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August 2006 – Prostate Screenings
Urge Men to be Screened for Prostate CancerWhen it comes to preventive maintenance for a car, men tend to follow a regular schedule, such as changing the oil every 3,000 miles. When it comes to preventive maintenance for their health, however, men can tend to procrastinate.
“Men may delay seeing a doctor for a variety of reasons,” said William A. See, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin urologic surgeon and chief of Urology at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin. “While women tend to be proactive in preventive health care, such as having regular mammograms and pap smears, men tend to avoid going to a doctor. A man may think, ‘the pain really isn’t bothering me, and it will go away,’ or ‘I’ll just tough it out.’ They don’t tend to be as proactive in their health care as women.”
Regular doctor visits, however, can save a man’s life. This is especially true when it comes to prostate cancer. “By the time a man notices symptoms, the disease will most likely be too advanced to cure,” Dr. See said.
If the man in your life — husband, significant other, father, brother or son — tends to avoid going to the doctor, encourage him to begin regular visits and to discuss with the doctor when to be screened for prostate cancer.
About Prostate Cancer The prostate is a chestnut-sized gland in males that surrounds the urine tube (urethra) at the base of the bladder. It produces a secretion that is the fluid part of semen.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of male death in the United States. Each year, about 230,000 new cases are diagnosed and about 30,000 men die from prostate cancer. One in six men will be affected by this disease in his lifetime.
The Importance of Screening“In the early stage of prostate cancer, a man often has no symptoms,” Dr. See said. “That’s why screening is so important to detect the disease early, when it is the most curable.”
A screening test consists of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam (DRE).
- PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland. As the PSA level increases above a certain number, the probability of prostate cancer increases greatly.
- A DRE is an exam to detect abnormalities that can be felt from within the rectum. The doctor inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the rectum to detect any bumps or hard places in the prostate, which might be cancer. This usually takes less than 30 seconds.
“If a man has routine yearly exams and either one of these test results becomes abnormal, any cancer that might exist has probably been found at an early, more treatable stage,” Dr. See said.
Screening GuidelinesThe American Cancer Society recommends that men have a PSA and DRE annually, beginning at age 50 for men who do not have any major medical problems. Men at high risk should begin testing at age 45. Men at high risk include African-Americans and men who have a close relative (father, brother or son) who had prostate cancer before age 65.
Men at even higher risk (many close relatives with prostate cancer at an early age) should begin testing at age 40. Depending on the results of the first tests, they might not need more testing until age 45.
If these screenings suggest that cancer may be present, a biopsy will be done to confirm that a man has prostate cancer. During a biopsy, tissue from the prostate is removed and sent to a lab to see if there are cancer cells.
Talk about prostate cancer with the men in your life, and encourage them to be screened regularly.
Froedtert & the Medical College offer comprehensive screening and treatment options for prostate cancer:
- Free Prostate Cancer Screening Program
- Treatment Options
- Prostate Cancer Second Opinion Program
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Health ResourcesSmall Stones, a health resource center of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, offers many resources for prostate cancer:
- Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer by Patrick C. Walsh, MD, and Janet Farrar Worthington
- Prostate and Cancer by Sheldon Marks, MD
- Complete Guide to Prostate Cancer by the American Cancer Society
- Dr. Peter Scardino’s Prostate Book by Peter T. Scardino, MD, and Judith Kelman
- The Prostate Diet Cookbook by Buffy Sanders
Author: Marla Fraunfelder Date: Aug. 1, 2006 | Medical Reviewer: | William See, MD | | Medical College of Wisconsin urologic surgeon |
Online Editor(s): Christopher Sadler
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