Should I have PSA test

Hi Steve,

Firstly PCa does not always manifest itself by symptoms at an early stage, so you are not wet to pose the question. It comes down to personal choice having considered the arguments for and against. The PSA test should be done in conjunction with a digital rear examination (Finger up your bum to feel and access size and smoothness of the Prostate). although many GP's are not good at it. This is used as a possible indication of whether further tests are are warranted but having said that it is still possible that a man might have PCa even though there is not a strong indication that he might have it. There are for instance some types of PCa that don't exhibit high numbers. So in many cases a man might go on to have other tests, usually MRI and largely dependent on what information this adds possibly a biopsy to get an accurate diagnosis. So the fairly inexpensive PSA blood test is a preliminary test that could lead to a man going on to have treatment. The argument for doing this is that it could lead to beneficial treatment. The argument against is that if positively diagnosed a man may have treatment that he never needed or prematurely because in many cases he might have lived for years without needing it. There is always the likely case that once men have been diagnosed with pca they will want the cancer cut out or treated immediately regardless of the potential harms and side effects that treatment can cause. So it is thought that many men suffer harms from overtreatment. But if you don't have the PSA test you may miss your chance of an early diagnosis.

A strong argument may be made for men to be tested when they are 50 or even earlier if they are afrocarribean or have a family history of PCa. This enables men to consider where they are in the light of a positive diagnosi. Elevated PSA can be caused for other reasons such as a UTI or very enlarged Prostate or over stimulation before a PSA test.

Edited by member 12 Mar 2024 at 00:13  | Reason: spelling