Prostate Cancer Screening Effective

May 28th, 2008 | Category: General Health

To read more about the study, see that from Reuters. To read more about prostate cancer, including screening and prevention, see that from the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

news you may not know

What About Screening?

Sure, that may get a bit uncomfortable. For the guys, at least. This is one of those times the gals can sit back and relax - unless, of course, there’s a guy in her life she cares about. In that case, she should pay attention as well. As a matter of fact, she should pay close attention, considering guys don’t have the best track record when it comes to routine medical screenings.

Prostate cancer is a killer.

But, when detected early decent, it is highly treatable. Early…

A rare program in the Austrian state of Tyrol has set the medical community abuzz. Beginning in 1993, the state began to offer free PSA screening for prostate cancer. The PSA analysis measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in a man’s blood. A high level indicates the possibility of prostate cancer, and a biopsy is thereupon performed to confirm the diagnosis.

The results of the

free screening are most impressive. The death rate from prostate cancer in Tyrol dropped by 54%, compared to just 29% in the rest of Austria. The scientist point to early detection as the key to the lower rate. Prior to the free screenings, only 11% of Tyrolean men were screened for prostate cancer; after the free screenings began that jumped to an impressive 87%.

Even with these impressive results, not everyone is on board. Some physicians believe PSA tests detect some cancers that grow so slowly they will never become life threatening. The American Cancer Society recommends annual PSA exams beginning at age 50; for African Americans, who are at greater risk, they recommend beginning at age 45.

So, should you or shouldn’t you? Consider: American men have a one in six chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer; in 2008, it’s estimated 186,000 American men will be diagnosed and 28,000 will die from prostate cancer; when diagnosed and treated in the early stages nearly 100% of men are cancer free after 5 years. 100%. It doesn’t get much better.

Gals - now that you’ve read that, go tell your guys…

Original post by tim

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