When To Get Prostate Test

What Is A Normal Psa Level

Your doctor may talk about a normal PSA level. Unlike some other blood tests, there is not one normal PSA level for everyone. The PSA level naturally gets higher as you get older and varies depending on the size of your prostate. The size of the prostate is different for each individual and the prostate gets bigger with age.

Your doctor will tell you what they think the normal level of PSA should be for you. They generally use these levels:

• A PSA level of up to 3 nanograms per millilitre of blood if you are in your 50s.
• A PSA level of up to 4ng/ml if you are in your 60s.
• A PSA level of up to 5ng/ml if you are in your 70s.
• There are no PSA level limits if you are aged 80 and over.

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Prostate screenings are crucial to have so that men can catch any signs of prostate cancer early on. Once a man reaches the ages of 40 and above, it is best that he begins to consult with a doctor about this test.

If you have questions about getting a prostate screening and the importance of them, then reach out to our office so that we can help you further. Give us a call or stop by our office today and wed be happy to assist you in any way that we can.

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When Do You Need A Prostate Exam

PSA is continuously present in the bloodstream for most men, and an increase in its number may be attributed to causes other than cancer. However, men who have an increased risk of prostate cancer should undergo a regular prostate exam.

Age, family history, and race are all possible factors that can increase your risk. Likewise, your doctor may also recommend that you undergo testing if you are experiencing discomfort or pain while urinating.

Symptoms which may indicate that you have a prostate issue include the following:

• Inconsistent flow of urine

How Often Is a Prostate Exam Necessary?

Your frequency of testing may be due to several factors, including your age and present health condition:

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Should I Get A Prostate Biopsy An In

Rising or elevated prostate-specific antigen levels, an abnormal digital rectal exam , or both, may indicate the presence of prostate cancer, and having those conditions may lead your doctor to recommend a prostate biopsy. But controversy surrounding the PSA blood test and concerns about prostate biopsies cause many patients to ask:

• Should I get a prostate biopsy?
• Are the risks of a prostate biopsy worth it?
• Are there alternatives to a prostate biopsy?
• If I have prostate cancer, is treatment necessary if Im not experiencing symptoms?

If youre looking for answers to these questions, you may find conflicting and confusing information across the medical field, in the news and on prostate cancer websites. Some dispute the necessity of prostate cancer screening and discourage men from getting a PSA test to begin with. Others suggest that prostate cancer is overtreated and that the risks associated with biopsies and treatment arent worth the potential benefit.

While the 10-year survival rate of men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer is approximately 98 percent, prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that 248,530 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2021 and that one in every 41 men diagnosed will die from the disease.

To help you better understand this topic and whether you should get a prostate biopsy, this article will cover:

When Should I Have A Prostate Check

Generally, if you aged 50 years or older and have any urinary symptoms, you should let your doctor know. They will discuss with you whether or not you should have a prostate check.

Symptoms include:

• poor flow of urine
• trouble stopping peeing
• dribbling after you are done peeing
• needing to pee more often, at night or urgently
• trouble starting peeing
• incontinence
• pain when peeing
• blood in your pee.

If you have no symptoms, it is recommended that you get checked if you:

• you are a man aged 5070 years old but dont have any family history
• you are a man aged 4070 years old and your father or brother has had prostate cancer
• you are a man aged more than 70 years old and you have family history of prostate cancer or you have had an abnormal PSA test previously, and you have a life expectancy of more than 10 years.

Having a prostate check is your decision. The tests for prostate cancer can be uncomfortable but they may reduce your chance of being harmed or dying from prostate cancer.

If your test results suggest you are at risk of cancer, you will need to decide whether to have further testing and possibly treatment. In making this decision, you will need to consider whether your quality of life will be better living with a slow growing cancer than having treatments, which may cause you more harm than the cancer ever will.

Your doctor can help you weigh up the benefits and risks of being tested, by taking into consideration factors such as your age and family history.

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When Is A Psa Test Needed

If you are age 50 to 74, you should discuss the PSA test with your doctor. Ask about the possible risks and benefits.

Men under 50 or over 75 rarely need a PSA test, unless they have a high risk for prostate cancer.

• You are more likely to get prostate cancer if you have a family history of prostate cancer, especially in a close relative such as a parent or sibling.
• Your risks are higher if your relative got prostate cancer before age 60 or died from it before age 75. These early cancers are more likely to grow faster.
• If you have these risks, you may want to ask your doctor about getting the PSA test before age 50.

