Don't delay, seek an early diagnosis for prostate cancer symptoms, advises Penningtons

Posted: 08/03/2012

As the annual Prostate Cancer Awareness month comes round again, the clinical negligence team at Penningtons Solicitors LLP warns men over 50 of the dangers of delaying a visit to their GP if they have any symptoms of prostate cancer as early identification and assessment are vital for a successful outcome.

Prostate cancer is the commonest type of cancer in men in the UK with 37,000 cases diagnosed in the UK each year and one man dying every hour from the disease. Generally, it is found in men over the age of 50.

It is thought that most men have some prostate cancer cells present as they age but, because it is a slow growing cancer, the cells do not grow in a significant number of men. In others, the rate of growth is so slow that no treatment is advised and patients are simply kept under surveillance. However, the key to good management is knowing what is present and managing it. Prostate cancer in its early stages is easily managed by a range of therapies and surgery but, once it has spread outside the prostate gland and becomes metastatic, things can rapidly become very serious. The key, therefore, is early identification so that a plan of action – whether it be monitoring or active treatment - can be put in place.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood and is the test that most people have heard of as key to diagnosis. However, as yet, PSA screening is not routine in the UK because it is not a definitive test. Patients can have raised PSA levels and not have any form of cancer but, equally, a small percentage of patients with cancer have normal PSA tests. It is not, therefore, reliable as a sole method of screening.

Says Philippa Luscombe, clinical negligence partner: "We have dealt with a number of cases where GPs have delayed in diagnosing a patient's prostate cancer. While it may be slow growing, the effects of delay – by either the GP or the patient - can make the difference between the cancer being contained in the prostate gland or spreading outside it. Both patients and doctors have to be alert to the symptoms of prostate cancer and to act on them quickly."

The difficulty is that a high number of men have benign enlargement of the prostate gland and this and other conditions can produce similar symptoms to prostate cancer. This can make diagnosis difficult but the possibility of prostate cancer should be considered in older men who have problems passing urine, urinary frequency, pain on urinating or blood in their urine. More worrying symptoms can be pain on bowel movements, abdominal pain, weight loss, lethargy and anaemia as these indicate more advanced cancer.

Patients presenting with such symptoms should be thoroughly investigated – usually to start with by a PSA test and rectal examination – with further investigations to follow if needed.

Says Philippa: "The cases that we see are either the result of a failure to notice and act upon abnormal PSA results - usually resulting from the results being filed without review - or simply failing to consider any investigations and treating symptoms with pain relief and antibiotics over long periods of time.

"We urge men to be aware of the need to visit their GP if these symptoms are present and to take the opportunities to learn more from www.prostate-cancer.org.uk, the charity behind Prostate Cancer Awareness Month."

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