Harlem Word: Dr. Carlton McGregor talks about the symptoms of prostate cancer

Dr. Carlton McGregor, an internist [1] and pulmonary (lung diseases) specialist [2] who works at New York Presbyterian Hospital, was diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer [3]  in fall 2024. When he found out he had prostate cancer, he was asymptomatic [4], but he had an elevated Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test [5] and decided to get a biopsy [6] of his prostate. He found out he had prostate cancer and chose to have his prostate surgically removed [7]. After he recovered from his treatment, he decided he wanted to share information about prostate cancer with other men. Read about some of the symptoms of prostate cancer below.
Q: Are there any signs or symptoms of prostate cancer?

A: In many cases, there are no early symptoms of prostate cancer [3]. Usually by the time you have symptoms, the cancer will have advanced to a more serious stage. If you are going to have symptoms, you are going to see changes in your urinary flow [8]. It might be harder to start peeing or you may not be able to pee at all. As the prostate [9]grows, it may cause a partial blockage, making it harder to start the urine stream as well as causing the urine to come out more slowly. It may take longer for the man to stop peeing, and he may need to go more often, like waking up in the middle of the night. This is because the bladder is either not completely emptied or has reduced in size (capacity) due to it being squeezed by the prostate. It also may be painful to pee or there may be blood in the urine [10].

Some other symptoms include:

• Dull pain in the lower back
• Painful ejaculation [11] 
• General pain in the lower back, hips, or thighs

To read more about prostate cancer, Dr. McGregor recommends visiting the Mayo Clinic Prostate Cancer website [12].

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with Harlem health experts, written by HHPC and reviewed by our Health Advisory Board.