Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in the UK, and around 40,000 men are diagnosed with it every year in England. Symptoms can be underlying for years before they become noticeable, but experts say that erectile dysfunction (ED) could be a sign of being at risk.
The Express reports that prostate cancer begins with the gland cells of the prostate. It develops slowly, meaning that it could be years before symptoms make themselves known.
Symptoms of the killer disease may not become apparent until the prostate has become so enlarged that it affects the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the urethra in the penis, which can then cause erectile dysfunction.
The American Cancer Society has warned that erectile dysfunction could be a warning sign of advanced prostate cancer, noting that: “More advanced prostate cancers sometimes cause symptoms such as problems urinating, blood in the urine or semen, and trouble getting an erection.”
Severe prostatitis, the inflammation of the prostate gland, can directly cause erectile dysfunction. In less severe forms, it can produce painful ejaculation, which could interfere with sexual pleasure, and then lead to erectile dysfunction.
Health experts say that 70 per cent of erectile dysfunction can be linked to a physical condition that causes blood flow to the penis to be restricted, damages nerve function, or both.
Experts at Harvard health Medical School added that a sudden onset of erectile dysfunction may be a sign that a man has prostate cancer, and your GP may order a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and do a digital rectal exam during the diagnostic workup to assess this possibility.
The NHS said: “Men are not routinely offered PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer, as results can be unreliable. Men over 50 can ask for a PSA test from their GP.
“This is because the PSA blood test is not specific to prostate cancer. Your PSA level can also be raised by other, non-cancerous conditions. Raised PSA levels also can’t tell a doctor whether a man has life-threatening prostate cancer or not.”
If you have a sudden onset of erectile dysfunction, you should always speak to your doctor, and while it is unlikely to be prostate cancer, it is worth getting checked out.
Some prostate cancers develop very slowly, and may not make themselves known for sometimes years. Even when prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it can be treated and managed for a long time, which allows men with advanced prostate cancer to live with good health and high quality of life for many years.
According to Cancer Research UK, aside from erectile dysfunction, other symptoms of prostate cancer include:
• Passing urine more often
• Getting up during the night to empty your bladder (nocturia)
• Difficulty passing urine – this includes a weaker flow, not emptying your bladder completely and straining when starting to empty your bladder
• Urgency
• Blood or semen in your urine
Getting checked by your GP is the first step when suffering from erectile dysfunction, who can determine a root cause, and prescribe treatment. If you’re looking for sildenafil online, visit our website today.
Recent Comments