If you notice a change in urinary pattern, don't hesitate to ask your doctor questions about prostate related diseases. Especially important if you're middle aged because prostate disease affects up to half of all men above 50

According to survey findings from last year's Prostate Awareness Week, there is a rise in the number of men suffering from mild to moderate symptoms (of prostate related diseases)

Two of the most common prostate related problems are Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH - an enlargement of the prostate) and prostate cancer (the development of a malignant tumor of the prostate gland, the size of a walnut).

Watch for warning signs because when discovered early, prostate disease can be treated.

7 early warning signs of

BPH (Best remembered by the abbreviation "Funi Hip")

• Frequency - increase in how often you need to urinate
• Urgency - strong and sudden urge to urinate
• Nocturia - urinating more frequently at night
• Incomplete emptying - feeling of inability to completely empty the bladder
• Hesitancy - difficulty in starting to urinate
• Intermittency - stopping and restarting several times when urinating
• Poor stream - a progressive loss of force of urinary stream

Symptoms of prostate cancer

• A need to urinate frequently. Especially at night
• Difficulty in starting urination, or holding back urine
• Weak or interrupted urine flow
• Painful or burning sensation during urination
• Difficulty in having an erection
• Painful ejaculation
• Blood in urine or semen
• Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs.