Nightly bathroom habit was missed sign of common men's cancer: 'I didn't know'

"I would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the loo a couple of times, but I never thought too much of it," Ed Matthews, who lives in London, told the news outlet.

Matthews wrote off the early warning signs - until he received a shocking diagnosis in April 2025.

There, he underwent a prostate-specific antigen test, which showed a reading of 4.2. (Traditionally, a PSA level under 4.0 ng/mL is considered "normal.")

While the number was slightly higher than normal, doctors considered it "nothing too alarming." They did, however, refer Matthews to a urologist as a precaution.

"From being a fit human being all your life, your world's turned upside down," he told SWNS, adding that it felt as though he'd been thrown into a "world of pain."

"I never had any issues with blood, but it was about a year or 18 months of going to the toilet more frequently," he said.

Matthews said he "didn't really know" what the prostate was before receiving his diagnosis.

For every 100 American males, 13 will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, the above source stated. Approximately 35,770 people in the U.S. die from the disease each year.

Matthews is now planning to run the London Marathon for Prostate Cancer UK to raise awareness.

"I was very open and honest and told people what happened, and I think that's caused a lot of people, friends, connections to go off and get tested," he told SWNS.

Early-stage prostate cancer rarely causes symptoms. However, as the disease progresses, changes include a frequent, sometimes urgent, need to urinate, especially at night. Other signs include weak urine flow, flow that starts and stops, and blood when using the restroom, per Cleveland Clinic.