WARNING SIGNS
Prostate cancer warning signs for men to look out for after Joe Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ form of disease
Early prostate cancer, which is more treatable, doesn’t normally carry symptoms
PROSTATE cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease worldwide, and detecting it early could save lives.
Men are being urged to look for early warning signs after Joe Biden's diagnosis, which was confirmed on May 18.
5
5
5
Biden, 82, who served as president from 2021 to 2025, revealed he had an advanced type of the disease in a statement from his personal office.
He was seen last week by doctors after suffering urinary symptoms, with a prostate nodule, or firm area, later being found.
He was then diagnosed with prostate cancer on May 16, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.
While it is a more "aggressive" form of the disease which is "likely to grow quickly", the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, meaning there is the prospect of "effective management".
read more on prostate cancer
Biden and his family are currently reviewing treatment options with his doctors.
Like with all types of cancer, the earlier it is caught, the better.
Early prostate cancer, which is more treatable, doesn’t normally carry symptoms.
This is why it's vital for men to spot warning signs as soon as possible to prevent the disease from spreading.
Most read in Health
Some symptoms may start to emerge when the cancer growth is big enough to put pressure on the urethra – the tube that allows urine to pas out of the body.
When this happens, some people may experience:
How to check your prostate cancer risk
- Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee
- Weak flow
- Straining and taking a long time while peeing
- Feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied fully
If the disease has spread to other parts of the body - which is when it's known as advanced or metastatic prostate cancer - it can cause several other symptoms, including:
- Back or bone pain that doesn’t go away with rest
- Tiredness
- Weight loss for no reason
Many men's prostates get bigger as they age because of two non-cancerous conditions: prostate enlargement and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
These conditions are more common than prostate cancer – but that doesn’t mean symptoms should be ignored, charities warn.
5
What causes prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is very common, but its causes are unknown.
As with most cancers, it is more common as you get older; prostate cancer is most common in men aged 75 to 79.
Ethnicity also plays a role. Prostate cancer is more common in Black men than in White men. It is least common in Asian men.
And your risk of prostate cancer is higher if your dad, brother, granddad or uncle has had the disease.
Recent research suggests that being overweight increases your risk of prostate cancer, while exercising regularly lowers it.
A very high-calcium diet rich in dairy is also thought to be unfavourable when it comes to risk level, the NHS says.
There evidence is mixed, but experts say it might be wise to avoid consuming more than 1,500mg of calcium - equivalent to about 1.6litres of milk - per day.
Eating foods that contain lycopene is thought to reduce the risk of prostate cancer developing, according to .
This includes tomatoes and tomato-based foods, particularly when cooked.
How is prostate cancer treated?
Assuming prostate cancer is caught in its early stages, treatment is not always immediately necessary.
In these cases, doctors have a policy of "watchful waiting" or "active surveillance", where treatment is delayed until it's needed.
Later treatment can then include surgically removing the prostate, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy.
There are more experimental options becoming available though. One man was cured of the disease after being given testosterone in a trial designed to shock tumours to death.
Read More on The Sun
Nearly all prostate cancer treatments come with unwanted side, including erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
If the cancer has already spread, it cannot be treated, and medical help is focused on prolonging life and relieving symptoms.
One in eight men will get prostate cancer
THE risk of developing prostate cancer depends on many factors.
Here are some of the facts about the disease and how many men it affects...
- One in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime
- It is the fourth most common cancer worldwide, and the second most common in men
- There are 55,000 new cases every year in the UK, and 1.4million globally
- Around 12,000 people lose their lives to prostate cancer annually in the UK and almost 400,000 around the world
- Prostate cancer accounts for 28 per cent of all new cancer cases in men in the UK, and 14 per cent of all new cancer cases in men and women combined
- Prostate cancer survival has tripled in the last 50 years in the UK
- More than three-quarters (78 per cent) of patients survive for 10 or more years
- About 490,000 men are living with and after prostate cancer in the UK
- It is most common in men aged 75 to 79
- Since the early 1990s, cases have increased by 53 per cent in the UK
- Mortality rates are up 16 per cent since the early 1970s in the UK
- Incidence rates are projected to rise by 15 per cent in the UK between 2023 to 2025 and 2038 to 2040
- Mortality rates are expected to fall five per cent in the UK over the same years
Source: , and
5
Topics