Getting Checked Whats Involved
Some people put off contacting their doctor surgery because they think theyll be wasting their time. But if youve noticed any potential symptoms and youre at all worried, theyll want to know.
Your doctor will listen carefully to what changes youve noticed. They might:
- Ask for a urine sample to check for infection.
- Arrange for a blood test to test your level of prostate-specific antigen .
- Examine you internally to feel if your prostate is enlarged or lumpy.
- Refer you to hospital either for tests or to see a specialist.
If youd feel more comfortable with a male nurse or GP, be sure to mention this when you make your appointment.
Different Factors Increase Or Decrease The Risk Of Developing Prostate Cancer
Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Anything that decreases your chance of getting a disease is called a protective factor.
For information about risk factors and protective factors for prostate cancer, see the PDQ summary on Prostate Cancer Prevention.
Reasons To Get Checked For Prostate Cancer At A Young Age
Cancer screenings are never fun, even if you arent necessarily scared of them. Theyre yet another doctors appointment in the minds of many, and it can be easy to feel the impulse to put yours off. However, for prostate cancer, in particular, it is often better to get started early rather than putting your screenings off for the future. In the past, it was recommended that men begin receiving prostate cancer screenings in middle age, but in recent years, more advanced testing methods have been developed, making it easier for men to be tested. For example, prostate-specific antigen tests allow a prostate cancer specialist to detect potential cancer through blood tests.
With that being said, lets look into some of the pros of being screened for prostate cancer at a young age.
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Tests Are Used To Screen For Different Types Of Cancer When A Person Does Not Have Symptoms
Scientists study screening tests to find those with the fewest harms and most benefits. Cancer screening trials also are meant to show whether early detection helps a person live longer or decreases a person’s chance of dying from the disease. For some types of cancer, the chance of recovery is better if the disease is found and treated at an early stage.
Get Healthy Get Checked To Avoid Prostate Cancer
Numbers tell the story.
Approximately one in eight men in the U.S., will be diagnosed with prostate cancer over the course of a lifetime. While prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men, with early detection, treatment leads to better outcomes.
The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It is about the size of a walnut and surrounds part of the urethra .
Typically, there arent early-warning signs for prostate cancer, which makes screenings something important for men to schedule, said Dr. Douglas Spotts, chief health officer, Meritus Health.
Risk factors also are important to discuss with your doctor. These include family history, genetic factors, race, lifestyle and diet.
Men who have a relative with prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease, Spotts said. If the patient has two or more relatives who have prostate cancer, then he is nearly four times as likely to face a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Also referred to as an enlarged prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common condition for men as they age. An enlarged prostate gland can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms and kidney problems.
If youre having urinary problems, talk to your healthcare provider. If left untreated, urinary issues can lead to serious problems.
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What To Do If You Think You Are At Higher Risk Of Prostate Cancer
Speak to your GP if you think you are at higher risk of prostate cancer. For example if you:
- are a Black male or a Black person who has a prostate
- have a close relative, such as brother or father, who has prostate cancer
- have inherited certain genes which can increase the risk of prostate cancer
The risk of prostate cancer also increases as men get older.
The evidence so far suggests that routinely screening people who have a high risk of prostate cancer doesnt help prevent deaths. In fact, it might lead to men having treatment for prostate cancer even though that cancer wouldnt have caused any problems or symptoms.
Prostate Cancer: A Guide For Aging Men
Prostate cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in the world, despite it only being diagnosed in males . In fact, more than 70 percent of men over the age of 80 have some quantity of cancer cells in their prostate.
Its so common that it sometimes doesnt go diagnosed until autopsies are performed, though that doesnt mean the cancer is the cause of death. On the contrary, the overall prognosis for men diagnosed with prostate cancer is as positive as you can get when talking about the dreaded c word. The five-year survival rates for the disease are close to 100 percent, especially when talking about prostate cancer that is caught early on in the processbefore it spreads.
The five-year survival rates for the disease are close to 100 percent, especially when talking about prostate cancer that is caught early on in the processbefore it spreads.
Nevertheless, prostate cancer is serious business, and the best way to handle a diagnosis is to be informed. Lets take a look at the frequency at which its diagnosed, how youre tested for it, how it can affect your daily life, and what we can do to try and prevent the disease.
