An estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men. Only skin cancer is more prevalent. Prostate cancer is more likely to develop in African American men. About six cases in 10 are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older, and it is rare in men under 40. Prostate cancer is curable if caught early.
In many cases, prostate cancer doesn’t cause any symptoms until the disease process is in its later stages. For that reason, annual screening exams are a critical part to diagnosing prostate cancer early. Early diagnosis allows a wider variety of treatment options, as well as a chance to stop the prostate cancer from spreading elsewhere in the body.
Talk to your health care provider about prostate cancer screening
The American Cancer Society and the American Urological Association encourage every man to talk to his health care provider about the risks and benefits of prostate screening. The timing of when to have the conversation if screening is right for you depends on each patient’s personal risk factors:
- Age 50 for men who are at average risk of prostate cancer and are expected to live at least 10 more years.
- Age 45 for men at high risk of developing prostate cancer. This includes African Americans and men who have a first-degree relative (father or brother) diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than age 65).
- Age 40 for men at even higher risk (those with more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age).
Talk to your primary care provider about the right time to get screened and schedule an appointment today with a Riverside primary care physician.
Free Prostate Cancer Screenings this September
The Riverside Cancer Care Network is offering people in our community free prostate cancer screenings this September on the Peninsula, in Williamsburg, Gloucester and on the Eastern Shore.
Risk factors
Age, race, family history and diet can all influence a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Specifically, risk for developing prostate cancer increases with age, going up significantly after age 50, and African-American men have a higher risk of developing the disease than men of other races.
Visit Healthy YOU for more information on prostate cancer and prostate screening.
Understanding prostate cancer screening
There are two steps to the yearly prostate cancer screening process.
Step one is a Prostate Specific Antigen blood test which measures a protein produced by the cells of the prostate. This is often called a PSA test.
Step two is a digital rectal exam performed by your physician. This test helps identify if there are changes in the size or texture of your prostate.
The PSA test tells your doctor if the prostate is releasing higher than usual amounts of PSA into your bloodstream. PSA is a protein that is naturally produced by the prostate gland. As the prostate enlarges, additional PSA is produced and seeps into the blood stream, making it a useful marker for prostate cancer. While a high PSA doesn’t necessarily mean cancer is present, and a low PSA doesn’t necessarily mean there is no cancer, it is an important tool for physicians. Only a biopsy can confirm or deny the presence of prostate cancer.
If the DRE and/or PSA come back as not normal, it might mean you have a problem with your prostate. Your physician will want to do additional tests. This does not necessarily mean you have cancer. Other prostate problems can also cause a higher PSA count. You may have an infection or an enlarged prostate known as benign prostate hyperplasia. Your physician may further evaluate your prostate using ultrasound and biopsy. During a biopsy, the doctor takes a tissue sample from the prostate to see if there are cancerous cells.
