Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK males, so knowing the signs and symptoms could literally be a life saver.
Let’s look at what a prostate is, what symptoms you need to keep an eye out for, and how at risk you could be.
The prostate is a gland located just below the bladder in men. This small but mighty gland plays an important role in the reproductive system by producing a fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.
As men age, the prostate can become enlarged, which can lead to a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms.
Prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are very different. BPH is benign which means ‘not cancer’ and hyperplasia means ‘abnormal cell growth’ and having this condition does not increase your risk of getting prostate cancer.
Although the symptoms of prostate cancer and BPH are similar, these conditions are both very different. Prostate cancer can be deadly if it isn’t caught at an early stage with the survival rates drastically declining from stage 1 to stage 4.
According to Cancer Research UK, if prostate cancer is diagnosed at stage 1, almost 100% will survive for 5 years or more. However, when diagnosed at stage 4 (meaning that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body), the difference in survival can be staggering. At this stage, the survival rate is only 50% surviving for 5 years or more.
The scary part about prostate cancer is that it’s pretty much symptomless which is why knowing your risk is essential.
Prostate cancer UK has made it easier for people to find out more about your risk of prostate cancer, all you need to do is answer 3 simple questions - click here to try it.
All you need to do is pop in your age, if your father or brother has had prostate cancer and your ethnicity (the risk is higher for black men). Then in a matter of seconds, this handy little tool can provide you with an overview of your risk of prostate cancer.
Signs of prostate cancer are often spotted during routine check-ups with a doctor but more often than not, your body won’t show many symptoms. But some men will experience changes in their urinary and sexual functions that may point towards prostate cancer.
Detecting prostate cancer early can sometimes be difficult as not everyone experiences symptoms. However, some of the signs to look out for include:
Your life insurance policy isn’t just there for the money - it can offer so much more.
Many of the top insurers in the UK now offer free additional benefits* included within your cover. We aren’t talking about any old benefits either, these extras in your policy can sometimes be the difference between an early diagnosis or a second medical opinion.
Depending on the insurer you go with, the benefits you can get with your life insurance policy can range all the way from free mental health support to access to free 24/7 online GP appointments.
Here are some of the top benefits you may be able to access with your cover, depending on the insurer you’re with:
Unlike other types of cancer, like testicular cancer for example, there is no easy way to check yourself at home.
The definitive way to find out if you have prostate cancer is through PSA testing. If your doctor suspects that you have prostate cancer because your PSA level is very high, they may suggest getting other lab tests (blood, urine, or prostate biopsy samples) to help get a better idea of if you have prostate cancer or not.
The simple test that is crucial used to look for prostate cancer is called a PSA test and it’s really nothing more than a simple blood test. It may be simple but this blood test could be crucial in detecting a measurement of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) concentration in your blood.
Prostate cancer is similar to many other types of cancer, in the sense that your risk increases with your age but this doesn’t mean this type of cancer only affects older men - prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide.
Those who are more at risk of prostate cancer are men who are Black, and men who have a brother or father with prostate cancer, are 2.5x more likely to get prostate cancer. If you’re aged 50, you should be in talks with your doctor about PSA testing. If you’re Black, you need to start that conversation at 45, and if you have a brother or father with a history of prostate cancer, you should try and do it at 45.
Critical illness cover is a type of life insurance policy which can financially protect you if you were diagnosed with a critical illness, as defined in your terms and conditions.
If you were to be diagnosed with one of these illnesses, your policy could pay out a tax-free cash lump sum to ensure that your loved ones wouldn’t struggle financially, if the worst were to happen to you.
Lastly, having a critical illness policy in place could give both you and your loved ones peace of mind (after all, that’s one of the main benefits of having a policy in place).
If you sadly had to make a claim on your critical illness cover, the pay-out from your policy could help you pay for the essentials and help support your loved ones, as you may not be able to work as normal.
But the money can also be used to make lasting memories with your loved ones too. A once in a lifetime holiday with your family could be funded by the pay-out from your critical illness policy. At the end of the day, the money would be yours to do what you want with. Here are some of the top ways you could use the pay-out from your critical illness policy: