There are very few specific symptoms of prostate cancer. It usually grows so slowly that a man could die of something else before the cancer showed external symptoms. Difficulties with urination can be an indication of cancer, or it can just be benign hyperplasia (overgrowth) of the prostate.
More reliable indicators are calcium deposits or hardening in the prostate (to be found by a digital rectal exam) or a sharp rise in the serum level of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), done by a blood test. That's how I was diagnosed. I did have other symptoms, such as transient, sharp pain in the ribs, shoulders and other places, and an easily fractured rib, but that was due to metastasis, late in the game. the symptoms did not specifically indicate cancer.
If you are having chronic urination problems, or if you're over 45, you should probably get a DRE and a PSA test. Without those, you'll never know. If there are signs of cancer, a biopsy will be next. Depending on what is found, you may be facing surgery, irradiation, hormone suppression therapy or nothing at all. A slow-growing cancer may not need anything more than occasional monitoring. most prostate cancer patients die of something else. Surgery, radiation, hormone therapy or chemotherapy can greatly improve the odds of surviving aggressive cancers. but of course statistics are not individual people. Everyone has a different experience.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 18 months ago. I had no symptoms. my PSA kept rising and I had a biopsy which showed a small amount of Cancer. I was treated with radioactive seed implants and I am doing fine.
I expect to be around for many more years. I am 62.
Symptoms dont always tell what stage the cancer is in. Could still be very early.
If its early, its almost 100%
Even in stage 2 its very high, 95% or more.
Stage 3 gets dicey.
Yellow skin and eyes, stool that floats, are two of the symptoms. A co-worker looked very yellow and I noticed it for months but did not say anything, then we found out he had prostate cancer. Patrick Swayze in his book said that he noticed it because when he drank champagne it burned his stomach like he was drinking acid.
Survival rates are not good, I found this on line:
"Early stages
Even for those people diagnosed early, the outlook is not very good. If the cancer has not spread outside of the pancreas, and surgery is possible, then about 15 out of 100 people (15%) will be alive 5 years later. In those who do not live this long, it is likely that a small number of cancer cells have ‘escaped’ from the pancreas and travelled to other parts of the body. these cells are capable of growing into other tumours later.
Advanced stages
For people diagnosed with locally advanced disease, which cannot be removed by an operation, the average life expectancy is 6 to 11 months. for people whose cancer has already spread to another part of their body, the average life expectancy is only 2 to 6 months. but this can vary a lot depending on how much the cancer has grown and where it has spread."