The PSA Test – to be or not to be

What’s a guy to do?

In recent weeks and months there has been a lot written and said about the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test that men have been getting for several decades to help detect prostate cancer.

Some doctors and researchers are condemning the test as useless or even harmful and others defend it. What should us poor guys (who need the information) do? I’m way past the diagnosis part but I get PSA tests every three months to help determine the amount of hormone therapy I get. That seems to work for me.

Opponents say that PSA tests result in a lot of unnecessary treatments – surgery, radiation, freezing, and other options. And those treatments can lead to impotence and incontinence. That’s true - those side effects do happen. Common sense and patience might help. The PSA test is less than perfect but what is plan B? Nobody seems to know.

Increased PSA doesn’t necessarily mean you have prostate cancer. But results can provide information you need to weigh future decisions about your condition.

If you have never had a PSA test, check out organizations that you trust for more information and certainly talk to your doctor. What do the experts say? Check out the Mayo Clinic and American Cancer Society guidelines. They’ve changed over the years. Whatever their recommendations are you and your doctor will still need to talk and decide.

Mayo Clinic – PSA Guidelines http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-cancer/HQ01273.

American Cancer Society – New PSA Guidelines http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Revised_Prostate_Cancer_Screening_Guidelines_What_Has--and_Hasnt--Changed.asp.

I’ve had many PSA tests and will probably have many more. Every man has to look at all the options and decide for himself. What do YOU think?

axman

A Morbid Curiosity with the Latest Cancer Research

…as if it made any difference

I subscribe to several email and Blog programs that send daily updates on all sorts of cancer research – and I read them all. Then there are the medical journal reports, Cancer Center articles, and anecdotal information. Reading all this stuff probably doesn’t make me even a little bit healthier. Even if there is a miracle cure in there someplace I’d probably get hopelessly confused by the medical gobbledygook.

All the headlines accentuate the positive: Mice with Prostate Cancer Treated with XTZ666 Live 27% Longer than Control Group, or New Chemo Cocktail Shows Promise, or Exploitation Drugs Ltd to Unveil Revolutionary Prostate Drug! As good as these headlines sound there isn’t any real information in there.

If I had not read any of those articles or studies nothing in my life would be much different – except for knowing a lot more about cancer ridden mice. I wonder if someone notifies the next-of-kin mouse.

So should we all read everything we can find – fact or fiction – about our particular disease? Will it help? Nobody knows.

I will likely continue my obsessive search for cancer information – I guess it’s in my nature. You, on the other hand, may be emotionally healthier than I am and able to resist the urge.

axman