A leading urologist who was diagnosed with prostate cancer has admitted to overlooking two symptoms of the disease before discovering he was ill. Professor Christopher Cheng, who has over 30 years’ experience specialising in the field of urology with a particular focus on prostate cancer, noticed urinary retention and nocturia – the need to wake up in the night to urinate – prior to his diagnosis.
Despite his extensive knowledge, Prof Cheng initially self-diagnosed himself as not having cancer, a view he held until being diagnosed in 2017.
In conversation with Today, Prof Cheng reflected on his earlier disregard for his symptoms: “I’ve had (urinary) symptoms for many years since I was a teenager. So my self-diagnosis was that it is very unlikely that it was cancer.”
Urinary retention refers to the inability to empty the bladder either partially or entirely, an issue that can arise from numerous underlying conditions.
The revelation from Prof Cheng comes at a time when prostate cancer has surpassed other types in prevalence within the UK. In the past five years alone, cases have surged by 25 percent, overtaking breast cancer, reports Surrey Live.
Prostate Cancer UK revealed alarming statistics, indicating that a staggering 55,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023, marking an increase from the 44,000 cases noted in 2019.
Singapore-based Prof Cheng described his own confrontation with the disease as a sobering ordeal, explaining how it altered his perspective: “I was this arrogant, impatient young surgeon, thinking I’m a godsend for mankind – until I became afflicted with prostate cancer, an area I’m supposed specialise in.”
The ordeal has prompted him to alter his approach when communicating with patients. In the past, he would simply print out a good PSA test result and congratulate them.
PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen, a protein found in the blood that can indicate prostate cancer or other prostate conditions. “Now I do an extra step,” he shared.
“If I see an undetectable PSA after surgery, I give the patient a hug and I may have tears in my eyes. Because I think they are free.”
With the revelation of the prevalence of prostate cancer in the UK, there is a growing demand for the NHS to implement a screening programme for men, akin to those used to detect breast, cervical, and bowel cancer.
The test used to identify the disease would be a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which GPs are reportedly prohibited from administering to men without symptoms.
Campaigners argue that introducing a screening programme would enable GPs to diagnose thousands of cases earlier. Prostate cancer often does not exhibit symptoms until it is significantly advanced, making treatments less effective.
Prostate symptoms to look out for
The NHS cautions that symptoms won’t start appearing until the tumour is “large enough to put pressure on the tube that caries urine from the bladder out of the penis”.
These symptoms can include:
- Weak urine flow
- Feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
- Blood in pee
- Blood in semen
- Needing to pee more frequently
- Needing to rush to the look
- Difficulty in starting to pee
- Straining or taking a long time to pee
While these symptoms may seem alarming or scary when they occur, the NHS emphasises that their presence does not definitively mean someone has prostate cancer.
For more details about the illness and advice on how to handle it, visit the NHS website.