This report is for you to use when talking with your healthcare provider. It is not a substitute for medical advice and treatment. Use of this report is at your own risk.

04/2014

What To Do If You Have Symptoms

Talk to your GP if you’re worried about symptoms or have noticed any unusual or persistent changes.

• Screening for prostate cancer 2013Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews D Ilic, MM Neuberger, M Djulbegovic, P Dahm

• Effect of a low-intensity PSA-based screening intervention on prostate cancer mortality: the CAP randomized clinical trial Richard M Martin PhD and othersJAMA, 2018. Volume 319, Pages 883-895

• Mortality Results from a Randomized Prostate-Cancer Screening TrialGL Andriole and othersThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2009. Vol 360, Issue 13

• Randomised prostate cancer screening trial: 20 year follow-upG Sandblom and othersBritish Medical Journal, 2011. Vol 342, Issue 1539

• Prostate cancer risk management programme : benefits and risks of PSA testingPublic Health England, 2016

• Screening and prostate cancer mortality: results of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer at 13 years of follow-upFH Schroder and others

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There Are Risks To Getting Prostate Cancer Tests And Treatments

If your PSA is not normal, you will probably have a biopsy. The doctor puts a needle through the wall of the rectum and into the prostate to take a few samples. Biopsies can be painful and cause bleeding. Men can get serious infections from biopsies, and they may need hospital care.

Surgery or radiation are the usual treatments for prostate cancer. They can do more harm than good. Treatment can cause serious complications, such as heart attacks, blood clots in the legs or lungs, or even death. In addition, 40 men out of 1,000 will become impotent or incontinent from treatment.

What Are Clinical Trials And Are They Right For You

Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you.

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If You Are Transgender

If you are a trans man you do not have a prostate and do not need a PSA test.

Trans women and non-binary people assigned male at birth still have a prostate gland, whether they have had genital gender-affirming surgery or not. This means they may still get prostate cancer, although there is not enough evidence to know how common this is.

If you are a trans woman or non-binary person assigned male at birth and would like to have the PSA test, talk to your GP.

You may worry about talking to your doctor or practice nurse about this, but they are used to talking about many different needs. If you find it difficult to start the conversation, you could try showing them this information. You should talk about any worrying symptoms or concerns with your GP or nurse.

Prostate cancer UK have detailed information about trans women and prostate cancer.

The LGBT Foundation can also give you confidential advice and support. You can also talk to one of our cancer support specialists.

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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Getting The 4kscore Test Is Simple

1. Talk to your physician to find out if The 4Kscore® Test is right for you.

2. Have your blood drawn at your physician’s office, a conveniently located Patient Service Center, or at your home or office using Scarlet.

3. Discuss your 4Kscore® Test results with your physician to evaluatethe next steps regarding your prostate health.

What Are Some Common Prostate Problems

The most common prostate problem in men younger than age 50 is inflammation, called prostatitis. Prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hyperplasia , is another common problem. Because the prostate continues to grow as a man ages, BPH is the most common prostate problem for men older than age 50. Older men are at risk for prostate cancer as well, but it is much less common than BPH.

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Changes In Your Testicles

Although testicular cancer is rare, it is one of the most common cancers in men aged between 15 and 45. It is also one of the most curable cancers if found early.

The causes of this cancer are unclear, but men who have had an undescended testicle are at increased risk. Be aware of what is normal for you and if you see or feel any changes, see your doctor. Don’t let embarrassment get in the way.

Transrectal Ultrasound With Prostate Biopsy

Transrectal ultrasound is most often used to examine the prostate. In a transrectal ultrasound, the health care provider inserts a transducer slightly larger than a pen into the mans rectum next to the prostate. The ultrasound image shows the size of the prostate and any abnormal-looking areas, such as tumors. Transrectal ultrasound cannot definitively identify prostate cancer.

To determine whether a tumor is cancerous, the health care provider uses the transducer and ultrasound images to guide a needle to the tumor. The needle is then used to remove a few pieces of prostate tissue for examination with a microscope. This process, called biopsy, can reveal whether prostate cancer is present. A transrectal ultrasound with prostate biopsy is usually performed by a doctor in a health care providers office, outpatient center, or hospital with light sedation and local anesthesia. The biopsied prostate tissue is examined in a laboratory by a pathologista doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases.

