Painful urination.

Difficulty stopping or starting when you have to use the bathroom.

Sudden erectile dysfunction.

These are just a few of the symptoms of prostate cancer.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners adopted a proclamation naming September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in the county.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that the proclamation aims to bring attention and show the importance for men getting checked.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, with one in every 41 men dying from it.

More staggering is that one in every eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, most notably at later stages because of the symptoms not appearing in the early stages.

Because of this, screening is important.

Earlier this year, Nesquehoning native Joe Guardiani was honored by the American Cancer Society Telethon as a Courage Award recipient.

In April, Guardiani told his story about his prostate cancer diagnosis and said that it was through being vigilant, getting routine tests, a quick-thinking physician assistant who put the family history puzzle pieces together and the support of his wife, that he was able to beat cancer.

Guardiani had a family history of colon cancer, so he and his brothers had been screening since their 40s so when an abnormal test result came back, they were able to catch the cancer in its early stages.

Because of this vigilance, he said it had saved his life and urged all men, especially those with a family history of cancer, to get screened.

Nothstein, on Thursday, also stressed the importance of routine screening because prostate cancer is curable if caught early.

“I want to stress that routine checkups and screenings are extremely important,” he added.

All men have a chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, however there are some risk factors that increase that chance.

Most cases are found in men older than age 50. Those with a family history of prostate or breast cancer are also more at risk.

If you have symptoms or concerns, contact your doctor to set up a screening.