Stay on Top of Prostate Cancer Screening

Men need to begin thinking differently about their healthcare screening by the time they reach the age of forty. This healthcare screening needs to include a regular prostate exam. This can include a digital rectal exam, which evaluates the size and shape of the prostate, and the PSA exam, which is the prostate specific antigen, elevated when the prostate is enlarged for whatever reason.

The biggest problem is that eighty percent of patients who come into the oncologist’s office to receive treatment for prostate cancer are already in stage III or stage IV, where treatment is harder and the mortality rate is higher. Early exams and blood testing can save some of these lives if men would be more vigilant in getting tested on a regular basis. This is particularly true if a man has a father, grandfather, uncle or brother with prostate cancer as there is some genetic component to getting this disease.

The recommendation is to be examined at every physical examination beginning at age forty for high risk men and beginning at age 50 for men who are not at high risk. Men do not often show any symptoms of prostate cancer in the early stages so screening is especially important. Too many men are embarrassed to have their prostate examined and this may lead to delay in detection of the cancer of prostate which may remain hidden till it is too late.

Because up to 80 percent of men over the age of 80 have some microscopic evidence for prostate cancer, it is not a screening test to be taken lightly. Not everyone needs aggressive treatment and there are studies being undertaken to determine who needs aggressive treatment and who does not. In general, prostate cancer takes a long time to manifest itself so early screening and treatment can eliminate the cancer altogether.

The digital rectal examination looks for benign prostatic hypertrophy or prostate enlargement as well as lumps or nodules that can be biopsied for cancer. If positive for cancer, the prostate gland can be removed, irradiated or the cancer can be treated with growth-stopping hormones, depending on the situation. Even benign prostatic hypertrophy (hyperplasia) needs evaluation so that the man can have relief from symptoms of an enlarged prostate, including difficulty starting the stream, straining when voiding, frequency of urination and dribbling. These, unfortunately, can also be symptoms of prostate cancer so that any man with these symptoms needs to be evaluated.

If the prostate is just enlarged and not cancerous, a transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP needs to be considered in order to restore a normal urinary stream.

Advanced prostate cancer can spread to the bones and the brain, especially, so that symptoms related to these places can be felt if the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland. Early screening can reduce the risk of metastatic disease and can make the treatment of prostate cancer much easier.