And although two-thirds of men felt their doctors were generally sympathetic, many said GPs and urologists were unwilling to respond to early symptoms, did not always carry out sufficient tests, gave conflicting advice or made unnecessary or ineffective interventions.For details of the Prostate Help Association, send two first class stamps to PHA, Langworth, Lincoln LN3 5DF.. The symptoms vary from a short-lived flu-like infection with some passing of blood to a chronic condition that often causes severe pain around the pelvis and beyond.While prostate cancer has recently received belated media and medical attention, non-life-threatening prostate conditions like prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - a swelling of the prostate often leading to severe urinary problems - have remained what Bernardes calls "Cinderfella" diseases: little-understood, under-researched, poorly publicised and inadequately treated.Today, however, these conditions will receive some much-needed attention. The Men's Prostate Health Project, based at the University of Wolverhampton and co-ordinated by Bernardes, is publishing the first-ever survey of men affected by non-cancerous prostate problems and holding a conference in London to discuss the results.The survey, which looked at the experiences of 565 men, dispels the common belief that those with prostate problems are a collection of Private Godfreys, geriatric gents forever rushing off to the toilet.In fact, prostatitis is thought to affect up to one-third of men aged 20-50 while a similar proportion of men aged over 50 suffer from benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH.The findings reflect the dramatic effects on men's lives. I was hospitalised but then sent home because I was told the problem was 'difficult to treat'. "I had five months off work, took a variety of drugs - many of which made things far worse - and, without medication, I still feel really ill, tingly all over, sick, numb and in a lot of pain. "Although I have good and bad days, it's still tough going for me".Jon Bernardes, 46, has been affected by a little-known but surprisingly common condition called prostatitis, one of several diseases targeting that small but troublesome male organ at the base of the bladder, the prostate gland. "I EXPERIENCED two weeks of fever, terrible pain and passed blood in my urine.

I'd tried gum before but thought it was a complete waste of time, probably because I didn't know how to use it properly ... I also thought it was a substitute for smoking, which it's not."You've got to go off and do something else, some painting or use the computer. That urge is gradually going away but when it comes, now about every two or three days, I it feels like more of a psychological battle than physical one.". Next time I do it, I'll watch Alan Carr again and then go cold turkey."I reckon it's all about tricking your mind."'It's a psychological battle, not physical'"I HAVE to stand still and shout at myself," says Brian Harvey, who gave up smoking seven weeks ago. "I fight and argue, telling myself I don't want to smoke." Now 53, he had his first cigarette at 16 and had been smoking 60 a day, costing him pounds 70 a week. Having just retired from teaching, he decided it was time to stop, and contacted Quit who told him about a clinic at St George's Hospital in south London. He did a group course there for six weeks which advised using some sort of nicotine replacement."I've found the gum is pretty helpful, although the moral support is just as important.

"I'd already cheated a few times, smoking when I had the patch on, a bit like Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous."Watching Alan Carr, she says, was a "near religious experience" and she stuck it out for six weeks She recently had a go on a friend's inhalator "Disgusting I've never coughed so much in all my life. You can feel it seeping in, but it didn't take away the urge in those moments when you catch sight of a box of Marlboro, or you're getting ready to go out."She lasted two weeks, before having a puff at a party and finding herself back as a full-time smoker before she knew it. I've only had two serious attempts at giving up - once using patches, once after seeing Alan Carr's stop smoking video," says Emma Messenger, 27, who smokes 20 a day and has no intention of trying to give up again soon "The patches were OK. "That means they want to stop, just not now," he says.Although doubtful about NRT's worth, he would like to be able to prescribe it. "It would at least provide an opening gambit to talk about smoking, which on the whole people are reluctant to do. But what we need is better techniques for dealing with the psychological side," he says.

"What I tell people is that it will help them stop, but it won't help them stay stopped - that it will get them about 10 to 15 yards in an 100-yard race."Days daze, page 17'Patches didn't take away the urge'"I'M A REALLY dedicated smoker I just love it. Second on their wish list, was more smoking clinics.But Dr Andrew Sherwood, who runs a clinic at his Kings Lynn practice, says persuading people to get help is incredibly difficult. Even though two-thirds of smokers say they want to stop, most of them are in a "pre- contemplative" stage. A survey of smokers, published yesterday by the organisers of National No Smoking Day, found that 44 per cent wanted cheaper, subsidised NRT.