By Dr Ovais Qureshi MBChB, MRCGP, IBLM, Chief Medical Officer myGP Clinic
I’ve been practising medicine for over a decade, and one pattern I see repeatedly is this: men arrive at my clinic having quietly lived with prostate symptoms without ever getting checked. They do this not because they’re careless but because the signs are easy to explain away, and nobody had told them what to look for.
The fact most men don’t know is that he prostate grows continuously throughout a man’s life, and by his 50s, half of all men will have an enlarged one.’ This is why most men may put symptoms simply down to old age.
Five signs I’d want you to take seriously:
1. Your urine stream has quietly changed
Nothing dramatic – just a little weaker, or a little slower, maybe you have to wait a moment before it starts, or you feel as though you never fully empty. As this creeps up over months, most men assume it’s simply ageing and carry on however it’s a sign that your prostate is quietly enlarging and pressing on the urethra. I’d rather know about it early.
2. You’re waking up in the night to urinate more than once
One trip per night is ok but if you’re making two or three bathroom visits between midnight and morning, that’s worth raising with a doctor. An enlarged prostate can reduce how much the bladder holds overnight. Not ot mention that fragmented sleep does real damage to your heart, hormones, and mental health over time.
3. Sex feels different
This is the symptom men most rarely mention. Pain during or after ejaculation, a noticeable drop in ejaculatory force, blood in semen, or worsening erections can all point to prostate inflammation or, in some cases, early cancer. Stress and age take the blame far more often than they should. If something has changed, please tell your doctor.
4. A persistent ache in your lower back, pelvis, or hips
If it doesn’t improve with rest or painkillers, pay attention. Pelvic and lower back discomfort is a recognised symptom of prostatitis, and when prostate cancer spreads beyond the gland, the bones of the pelvis and spine are frequently the first place it travels. It’s probably something else entirely – but this is exactly the kind of symptom I want my patients to mention, especially in combination with the other symptoms.
5. You just feel off
If you’re feeling tiredness in a way you can’t explain ,make sure you get this checked . A persistent, low-grade fatigue that sleep doesn’t fix, combined with a quiet sense that something isn’t quite right. As a GP, when a patient tells me they “just don’t feel like themselves,” I listen carefully. Your body often signals a problem long before the tests confirm it.
What I’d recommend you do
Go and speak to your own GP. A PSA blood test and a brief physical examination can tell us a great deal. If you’re over 50, over 40 with a family history of prostate cancer, I would encourage you not to wait for symptoms before having this conversation.
If there is any concern at all, your GP will refer you for an MRI. A multiparametric prostate MRI is now the gold standard for good reason it gives us a precise, detailed picture of the gland without going straight to biopsy. It picks up significant cancers early, rules out unnecessary worry when everything looks fine, and means that if a biopsy is needed, it will be targeted and accurate.
Prostate cancer detected early is nearly always curable.
The most important thing you can do today is simply book the appointment.
