Experts have issued a warning that a nocturnal habit could be an indicator of aggressive cancer in men. A sudden or increased need to urinate during the night could potentially signal prostate cancer. Nocturia, a condition causing you to wake up throughout the night for urination, could be the result of a growing tumour pressing against the urethra.
Prostate cancer often does not display symptoms until the cancer has progressed and nocturia typically manifests in the later stages of the disease. The NHS states: “Prostate cancer does not usually cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to put pressure on the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis. Symptoms of prostate cancer can include needing to pee more frequently, often during the night.”
Early detection of prostate cancer can be challenging due to the absence of clear symptoms. Prostate Cancer UK advises that if you are over 50, your father or brother has had the disease, or you are black, you should consult your GP. The decline in cancer screening rates amid the Covid-19 pandemic could affect cancer survival rates in future years.
Prostate cancer ranks as the second-most prevalent cancer in men trailing only behind skin cancer.
The condition is frequently described as “aggressive” due to its potential to rapidly invade nearby lymph nodes and organs when not addressed promptly. According to Public Health Wales, it is the one cancer that was hit the worst during the pandemic with fewer cases being picked up than before coronavirus started to spread.
According to the NHS, the full list of symptoms for prostate cancer is as follows: needing to pee more frequently, often during the night needing to rush to the toilet difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy) straining or taking a long time while peeing weak flow feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully blood in urine or blood in semen.