Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer of British men. Every hour in the UK, a man dies from prostate cancer, and every year, over 35,000 men are diagnosed with the disease and 10,000 will die from it.

Yet, despite these alarming statistics, there is still a serious lack of awareness of the disease and thousands of men still do not know they have a prostate gland, what it does or how it can go wrong.

What is the prostate gland?
Only men have a prostate gland. The gland is usually the shape and size of a walnut. It lies underneath the bladder and surrounds the tube (urethra) that you pass urine and semen through.

What does it do?
The gland's main jobs are to support the neck of the bladder and to make some of the fluid of semen.

When things go wrong…
The prostate gland gets bigger with age and can cause the urethra to narrow, causing problems with passing urine. Regular prostate problems can affect quality of life and also general health.

Signs and symptoms
The main types of prostate problems are Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis) and prostate cancer. They can each be associated with similar symptoms. These include:

• Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
• Needing to rush to the toilet
• Difficulty starting to pass urine
• Straining or taking a long time to finish
• A weak flow
• A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly

Less common symptoms can be:

• Pain when passing urine
• Pain when ejaculating
• Pain in the testicles

The Prostate Cancer Charity advise that men experiencing any of these symptoms should visit their doctor to find out what is causing the problem and be aware that it may not be cancer, it could be any of the following:

BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)
This is common and is more likely to happen as men as they get older – generally over 60. The prostate gland naturally gets larger with age. This can cause it to press on the urethra and cause problems when trying to pass urine.

Prostatitis
Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland. It can affect men of any age but is most common in men aged between 30 and 50. It is an inflammation (swelling) or infection in the prostate gland, which causes symptoms and pain when passing urine. It can also cause pain in the lower back and groin and may cause fever. There are different types of prostatitis which are treated in different ways.

Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50. Younger men can be affected but this is less common. The risk of developing prostate cancer rises with age. The risk also increases if a close family member (father or brother) has prostate cancer. African Caribbean men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men.

As well as the symptoms described earlier, prostate cancer can cause:

• New pain in the lower back, hips or pelvis
• Problems getting or keeping an erection
• Blood in the urine or semen - but this is very rare

Men do not need to have all of these symptoms to have the problem, most men with early prostate cancer have no symptoms at all, because the cancer is not large enough to cause any problems.

Prostate cancer treatment
Prostate cancer can be treated in several different ways, and two or may treatments may be used together. Treatment will depend on how quickly the cancer is growing, whether it has spread outside the prostate gland and general state of health.

If you have any queries about prostate cancer, call The Prostate Cancer Charity's confidential helpline on 0800 074 8383. The helpline is staffed by specialist nurses and is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and Wednesdays from 7 - 9pm.