Early prostate cancer detection

How Ben Stiller Survived Prostate Cancer Talking about a cancer diagnosis is tough. Talking about prostate cancer for men is really tough. But talking about protate cancer when you are a public figure in the prime of your career is off the charts scary. And courageous! So, a huge “Thank You” to Ben Stiller for taking the time to write an essay about his recent prostate cancer experience and to urge men to talk with their doctors about prostate cancer and their risk. Over the past 10 years men in America have been caught in the middle of a disagreement within the medical community about the value of the PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test in beating prostate cancer. Half of the medical community believes the test is worthwhile and half don’t. The United States Preventative Services Task Force even recommends that men don’t ever test for prostate cancer. But here are some facts and statistics that men and their families should know and consider . . . 240,000 men every year are diagnosed with prostate cancer 24,000 of those new cases will be aggressive, early onset prostate cancer about 28,000 men die every year from prostate cancer – more […] read more

New test may diagnose prostate cancer more accurately By Robert Warren Hess Prostate cancer can be defeated if it’s found early.  But only if it’s found early! The PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test has been the gold standard for screening since the early 1990’s and has been credited with both reducing prostate cancer deaths through detection at earlier stages and with unnecessary treatment because of the difficulty in telling which cancers are aggressive and which won’t need treatment. A new test, STHLM3, is being used in Europe and promises to more effective in finding aggressive cancers than the PSA test. Read more about the test at Harvard Men’s Health Watch. However, the test is not yet approved for use in the United States, so the best thing men here in the US can do is to continue to have an annual PSA test and consult their doctor immediately if they see a rise in PSA values from one year to the next. How to Have a PSA Test for Just $35.00 Many men may not have medical insurance or their HMO won’t prescribe the test. If that’s your case, you don’t have to give up on testing for prostate […] read more