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The most common non-cancerous prostate disease is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
It is important for patients who suspect they have BPH to see a doctor because there are many other diagnoses and conditions that can mimic BPH. Such conditions include certain kinds of bladder or prostate cancer, stones in the urinary tract and abnormal function of the bladder muscle due to a neurological disorder. Certain over-the-counter cold, sinus and/or allergy medications can cause the same symptoms.
The most common symptoms of BPH are:
- Frequent urination
- Urgency or inability to suppress the need to urinate
- Intermittent urination, where the stream is interrupted
- Nighttime urination, where the patient wakes up at night to void
- Weak urinary stream while voiding
- Hesitancy, which is the difficulty of getting the urine stream going
- Having to strain and push to get the stream going and maintaining the stream
Aside from causing such symptoms and problems with urination, BPH can also cause other problems in the urinary tract.
The diagnosis of BPH does not necessarily mean that a patient has to be treated. In fact, sometimes the symptoms actually improve or wax and wane over time. In other cases, the symptoms get worse year after year and eventually the patient will find himself in a position to ask his doctor for treatment.
However, it is very important that prostate cancer is ruled out as the cause of these symptoms.
Twenty years ago, the only treatment doctors could offer was a surgical intervention called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP. Now, patients can choose from a host of different interventions. Possible treatments for BPH include "watchful waiting," medication, minimally invasive surgery, traditional surgery, thermotherapy and non-surgical therapies.
Physicians in the Prostate Diseases Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center are actively engaged in the research of many treatments and can offer patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials if appropriate.
In addition to BPH, prostate diseases treated at UT Southwestern include prostate cancer and prostatitis.
Additional tests our physicians may conduct include:
- Digital Rectal Examination (DRE)
- Urinalysis
- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test
- Questionnaires
- Urinary flow study
- Imaging tests
- Cystoscopy
- Urodynamic studies
- Post-voice residual volume test
- Biopsy
Please visit the Health Library to learn more about prostate diseases.