Average Age of Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
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What Is Cancer Screening
Screening means testing people for early stages of a cancer, or for early changes that could develop into cancer if left untreated. For screening to be useful the tests:
- need to be reliable at picking up cancers that need treatment
- overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
- must be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
Receiving A Prostate Cancer Diagnosis No Matter What Age Instantly Fuels The Fear Of The Unknown Cyril Curgenven Knows This Too Well
The former Icon Cancer Centre Toowoomba patient is advocating for men to talk more about prostate cancer and get checked. Cyril was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2021.
I went to my GP for my annual prostate check-up, and they found my PSA was elevated so I was sent for an MRI. The result found a shadow in the prostate. I had a biopsy in January and that showed five out of 18 had cancer cells. I then had a PET scan, which revealed the cancer hadnt spread. I was quite distressed at first and my reaction was to get my prostate removed ASAP, but it was explained to me that at the age of 75, this was dangerous because of the side effects. After speaking to Dr Lekshmi Nair at Icon Cancer Centre in Toowoomba, I was given one week to decide on the operation or radiation treatment. I decided on radiation. Once the decision was made to have radiation, I decided to take on a positive attitude to help get me through the challenges ahead, says Cyril.
Cyril finished his course of radiation therapy at Icon Cancer Centre Toowoomba in mid-2022.
Icon Cancer Centre Toowoomba, located within St Andrews Toowoomba Hospital, offers the latest in radiation therapy for the local community, eliminating the need for prostate cancer patients in the region to travel to Brisbane to access cancer care.
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Further Tests For Prostate Cancer
If results of the PSA test or the DRE are abnormal, a urologist will likely recommend a biopsy, where small samples of tissue are removed from the prostate and examined.
If cancer is diagnosed, other tests may be used to check the progression of the cancer, including:
- magnetic resonance imaging scan of the prostate – often done before a biopsy
- bone scan – to check whether or not cancer cells have spread to the bones
- computed tomography scan – a specialised x-ray
- pelvic lymph node dissection – a nearby lymph node is removed and examined to check whether or not cancer cells have entered the lymphatic system .
Who Should Get A Prostate Exam
Starting at age 50, all men should discuss prostate cancer screening with their doctor. The American Cancer Society advises men at higher risk to have this conversation at age 45.
Youre considered to have an increased risk if youre African-American or if a first-degree relative had prostate cancer before age 65. If more than one first-degree relative had prostate cancer before age 65, you might want to consider beginning prostate cancer screening even earlier.
The ACS estimates there will be about 180,890 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2016. About 26,120 men will die from it.
Prostate cancer is easier to treat before it spreads. However, some prostate cancers are so slow-growing that they dont always require treatment. A lot depends on your age and other factors.
Discuss your risk factors with your doctor, and ask if you should have a prostate exam as part of your yearly checkup.
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Prostate Cancer Screening Ages 40 To 54
The PSA test is a blood test that measures how much of a particular protein is in your blood. Its been the standardfor prostate cancer screening for 30 years.
Your doctor will consider many factors before suggesting when to startprostate cancer screening. But hell probably start by recommending the PSAtest.
While the general guidelines recommend starting at age 55, you may need PSAscreening between the ages of 40 and 54 if you:
- Have at least one first-degree relative who has had prostate cancer
- Have at least two extended family members who have had prostate cancer
- Are African-American, an ethnicity that has a higher risk of developing more aggressive cancers
What Is Prostate Cancer
This diagram shows the location of the prostate, in front of the rectum and just below the bladder.
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. When cancer starts in the prostate, it is called prostate cancer. Not including skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.
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Effectiveness Of Early Detection
Potential Benefits of Screening
To understand the potential benefits of PSA-based screening for prostate cancer, the USPSTF examined the results of the ERSPC, PLCO, and CAP trials and site-specific reports from 4 ERSPC trial sites. To understand the effectiveness of treatment of screen-detected, early-stage prostate cancer, the USPSTF also examined the results of 3 randomized trials and 9 cohort studies.3
The ERSPC trial randomly assigned a core group of more than 160,000 men aged 55 to 69 years from 7 European countries to PSA-based screening vs usual care.8 Four ERSPC sites reported on the cumulative incidence of metastatic prostate cancer. After a median follow-up of 12 years, the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer was 30% lower among men randomized to screening compared with usual care . The absolute reduction in long-term risk of metastatic prostate cancer associated with screening was 3.1 cases per 1000 men.11 After a median follow-up of 13 years, the prostate cancer mortality rate among men aged 55 to 69 years was 4.3 deaths per 10,000 person-years in the screening group and 5.4 deaths per 10,000 person-years in the usual care group .8 The ERSPC trial did not find a reduction in all-cause mortality.8
Neither the ERSPC, PLCO, or CAP trials, nor any of the ERSPC site-specific analyses, found an overall all-cause mortality benefit from screening for prostate cancer.
