VNS Health Total: Prostate Cancer Screening Exams (PSA Test)

A yearly exam for all men 50 years and older, regardless of risk, intended for early detection of precancerous and cancerous conditions in the prostate. The exam can also detect prostate enlargement, which is frequently benign (non-cancerous), but should be addressed to avoid discomfort and other complications. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. Thankfully, death from prostate cancer is rare because of early detection and intervention.

While there are factors that increase the risk for prostate cancer—older age (50+), genetics and family history, race and ethnicity (especially African American and Caribbean men of African ancestry), geography (especially the U.S.), and others—prostate exams are now recommended annually for all men after age 50, regardless of factors that have been associated with increased or decreased risk.

Prostate exams

• Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test—A blood test to measure the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood.  PSA is a protein made only by the prostate gland.  There is no specific normal or abnormal level of PSA in the blood, and the test is far from perfect in detecting all prostate cancers, but it is one indicator and a good starting point.

• Digital rectal exam (DRE)—The prostate is just forward of the rectum.  The provider will insert a single finger to the point of the prostate to feel for irregularities in shape, size, and texture.  Note that irregularities do not always indicate cancer, but need further evaluation.