All about the prostate and prostate health
Only men have a prostate. The prostate is a small gland just below the bladder. It wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the end of the penis.
A normal prostate is about the size of a golf ball.
The prostate produces a fluid that makes up part of the semen. It is not essential to sexual activity.
Prostate change
From about the age of 40, the prostate begins to grow. Changes in the balance of the male sex hormones, particularly testosterone, are generally the cause.
There are 3 main conditions that come about as a result of prostate change. They are urinary symptoms, prostatitis and prostate cancer.
About 40 per cent of men over 45 have some urinary symptoms such as:
- needing to go for a pee more often;
- needing to go several times during the night;
- feeling an urgent need to pee;
- difficulty starting the flow;
- trouble emptying the bladder;
- a slow stream or one that stops and starts; or
- leaking or dribbling afterwards.
An enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia is often but not always the cause of these symptoms. Benign means non-cancerous, and hyperplasia means an increase in size.
A man with early prostate cancer is no more likely to have urinary symptoms than any other man of the same age. Most men with urinary symptoms do not have prostate cancer.
Treatment for urinary symptoms
If urinary problems are caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia they may be treated by medication or surgery.
Medication is aimed at shrinking the prostate or relaxing the muscles around the prostate or neck of the bladder. Excess tissue can be removed by surgery to relieve pressure on the urethra.
Men who are bothered by urinary symptoms should talk with their GP about the benefits they can receive from treatment.
For further information and advice, call the Cancer Helpline on 13 11 20.
Last Reviewed: 08 November 2001
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