Potential Benefits of Treatment
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Two Main Screening Tests
There are two tests commonly used to screen for prostate cancer:
- The Digital Rectal Exam : A doctor or nurse inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum to estimate the size of the prostate and feel for lumps or other abnormalities.
- The Prostate Specific Antigen Test: This exam measures the level of PSA in the blood. The levels of PSA in the blood are often higher in men who have prostate cancer. The PSA level may also be high in other conditions that affect the prostate.Usually, the higher the bloods PSA level is, the more likely it is that a prostate problem is present. But other factors, such as age and race, also can raise PSA levels. PSA levels also can be impacted by certain medical procedures, some medications, an enlarged prostate or a prostate infection.Since your PSA level may be high for other reasons, your doctor will need to interpret the test results.
If the results of the PSA and/or DRE suggest that you might have prostate cancer, your doctor will need to do a prostate biopsy to find out. This means a sample of your prostate tissue will be removed with a needle and sent to a lab, where a specialist will determine if it contains cancer cells.
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Further Testing For Advanced Cancer
If there’s a significant chance the cancer has spread from your prostate to other parts of the body, further tests may be recommended.
These include:
- an MRI scan, CT scan or PET scan these scans build a detailed picture of the inside of your body
- an isotope bone scan, which can tell if the cancer has spread to your bones a small amount of radiation dye is injected into the vein and then collects in parts of the bone where there are any abnormalities
There Is No Standard Or Routine Screening Test For Prostate Cancer
Although there are no standard or routine screening tests for prostate cancer, the following tests are being used or studied to screen for it:
Digital rectal exam
Digital rectal exam is an exam of the rectum. The doctor or nurse inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the lower part of the rectum to feel the prostate for lumps or anything else that seems unusual.
Prostate-specific antigen test
A prostate-specific antigen test is a test that measures the level of PSA in the blood. PSA is a substance made mostly by the prostate that may be found in an increased amount in the blood of men who have prostate cancer. The level of PSA may also be high in men who have an infection or inflammation of the prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia .
A PSA test or a DRE may be able to detect prostate cancer at an early stage, but it is not clear whether early detection and treatment decrease the risk of dying from prostate cancer.
Studies are being done to find ways to make PSA testing more accurate for early cancer detection.
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Medical History And Physical Exam
If your doctor suspects you might have prostate cancer, you will be asked about symptoms you are having, such as any urinary or sexual problems, and how long you have had them. You might also be asked about possible risk factors, including your family history.
Your doctor will also examine you. This might include a digital rectal exam , during which the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum to feel for any bumps or hard areas on the prostate that might be cancer. If you do have cancer, the DRE can sometimes help tell if its only on one side of the prostate, if its on both sides, or if its likely to have spread beyond the prostate to nearby tissues. Your doctor may also examine other areas of your body.
After the exam, your doctor might then order some tests.
Need For This Guidance
New Zealand men currently receive conflicting advice about prostate cancer testing and treatment. Some men may benefit from early diagnosis and treatment, but have limited opportunity to access appropriate health services.
Unlike other cancers, prostate cancer often grows slowly. With routine prostate specific antigen testing, many men can be diagnosed with a cancer that is not going to progress during their lifetime. Such a diagnosis may increase mens exposure to unnecessary treatment-related harms.
On the other hand, some men will still develop aggressive and potentially life-threatening prostate cancer. These men may benefit from prompt diagnosis and treatment.
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Should I Get Screened For Prostate Cancer
This video helps men understand their prostate cancer screening options.
In 2018, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force made the following recommendations about prostate cancer screening
- Men who are 55 to 69 years old should make individual decisions about being screened for prostate cancer with a prostate specific antigen test.
- Before making a decision, men should talk to their doctor about the benefits and harms of screening for prostate cancer, including the benefits and harms of other tests and treatment.
- Men who are 70 years old and older should not be screened for prostate cancer routinely.
This recommendation applies to men who
- Are at average risk for prostate cancer.
- Are at increased risk for prostate cancer.
Other organizations, like the American Urological Association and the American Cancer Society, may have other recommendations.