BPH and Prostate Cancer

BPH is benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlarged prostate. It is a condition that will affect one half of men who reach the age of 60, 80% of men who reach the age of 70, and 90% of men who reach the age of 80. It is a very common and widespread health problem for senior men in America today.

The good news is that benign prostate hyperplasia is not cancerous. And having BPH does not mean that the man has a higher risk of getting prostate cancer. The rates of prostate cancer are the same for men with BPH or without BPH.

The reason that BHP is important is that it has many of the same symptoms as prostate cancer and so it is sometimes hard to tell if a man suffering from BPH also has prostate cancer. BPH cannot kill, but prostate cancer can, so it’s very important to monitor a man who has BPH for the first signs that cancer is present.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia means that the prostate gland has grown larger than normal. The prostate is a small organ between the bladder and the rectum. It is typically the size of a walnut, but as a man ages, the prostate gland naturally becomes bigger. In a man in his 40s, it may have grown slightly larger, to the size of an apricot, and by the age of 60, it may be the size of a lemon.

Sometimes when the prostate is growing, the inner cells of the prostrate begin to show signs of abnormal growth, and the prostate gland becomes enlarged to the point where it can start to interfere with surrounding tissue and organs. This abnormal growth is not usually cancerous, however, because the prostate is situated around the urethra (the tube that drains urine from the bladder), it can cause complications in the natural functioning of the urinary system. This is where the confusion between BPH symptoms and prostate cancer symptoms starts. As the prostate becomes more enlarged over time, a man may experience a range of problems such as hesitancy (problems both starting and stopping the flow of urine), frequency (the need to urinate more often than usual), and the feeling that the bladder is still full even after having urinated. These happen to be symptoms of prostate cancer, too.

Another similarity between prostate cancer and BPH is the level of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in the blood. Because the prostate produces PSA, an enlarged prostate can produce more. If a man has BPH, it can raise his level of PSA to two or three times higher than the normal level. Prostate cancer also increases the levels of PSA. Although an increased PSA level does not necessarily indicate cancer, the higher the PSA level, the higher the chance of having cancer.

BPH is very common and need not necessarily present a problem. For many men, the symptoms are so slight they don’t even notice it, and for other men, the problems are relatively minor and don’t have an impact on their lives. But for a significant number of men, the symptoms of BPH can be sufficient to warrant treatment, usually starting with one or more of a variety of BPH drugs and moving on to surgery, if necessary.

An important indicator of whether a man has prostate cancer, or only BPH, is how fast the PSA level climbs (called the PSA velocity). If the levels increase rapidly, it is a possible sign of cancer.

If a man starts to experience urinary irregularities, they are more likely related to BPH and not cancer. But, it’s always a good idea to check with a doctor if symptoms develop, just to be on the safe side.

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