Tell your doctor if you're using a popular hair loss product - you could be missing prostate cancer
Finasteride lowers levels of PSA - an important marker of prostate cancer
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A pharmacist is urging Britons taking a popular hair loss medication to consult their GP as they could be missing out on a prostate cancer diagnosis.
The public health warning applies to millions of men: figures show that male pattern baldness affects up to 80 percent of men in the course of their life, with many seeking out tried-and-tested treatments.
According to Abbas Kanani, pharmacist of online pharmacy Chemist Click, finasteride - a popular prescription-only medication for treating male pattern baldness - reduces levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA).
"A high level of PSA can be a sign of cancer," warns the pharmacist.
You should not stop taking the hair loss medication without talking to your doctor first
Getty ImagesHe continued: "Finasteride lowers PSA, which means it is less likely to flag up issues such as prostate cancer.
"That is why it is really important to let your doctor know you are taking Finasteride, so this can be accounted for during any prostate tests."
According to Mr Abbas, you should not stop taking the hair loss medication without talking to your doctor first, adding: "If you stop taking it, your hair loss will usually come back."
What is PSA?
PSA is a protein produced by normal cells in the prostate and also by prostate cancer cells.
It liquefies the semen that carries sperm during ejaculation and it's normal for men to have some PSA in their blood, and the amount raises slightly as you get older and as your prostate enlarges.
However, high PSA levels can be a sign of prostate cancer, although the risk is relatively low.
Research has shown around three in four men with a raised PSA level will not have cancer, and around one in seven men with prostate cancer would have a normal PSA result, according to the NHS.
Likewise, many Britons will experience symptoms that resemble prostate cancer, but it's still important to get checked out.
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Needing to pee more frequently is a warning sign of cancer
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Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
- Needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
- Straining or taking a long time while peeing
- Weak flow
- Feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
- Blood in urine or blood in semen
More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year on average – that's 144 men every day according to figures from Prostate Cancer UK.
There could be around 85,100 new cases of prostate cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.