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How Doctors Determine Whether To Recommend A Prostate Biopsy

No two patients are alike, and a urologist needs to take many variables into account before recommending a prostate biopsy, including a patients:

• Age and life expectancy
• Comorbidities
• Change in PSA values across time.

The decision of whether to undergo a prostate biopsy should be determined after an individual conversation with your doctor during which he or she presents you with the big picture of your situation.

Compare, for example, the case of two 50-year-old men: One of them has been diagnosed with heart failure and is in poor overall health. The other has no pre-existing health conditions. I probably wouldnt advise a prostate biopsy for the 50-year-old with heart failure because prostate cancer is unlikely to cause his death within the next five years.

But I would recommend that the healthy 50-year-old get a prostate biopsy, because even if his cancer isnt aggressive right now, missing a prostate cancer diagnosis may result in his death from the disease in 15 years. In his case, it would be better to risk the prostate biopsy to catch the cancer early and improve his chances of long-term survival.

Should You Know Your Psa Level

Instead of a national screening programme, there is an informed choice programme, called prostate cancer risk management, for healthy men aged 50 or over who ask their GP about PSA testing. It aims to give men good information on the pros and cons of a PSA test.

If you’re aged 50 or over and decide to have your PSA levels tested after talking to a GP, they can arrange for it to be carried out free on the NHS.

If results show you have a raised level of PSA, the GP may suggest further tests.

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Benefits Of Getting A Prostate Biopsy

A prostate biopsy is the only way to definitively determine whether you have prostate cancer and, if you do, how aggressive it is.

While prostate biopsies arent always conclusive, in general, a biopsy gives men the reassurance of knowing whether they have cancer or not. If you know you have prostate cancer, youre more likely to be appropriately treated.

Appropriate prostate cancer treatment options depend on several factors, including the stage of the cancer, your age, your general health and which risk category your cancer falls into.

Localized prostate cancer is categorized into six risk categories, which range from very low-risk to very high-risk. The risk group is determined by the stage of your cancer, your PSA levels and the Gleason score obtained from the biopsy pathology report.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines outline appropriate treatment options based on risk categories and whether the cancer has already metastasized.

Patients whose cancer is confined to the prostate and falls into the very low-risk and low-risk categories tend to have slow-growing cancers. Treatment options for these patients often include active surveillance, radiation therapy or surgery. Similar treatment options may be recommended to patients in the low-risk and favorable intermediate prostate cancer risk categories.

The NCCN guidelines recommend immediate treatment for patients with high-risk disease or those patients whose cancer has metastasized.

How Is A Digital Rectal Exam Performed

A DRE is a physical exam of the prostate. The health care provider will ask the patient to bend over a table or lie on his side while holding his knees close to his chest. The health care provider slides a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum and feels the part of the prostate that lies next to it. The DRE may be slightly uncomfortable, but it is brief. This exam reveals whether the prostate has any abnormalities that require more testing. If an infection is suspected, the health care provider might massage the prostate during the DRE to obtain fluid to examine with a microscope. This exam is usually done first. Many health care providers perform a DRE as part of a routine physical exam for men age 50 or older, some even at age 40, whether or not the man has urinary problems.

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What If A Screening Test Shows An Elevated Psa Level

If a man who has no symptoms of prostate cancer chooses to undergo prostate cancer screening and is found to have an elevated PSA level, the doctor may recommend another PSA test to confirm the original finding. If the PSA level is still high, the doctor may recommend that the man continue with PSA tests and DREs at regular intervals to watch for any changes over time.

If a mans PSA level continues to rise or if a suspicious lump is detected during a DRE, the doctor may recommend additional tests to determine the nature of the problem. A urine test may be recommended to check for a urinary tract infection. The doctor may also recommend imaging tests, such as a transrectal ultrasound, x-rays, or cystoscopy.

If prostate cancer is suspected, the doctor will recommend a prostate biopsy. During this procedure, multiple samples of prostate tissue are collected by inserting hollow needles into the prostate and then withdrawing them. Most often, the needles are inserted through the wall of the rectum . A pathologist then examines the collected tissue under a microscope. The doctor may use ultrasound to view the prostate during the biopsy, but ultrasound cannot be used alone to diagnose prostate cancer.