Men’s Health Week – don’t ignore symptoms

Professor Andrew Sinclair implores men to be vigilant about urinary symptoms – especially as there is no prostate cancer screening program in the UK 

Professor Sinclair is raising awareness around prostate cancer and its symptoms in the build up to Men’s Health Week, June 9-15, 2025.

As the most common cancer found in UK males, with over 44,000 diagnoses made every year in England alone, it is imperative that we know what to look out for. Professor Andrew Sinclair, Consultant Urologist at Spire Regency Hospital, shares his expert advice on common symptoms, and the importance of seeking medical help at the earliest opportunity.

He also reassures men that treatment options today have advanced from the more invasive tests previously used. 

Common symptoms of prostate cancer include: increased frequency of urination, especially throughout the night, a weak flow when urinating, a feeling of the bladder not being empty after using the toilet, and a sudden urge to wee. Prostate cancer cases are more common in men aged 50 and over, although it’s crucial that men of all ages are aware of the symptoms. While there are national screening programmes for cervical cancer, for example, and women over the age of 50 are routinely invited every 3 years by the NHS for a mammogram, there is still no recognised screening program for prostate cancer in the UK. Due to this, Professor Andrew Sinclair advises, “Even if your only symptom is getting up more frequently in the night to use the toilet, you should have this checked out.” 

Reassuring men that symptoms are not necessarily indicative of prostate cancer, he continues, “Although the majority of patients with urinary symptoms experience them as a result of benign growth of the prostate, the only way to know this for sure is to investigate the symptoms in order to exclude prostate cancer.”

An issue that concerns Professor Sinclair is patients’ wariness in seeking help from a medical professional due to a fear that invasive tests such as a rectal examination will be needed to discount or confirm a diagnosis: “A lot of people are reluctant to have investigations for urinary symptoms because of a fear of invasive tests. Today, a PSA blood test and an MRI scan of the prostate can avoid the need for these. The MRI would also provide additional information about the size of a prostate as well as any abnormal areas.”

These days, there are many surgical options for urinary symptoms including minimally invasive day case procedures – please don’t ignore any symptoms.