A Consultant Urologist at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Dr. Ahuizechukwu Obiesie, has cautioned men against ignoring constant lower back pain, noting that it could be a sign of prostate cancer.
The urologist stressed that men who experience constant lower back pain should seek prompt and proper medical intervention, explaining that severe lower back pain that also spreads to other parts of the body is one of the major signs of prostate cancer.
He said the key to getting proper treatment for prostate cancer is early detection.
“This is because for prostate cancer if it is detected early by most of these investigative parameters, you can aim to cure them,” he said.
Prostate cancer, according to experts, is cancer that occurs in the prostate. The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer.
Speaking with our correspondent in an interview, Obiesie also noted that difficulty in passing urine for a man should also not be ignored as it could equally be a sign of prostate disease.
According to the Victoria State Health Authority, Australia, the three most common forms of prostate disease are inflammation, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, and prostate cancer.
The Australian health authority also revealed that about 25 per cent of men aged 55 years and above have a prostate condition, adding that this increases to 50 per cent by the age of 70 years.
Early stages of the prostate disease may have no symptoms, the health authority noted.
Speaking further with PUNCH HealthWise, the urologist stressed that prostate problems in men should be addressed promptly before they become worse.
He stated that the different prostate diseases a man may suffer and misinterpret range from benign prostate disease and prostate cancer.
He stated that prostrate diseases often manifest as lower urinary tract symptoms.
He said, “Prostrate diseases all manifest as what we call lower urinary tract symptoms.
“One is frequency. When the man has to use the loo more than twice within two hours. Take for example someone came into your office by one and before three o’clock he has used the toilet between two or three times, that means there’s might be a problem
“Urgency to pass urine could also be a sign. That is the inability to delay the act of passing urine. That is when a person feels pressed and cannot hold urination and when this frequency happens at night and you use the toilet like six times at night. It is a sign.
