Men: Mr. Prostate can be you enemy! Get tested.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Too many men I talk to do not take heed of the importance of getting the ol’ prostate checked. The policy used to be for men over 50 to start getting annual checks, but more and more it seems as though it would be wise to get, at the very least, a PSA annually for any male over 40.

It’s a quick and painless blood test and can be a life saver, and I strongly urge that it not be postponed or ignored.

I didn’t develop prostate cancer until my early 70s and elected radiation therapy, but it can also be handed by surgery or implanted radioactive seeds. My younger brother got it in his 60s and is doing OK after the surgery. My oldest friend from college days discovered it in his early 60s, but by the time it was diagnosed, it had spread to his bones and other tissues. He was an active, strong and healthy guy, but after a prolonged siege, he died far too early. Early detection might have made all the difference.

It used to be that any PSA reading of 4.0 or less was considered good, but there is a lot of evidence now to point out that just the number is not sufficient to be sure. My reading had been around 2.5 or so for years, and it suddenly jumped to 4.0, still a supposedly “safe” number, but my physician fortunately was up on things, and had me take another test, which showed 4.2. He said when it suddenly increases like this, it can be a potent warning sign, so had a biopsy which showed tumors. It turns out many men have much higher readings, but if they remain steady, it may be that they are perfectly all right. Any sudden change in readings can be as significant as too high a reading.

There are very few medical tests as easy and simple as a PSA for prostate cancer, and I can’t stress enough the importance of men getting this annually. I’ve been cancer free for five years now, and am in great health, which might not have been the case if had not had the annual tests, or did not have a doc who understood the importance of my sudden change in reading.

Y’all can wait until 50 to start testing, buy, hey, why not be safe rather than sorry and start getting them when you hit that damn 40th year? You can search and get a wealth of information, but here are a couple of links that have a lot of info.

here

and here

Good health to all.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

A warning: The PSA test is really not a very good one. Many, many conditions may elevate the PSA, other than cancer. And the PSA can be normal when cancer is present. Currently, many epidemiologic experts recommend that PSA screening NOT be done on low-risk, asymptomatic men, because studies have not shown that screening actually is of any benefit in improved outcomes like decreased deaths.

Here’s the CDC’s take on the issue of prostate cancer screening:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening for prostate cancer using prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing or digital rectal examination (DRE).

Rationale: The USPSTF found good evidence that PSA screening can detect early-stage prostate cancer but mixed and inconclusive evidence that early detection improves health outcomes. Screening is associated with important harms, including frequent false-positive results and unnecessary anxiety, biopsies, and potential complications of treatment of some cancers that may never have affected a patient’s health. The USPSTF concludes that evidence is insufficient to determine whether the benefits outweigh the harms for a screened population.

http://www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsprca.htm

For every 100 healthy low risk men who have their PSA checked, 90 will have normal levels, and 10 will have elevated levels.

Of the 90 who have normal levels, 89 will not have prostate cancer but 1 will.

Of the 10 who have elevated levels, 7 will not have prostate cancer and 3 will.

Most men with prostate cancer die of other causes. And treatment of prostate cancer has significant risks.

If you’re worried about it, talk to your doc about whether you need screening or not. Especially if you have a family history of prostate cancer, are 55 years old and older, have a diet high in saturated fat, have a history of exposure to heavy metals (e.g., cadmium), are African American, or are a smoker.

Here’s a nice data chart of the benefits and drawbacks of screening for prostate cancer. Beware, it’s a PDF file.
http://www.aafp.org/PreBuilt/prostate_patient_tool.pdf

QtM, MD

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

BTW, I’m glad you’re doing fine, KlondikeGeoff. Some folks need PSA screening and treatment for prostate cancer. But not all.

And the study you cited in Science Daily is an important one, but it’s not yet a definitive one that shows we now need to change our thinking. And that article even had links to other recent studies which re-iterated that the PSA was not real trustworthy, and that research for better prostate assays were continuing.

So we still need to learn more about what really works and what doesn’t.

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

@Qadgop the Mercotan

Here’s a nice data chart of the benefits and drawbacks of screening for prostate cancer. Beware, it’s a PDF file.
http://www.aafp.org/PreBuilt/prostate_patient_tool.pdf

QtM, MD

Well, that post justified my $15/yr. I guess I have some reading to do. Thanks, Qadgop.

Stranger