• Difficulty urinating.
• Painful ejaculation.
• Frequent urination, commonly at night.
• Pain during urination.
• A weak stream of urine.
• The feeling that your bladder has not been fully emptied when you are done urinating.
• Difficulty starting urination.
• Not being able to urinate at all.
• Chills and fever.
• Blood in the urine or semen.
• Pain in the back, hips, or thighs.

Diagnosis

If your doctor believes that your symptoms might in fact be caused by prostate cancer he will probably often order two initial tests. While these tests can not inform the doctors for certain if you have prostate cancer, they can give him an indication as to whether or not he should order a biopsy.

• Digital Rectal Exam. The digital rectal exam (DRE for short) involves your doctor inserting a gloved and lubricated finger into your rectum so as to feel for any enlargement or irregularity of the prostate. The DRE is quick and only slightly uncomfortable (frequently more out of embarrassment than actual pain). Unfortunately, the DRE test is only moderately reliable because only one side of the prostate can be examined.

• Prostate-Specific Antigen. The prostate-specific antigen test (PSA for short) is a blood test that measures the amount of PSA, a protein made by the prostate gland, available in your blood. High levels of this protein in your blood may indicate prostate cancer. However, the PSA blood test alone can not tell for certain whether you have prostate cancer. The PSA test is generally regarded as more accurate than the digital rectal exam, but neither test is definitive.

  The American Cancer Society recommends that men over age 50 have annual DRE and PSA tests conducted to screen for prostate cancer.

• Prostate Biopsy. The only definitive test available for diagnosing prostate cancer is the prostate biopsy, which involves collection of cells from the prostate gland which are then analyzed under the microscope. To collect the cells doctors insert a small ultrasound probe into the rectum capable of creating a computer image or map of the prostate and locating the area of suspected cancer. Doctors then insert a small needle through the rectal wall into the problematic area. The needle removes a tiny sample of prostate cells which are sent to the lab for analysis. Sometimes multiple samples must be taken from more than one location.