Do You Have Prostate Cancer? Screening and Testing |

Prostate cancer screening is important because the disease often doesn?t cause symptoms. Prostate cancer screening guidelines and prostate cancer screening tests are explored.

It is very possible you have prostate cancer and not know it. ?Today, more men, after screening for prostate cancer, are being diagnosed without having any symptoms. ?Prostate cancer tends to grow very slowly, and because of its location in the prostate, it usually doesn?t cause physical symptoms. ?But when the disease does cause symptoms, they are typically nonspecific, meaning the symptoms may signify a number of problems other than prostate cancer, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). ?If you wait until something is obviously wrong, then most likely you have waited too long. ?Far too often, men are diagnosed with large and advanced cancers, even though they have not had any urination problems. The best way to catch the disease in its earliest, curable, stage is to have routine prostate cancer screening tests.

A routine annual exam by your physician should include a prostate check and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. ?Getting your first PSA blood test and digital rectal examination at early age, when you are less likely to have BPH, will give your doctor a valuable baseline for every PSA measurement you will have. The results of these baseline prostate cancer screening tests have shown to predict a man?s risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer over the next 25 years.

Prostate Cancer Screening Guidelines

American Cancer Society Recommended Prostate Cancer Screening Age	National Comprehensive Cancer Network Recommended Prostate Cancer Screening Age
?50 years or older, with average risk?45 years, for those at high risk (African-Americans and men who have either a father, brother or son who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer)?40 years, for those at higher risk (men who have several relatives ? father, brother and/or son ? who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer)? ?Annual PSA & prostate cancer screening thereafter	? 40 years, with average risk, and ?Prostate cancer screening tests again at age 45, and ?Prostate cancer screening tests again at age 50?Annual PSA & prostate cancer screening thereafter

What Your Doctor Will Need to Know

A complete physical examination is typically performed to help determine your risk of having prostate cancer. Screening for conditions of the prostate may involve more than just the gland itself. Your doctor may also want to examine your skin, chest, abdomen, heart and lymph nodes. You may also be asked for a sample of your urine to look for blood or other abnormalities.

It is important that your doctor understand you and your family?s medical history. You should provide names and doses of any nutritional supplements, herbs, vitamins and minerals you currently take. As part of the prostate cancer screening process, your doctor may ask you for information on the following:

• Current and past medical problems
• Past surgeries
• What medications you are taking, including drug names, dosages and how often they are taken
• Any allergies you are aware of
• Family history of serious illnesses or health problems
• Whether or not you smoke or drink alcohol and how much
• Any symptoms or physical problems you may be experiencing

Prostate Cancer Screening Tests

In addition to a general physical examination, your doctor will typically want to do two important prostate cancer screening tests:

• Digital Rectal Examination (DRE)? A digital rectal exam should be performed as part of any screening for prostate cancer and should be performed by a physician, physician?s assistant, or nurse practitioner who is experienced in these examinations. The healthcare professional gently places a gloved, lubricated finger (?digit?) in to the rectum to feel the part of the prostate that is just under the skin of the rectum. A DRE helps to determine if the prostate is enlarged, hard or if it has any irregularities. If there is an abnormality, the DRE can give your doctor an idea of how extensive it might be. It also helps the doctor plan and direct a biopsy, in which sample tissue is removed and examined under a microscope. The DRE also one of the prostate cancer screening tests that is used to help determine whether or not cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland and to detect if prostate cancer has returned after treatment.
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test ? The prostate makes a protein, called prostate-specific antigen, which liquefies semen so that it can travel up the female reproductive tract. Usually, the amount of PSA in a man?s blood will to rise when prostate cancer begins to develop. The PSA blood test directly measures these levels. An elevated PSA level is suggestive of a higher risk for prostate issues. PSA levels alone are not enough to diagnose or rule out cancer, but they do help doctors determine if other prostate cancer screening tests would be helpful or necessary.

Your doctor may recommend other kinds of blood tests and studies to assess your prostate health, such as:

• Percentage-Free PSA Test ? PSA occurs in two major forms in the blood. Most PSA is attached, or bound, to blood proteins and the other circulates in the blood unattached, or free. Prostate cancer screening typically refers to the total PSA. The percentage-free PSA test looks at the ratio of free PSA to total PSA. Because benign prostate conditions produce more free PSA, this test can help determine if prostate conditions are benign or cancerous.
• Prostatic acid photophatase ? the prostatic acid photophatase is a blood test that searches for different protein, secreted by the prostate. The test does not detect as many cancers as PSA testing. Most doctors no longer order it in screening for prostate cancer.
• Complete blood count (CBC) ? Although not used for screening prostate cancer, the complete blood count and coagulation studies help determine if it is safe to perform other studies, such as biopsies of the prostate. The CBC provides your doctor with information about blood cell counts and the risk of abnormal bleeding. It also helps determine if it is safe to perform other studies, such as biopsies of the prostate.

After your physical exam, blood tests and health history, your doctor may feel there is a need for further tests, such as:

• Biopsy ? A biopsy is a prostate cancer screening procedure in which a sample of tissue is removed and examined under a microscope to determine if cancer is present.
• Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) ? The use of sound waves to produce an image of the prostate gland can help doctors identify areas that are suspicious and may be appropriate for biopsy. TRUS helps guide a precise biopsy, so the two prostate cancer screening tests are often performed together.
• Other Imaging studies ? Imaging studies are important in the prostate cancer screening process, because they enable doctors to better visualize and evaluate the prostate and surrounding area. Some imaging studies are performed after a diagnosis of prostate cancer to evaluate whether or not cancer has spread to other areas of the body. These include bone scans, computerized tomography (CT or CAT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

There is strong evidence that prostate cancer screening and effective treatment have reduced the number of men who are diagnosed with advanced disease and have improved the survival rate of those who have prostate cancer. Screening of prostate cancer on a regular basis can often catch the disease before it has spread beyond the prostate gland, when it is the easiest to cure. Unfortunately, there are no classic warnings that prostate cancer may be growing in your body. More often, there are no warning signs or symptoms at all. When there are physical symptoms, the cancer is usually significant and potentially life-threatening. To maximize your chances of detecting prostate cancer when it is most curable, you need to catch it early and the best way to do that is with regular prostate cancer screening.

Source: http://www.about-prostate-cancer.com/466/do-you-have-prostate-cancer-screening-and-testing/

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