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If you have early prostate cancer (the cancer has not grown much or spread to other parts of your body), then you probably won't have any symptoms.

In fact, most men with prostate cancer do not have symptoms because their cancer has been found at a very early stage by a PSA test or an examination of their rectum.

You are more likely to get symptoms if and when your cancer grows or spreads. But many prostate cancers grow very slowly. If you are older, you may never have any symptoms or problems from the disease.

Around 70 percent of men will not have any symptoms, such as pain or problems urinating, for at least the first five years after doctors find they have prostate cancer. Forty percent are unlikely to have any symptoms after 10 years.¹ Your chance of developing symptoms is greater if you have a higher-grade tumor (a Gleason score of 8 to 10).

Here are some of the most common symptoms that men experience as their cancer gets worse. Please bear in mind that if you have any of these symptoms, it does not mean you have cancer. But it is a good idea to go to see your doctor.

You may find you have an urgent need to urinate or that you need to go very often, especially at night. You may also find it difficult to start urinating and to control the flow of your urine. It may dribble out, and stop and start. When you do go, it can be painful and you might feel a burning sensation. Some men also find that blood comes out in their stream when they first start to urinate.

These problems happen because the prostate gland surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that carries the urine out through your penis. As the tumor grows, it can press on the urethra. This makes it difficult for urine to flow through it. The more you strain to go, the more the tumor blocks the opening of the urethra. The symptoms can also occur because the cancer has spread into the ring of muscle in the neck (opening) of the bladder.

However, if you have problems urinating, it does not necessarily mean you have cancer. This symptom can also be caused by your prostate getting larger as you get older. This condition is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). "Benign" means noncancerous, and "hyperplasia" is an increase in the number of normal cells. BPH is not dangerous or life-threatening, but an enlarged prostate can be uncomfortable.

Problems passing urine may also be a sign of an infection in your urinary tract (the parts of your body that produce and remove urine). Men with urinary problems are no more likely than men without urinary problems to have early prostate cancer.

You may feel pain when you have an orgasm for the same reason that you may have problems urinating: The tumor in your prostate may be pressing on the urethra, the tube that carries the urine and semen (milky fluid that contains sperm) out through your penis. As the tumor grows, it can block the opening of the urethra.

When prostate cancer spreads (a process called metastasis), it tends to travel to the nearby bones, though researchers aren't sure why it goes there. This can be very painful. You might ache and feel very stiff. If the cancer has spread to your spine, your legs may tingle and swell, making it difficult to get up and walk around comfortably. Sometimes the bones can weaken and break, even if you have not had a fall.^{2 3}

Normally the cells in bones will keep your bones healthy by regularly destroying old bone and building new bone. Cancer cells can upset this process, so the bones become weak and tend to break easily.

If your prostate cancer spreads, you may develop anemia, which means you have too few red blood cells. This causes extreme tiredness. Advanced cancer can also cause a loss of appetite.