Detect Prostate Cancer Early With These 2 Steps

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting men. Early detection of prostate cancer combined with more effective treatment of the disease has decreased its death rate by as much as 50 percent over the past two decades, according to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

In general, screening for prostate disease means testing for it before a patient has symptoms. Screening is the best way to detect prostate cancer in its early stages and will get you on the appropriate treatment plan quickly, says the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

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There are two main prostate cancer screening tests, according to the American Cancer Society. The first is a blood test called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.

PSA is a substance produced by the prostate gland, and most healthy men have a PSA level of fewer than 4 nanograms per milliliter of blood. The risk of having prostate cancer increases as the levels of PSA increase.

If the PSA level is higher than 10, the patient’s chance of having prostate cancer is higher than 50 percent. Certain medications can skew the results of the PSA test, so it is important to tell your doctor about any drugs you are taking, including herbal supplements.

The other test for early detection of prostate cancer is the digital rectal exam (DRE). For this test, the physician inserts a gloved finger into the patient’s rectum to manually detect suspicious lumps on the prostate gland.

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The DRE test is quick and easy to perform, and it can sometimes detect abnormalities in the prostate gland in men who have normal PSA blood test results. For this reason, both tests are sometimes used together for screening purposes.

There is some disagreement about prostate cancer screening among experts in the medical community, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Those who are not in favor of screening say that negative side effects of treatment before the patient has significant symptoms can outweigh the benefits. This is partly because prostate cancer progresses at a very slow rate.

Despite this disagreement, it is generally recommended that early detection of prostate cancer remain a top priority for men and their physicians.

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