Sometimes prostate cancer causes problems like those that occur with benign enlargement. These symptoms include slowing of the urinary stream, a feeling of not fully emptying the bladder after you urinate, waking several times in the night to urinate, and having blood in the urine. Sometimes weight loss or back pain can be the first sign of prostate cancer if the cancer has already spread into the body. In most men, however, prostate cancer causes few symptoms until it becomes very advanced. In the rectal exam, your doctor puts a gloved, lubricated finger a few inches into your rectum to feel your prostate gland.
Prostate cancer is suspected if any part of the gland feels hard.
The PSA blood test is often used together with the rectal exam to find prostate cancer. A PSA level higher than 4 ng per mL might mean you have prostate cancer. The PSA level should be lower than 4 ng per mL in men who are 50 to 60 years of age. The normal PSA level in men 40 to 50 years of age is 2.5 ng per mL. However, some things other than cancer can also cause a mild increase in the PSA level. These things include recent sexual activity, recent urinary infection, prostate gland infection and benign prostate enlargement.