Answers On Prostate Cancer Screening

By Olive Pate


Major advances in health care have been achieved in our time. Prostate cancer screening refers to the procedure of detecting cancerous growth before the symptoms are clear. The cancerous growth may however take long to develop or fail to.

The prostate tumor is detected by carrying out various tests that should show its presence. The Digital-Rectal exam which is carried out by the doctor who inserts a finger in gloves which has been lubricated into the rectum. The doctor should be able to estimate the size of the prostate glands and tell if there's the presence of any abnormal features or lumps on the glands.

The prostate specific antigen test which measures the quantity of the antigens specific to prostate and are made by the prostate in the blood. The PSA levels in men are considered to be higher in men with cancerous growth present in them. It may also increased by other factors affecting the glands. Certain medical procedures and medications as well as age and race may also affect the PSA levels.

The asymptomatic cancer could be examined and probed by the The PSA based screening technique. There are various types of asymptomatic cancer that are aggregated by the screen tests, this may cause either a non progressive or progressive cancerous growth that would have remained asymptomatic in other instances.

The main purpose of the screening is to reduce the deaths of the patients as well as the metastasization of the disease. Prostate tumor patients have three possible occurrences. Some of them may die despite the early detection and adequate treatment, some of them will survive even with no prior screening procedures and some of them survive with the early detection and proper adequate treatment however, there's a lesser chance of survival in this case.

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 effects of the screen detected cancerous growth and the treatment process have been experienced by most men, they occur early and are too persistent and may expose the patient to a little or no risk to a premature death.

Effects of the screen tests and also treatment process are experienced more than the benefits by the patients. Patients risk over treatment or over diagnosis of cancer due to the screening and treatment of a disease that would have remained asymptomatic all their lives. They risk going through health deteriorating effects.

Doctors and patients need to assess the balance between the advantages and disadvantages of early detection through the screen tests and early treatment. They are meant to determine if it provides chances of preventing death which are low or if it aggregates the prostate cancer through the persistent harm caused by the treatment procedures.




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