What should you know about online prostate cancer check?

A symptom questionnaire may ask about urine flow, urgency, night-time urination, blood in urine, sexual symptoms, family history and previous test results. These details help a clinician decide whether you need an examination, a prostate-specific antigen blood test, urine testing or further assessment. Difficulty passing urine has several possible causes, including non-cancerous prostate enlargement, so the symptom alone does not identify its cause.

A clinician may review your age, medicines and medical history alongside any result. A digital consultation can discuss next steps, but it cannot replace tests that require a sample, examination or imaging.

Write down when symptoms began, whether they are changing, and whether you have pain, fever or visible blood. Gather medication names and prior PSA results if available. Use the online result as a prompt to arrange an appointment, rather than as a diagnosis or reassurance. If testing is advised, ask what each test is intended to show and how the findings will guide the next decision.

Read about [Prostate Cancer](/conditions/prostate-cancer/) and [Difficulty Passing Urine](/symptoms/difficulty-passing-urine/) to prepare for a conversation. Possible treatments depend on the diagnosis and extent of disease; examples include [Prostate Removal Surgery](/treatments/surgical-oncology/prostatectomy/) and [Radiotherapy](/treatments/radiation-oncology/radiotherapy/).

Seek urgent medical help if you cannot pass urine, have heavy or persistent blood in the urine, develop severe pain, or feel acutely unwell with fever. Arrange a timely clinical review for new or worsening urinary symptoms, blood in urine, unexplained bone pain, or a strong family history of prostate cancer. Urgency is based on the symptom and your overall condition, not on an online score.

Ask which causes fit your symptoms, whether a PSA test or examination is appropriate, how medicines may affect urinary symptoms, and what follow-up is planned if an initial test is abnormal. If cancer is suspected, ask how imaging or biopsy would clarify the diagnosis and which treatment choices might follow.