need to have a biopsy. A doctor will use a thin needle to take tiny tissue samples from the prostate. These samples are sent to a lab and analyzed for cancer cells.

Related Articles Who Is at Risk for Prostate Cancer? Prostate Cancer Screening: Should You Have a PSA Test?

External Sources National Cancer Institute. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER). Cancer stat fact sheets: cancer of the prostate. Accessed August 7, 2008. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Cancer.net. Prostate cancer: symptoms. Accessed August 6, 2008. American Urological Association. Prostate: causes, natural history & diagnosis of prostate cancer. Accessed August 6, 2008.