What To Know About Prostate Cancer Screening

By Olive Pate


Great progress has been made in cancer treatment. Prostate cancer screening is a process that involves the detection of cancerous growth before its symptoms become visible despite the slow growth of the cancerous cells which may grow or not.

Tests are often carried out to view and tell the extent and presence of the prostate cancer. The first test to determine any abnormalities around the prostate glands and the presence of any lumps on the glands. This is referred to as the Digital-Rectal Exam carried out by a physician who introduces a lubricated finger with gloves to the rectum.

The prostate specific antigen which is made by the prostate in the blood is performed a test that measures its level of production. The higher the PSA levels in a patient the higher the chances of the cancerous growth present. The PSA levels could also be accelerated by other medical procedures and medication, sometimes age and race.

After the PSA based screening tests a patient may test positive for asymptomatic cancer which may or may not develop over time. This entirely depends on the patient.

The primary goal of cancer screening is to decrease the number of deaths caused by this disease. It would also reduce the development of the metastasizing disease. Men detected with cancerous growth are divided into three categories depending on how far the tumor has spread. Those who shall result in death despite speedy detection as well as treatment, those who survive in the absence of screening and those who eventually survive due to the early diagnosis and proper treatment. There's a smaller chance of survival even with the early diagnosis and treatment.

However the screening procedure may harm the patient in some cases. The PSA test mostly produces a fifty-fifty results that are not certain it may be true or false. These results are mostly brought up due to negative psychological situations such as constant worrying about cancer. Men who undergo biopsy may experience pain, fever, infections, urinary difficulties and bleeding and are required to consult medical help and require constant follow up. The long-term effect of the PSA screening is yet to be fully discovered. Although certain studies carried out have shown that the cancer's mortality reduction rates after the screens are very small.

The screen detection and the treatment process of the tumor have caused most if not all effects experienced by most patients, they are too persistent and unprecedented thus may cause an early death.

Most men will experience effects more than the benefits brought about by the screening as well as the treatment process. There's a chance of over treating or over diagnosis of cancerous growth this means that the men will experience adverse effects due to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease which would have probably remained asymptomatic their entire lives.

There is the need to examine the equilibrium between the pros and con's of the screen tests and treatment procedures. They should predetermine what it would do to them, if it would worsen the situation due to its devastating effects or prevent their deaths which has very low chances of occurring.




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