Cancer is scary, real, and difficult to detect in its earliest stages. Any urologist Manhattan has produced can tell you that. In fact, over 27 thousand men die from prostate cancer each year. But often times treatment has proven to be equally harmful to the body, making screening a controversial topic. For these reasons, it is in all men’s best interest to educate themselves on the latest information for prostate cancer screening. Below are risks and benefits, and what you should be doing to stay on top of it before it.
SCREENING RISKS
Prostate cancer is a moving target it seems, as is the most responsible way to screen for it. As of now, the best way to screen for prostate cancer is by measuring for high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is a protein that is released by the prostate gland. The problem with this test is that while high PSA levels can sometimes be a direct indication of cancer, they can also be virtually harmless.
Prostate cancer can usually only be cured early on. Waiting can entail allowing the cancer to spread to the point where it can no longer be controlled. As a result, doctors in the past have felt inclined to overdiagnose, since often times PSA does not mean cancer. This has led to men undergoing unnecessary biopsies, which have high risk of complications such as infections and bleeding. In some cases, men have undergone unnecessary surgeries while others have been given radiation before finding they never had cancer in the first place.
As a result, some years ago, it was recommended that men don’t even get screened, as it hardly seemed worth it considering the risks involved in treatment. And surely enough, fewer men got screened in these past years. This didn’t stop men from getting prostate cancer. It did, however, perpetuate the concept that prostate cancer is not a very serious threat to men, a fundamentally flawed notion that should be put to bed immediately. While it’s good that fewer men are undergoing unnecessary biopsies, the alternative should not be abandoning screening altogether.
NEW TECHNOLOGY AND A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Now that we’ve gotten the scary news out of the way, we can focus on the more positive side of things, which is the future. Today, there are new tools and technologies such as MRIs and more detailed PSA tests that can be used following the initial detection of high PSA levels that can more accurately determine whether they are in fact the result of prostate cancer. These new technologies involve taking blood and urine tests to find certain variations of the PSA that are only found when someone has cancer. In short, MRIs and genomic analysis has made it substantially easier and more effective for doctors to determine the location and aggressiveness of the cancer.
This allows doctors to hold off on treatment for some patients with less aggressive cancer. In general, biopsies and treatments should be avoided if possible. This new technology makes that possible. In some cases, men will be diagnosed with cancer but it will be dormant, sometimes to the extent that it does not require any treatment at all. Just so long as the cancer is constantly surveilled, men can go about their lives without any risky treatments.
Moreover, technologies will only improve in time, and the future is near. Men who are approaching the age in which screening is appropriate (between 40 and 70) can rest assured knowing that new and better ways of screening for prostate cancer will be hitting the market in due time.
As of now, the most responsible thing to do is speak to your urology doctor in Manhattan about what the best course of action is for your individual circumstances. If you would like some more information, or are having any other urological issues and want to speak to the best professional urologist Manhattan has, don’t hesitate to contact us at (212) 661-7003 to set up an appointment.
