Symptoms of prostate cancer and why you should encourage your man to check his crown jewels

Men are not very good at talking about their health, and, past 50, it’s often the things men tend to be most embarrassed about that start to go wrong – things like erectile dysfunction, which is sadly often perceived as a failure of masculinity

Just what is it about their nether regions that men find so tough to open up about?

Women are no strangers to discussing their girlie bits – after all, they have childbirth, periods, smear tests and the menopause to contend with!

It’s no secret men’s sex drive wanes with time, but doctors warn against putting down changes in libido, sexual performance and toilet habits to the ageing process alone.

Here are a few of those issues  that your man may have and how you can help

Prostate Cancer

This is the most common form of cancer in men, with over 40,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.

The prostate is a small gland in the rectum which helps to produce sperm, and symptoms of the cancer include:

    a frequent need to go to the loo,

    difficulty passing urine,

    feeling exhausted,

    Rapid weight loss

    lower-back pain

Though these may also be signs of harmless enlargement of the prostate.

"The vast majority of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer will not die from the disease," says Dr Rob Hicks, "but early diagnosis is key to establish whether the cancer is aggressive or not."

Statistics show 1 in 8 men over 50 will get the disease, and, though survival rates are relatively high, one man every hour dies as a result,  says a survey

How you can help

"Encourage your partner to see a doctor straight away – this is often the greatest hurdle," says Dr Rob. You can offer to attend an appointment together, or suggest he requests a male doctor.

"Men think that because they’re registered with a female doctor, that’s who they have to see – but this isn’t the case. A man may well feel uncomfortable discussing difficulties passing urine with a woman, and that’s fine."

Erectile Dysfunction

When younger men struggle to get things going in the bedroom, it can often be a case of performance jitters with a new partner. When you’ve been together for years, this is less likely to be the case.

"In older men, erectile dysfunction can be an early sign of a serious problem such as raised blood pressure, diabetes, or an impending heart attack," says Dr Christian, "It can be the wake-up call you need to sort your life out."

Discussing erection problems is likely to make men cringe, but it’s worth a moment of embarrassment at the doctors if it prevents a heart attack.

"Doctors deal with this every day. It’s almost guaranteed your partner won’t be the first person that day the doctor sees with that problem," says Dr Christian.

How you can help

Yet again, this is a subject that needs to be dealt with using an extra large dose of tact. "Often, men bury their heads in the sand by avoiding sex, causing their partner to worry there’s another woman on the scene," says Dr Rob. "Encourage your partner to talk about the problems and reassure him the vast majority of men manage to overcome this problem."

If he is too embarrassed to bring up the subject with the doc, he could ask for a blood pressure check-up, and mention that high blood pressure can cause all sorts of issues – including problems in the bedroom.

"A tuned-in doctor will pick up on these clues and ask if he’s having any particular problems," says Dr Rob.