Prostate cancer can go undetected for years. This is due to the disease developing slowly with the symptoms being difficult to spot. Advanced prostate cancer means that a cancer that began in the prostate gland has spread to another part of the body. If the cancer has spread, a person may have bone pain, feel very tired, feel generally unwell and have weight loss for no known reason. There is another sign of advanced prostate cancer which lies in a person’s eyes.

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The first and most common sign of prostate cancer is having a need to urinate more frequently.

This is often at night and can be described as a feeling of an intense rushed need to go to the toilet immediately.

Other signs are difficulty starting to pee, straining, weak flow and a feeling that the bladder has not emptied properly.

There is an unusual and lesser known sign of prostate cancer which lies in a person’s eyes that means the cancer has now spread.

According to Cancer Research UK, one sign a person should look out for can be seen in the eyes.

If the whites of the eyes turn yellow it could be a sign the cancer has spread to the liver.

The condition is known as jaundice, which means the skin and whites of the eyes turn a different colour.

Jaundice develops when there is too much bilirubin in the blood.

Canadian Cancer Society said: “Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment found in haemoglobin.”

Cancer Council said: “One of the jobs of the liver is to process bilirubin, a yellow pigment that is formed when red blood cells in the body break down.

“Normally, the bilirubin passes through the bile duct to the bowel and then passes out of the body in stools.

“With liver cancer, bilirubin sometimes builds up in the blood.

“This can be because the cancer has blocked the bile duct, the liver is not working properly or the liver has been replaced by widespread tumour.”

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“Haemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen and gives blood its red colour.

“Our bodies constantly make new red blood cells. When old red blood cells break down, they release bilirubin.

“The liver removes bilirubin from the blood. It concentrates bilirubin into bile, which is stored in the gallbladder.

“Most bilirubin is removed from the body through faeces , or stool, and a small amount is passed out of the body in urine.”

How to detect prostate cancer

If you experience any of these symptoms, see your GP. A blood test, called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, can measure the level of PSA and may help detect early prostate cancer.

The NHS advice: “Men over 50 can ask for a PSA test from a GP. Men are not routinely offered PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer, as results can be unreliable.

“This is because the PSA blood test is not specific to prostate cancer.

“Your PSA level can also be raised by other, non-cancerous conditions.”

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