Answers On Prostate Cancer Screening

By Olive Pate


Great progress has been made in cancer treatment. Prostate cancer screening is a process that involves the detection of cancerous growth before its symptoms become visible despite the slow growth of the cancerous cells which may grow or not.

Tests are often carried out to view and tell the extent and presence of the prostate cancer. The first test to determine any abnormalities around the prostate glands and the presence of any lumps on the glands. This is referred to as the Digital-Rectal Exam carried out by a physician who introduces a lubricated finger with gloves to the rectum.

The prostate specific antigen which is made by the prostate in the blood is performed a test that measures its level of production. The higher the PSA levels in a patient the higher the chances of the cancerous growth present. The PSA levels could also be accelerated by other medical procedures and medication, sometimes age and race.

The PSA based screening procedures may result in the detection of many cases of asymptomatic cancer. The asymptomatic cancer may result into a non-progressive or progressive tumor that would have otherwise remained asymptomatic.

The screening is purposed to lower the deaths resulting from the disease. It is also meant to slow down and prevent metastasizing of the disease. Depending on how far the cancerous growth has spread, men detected with the tumor are described in three ways.Those who ultimately result in death in spite of the early detection and treatment, those who survive without the screening procedures and those who end up surviving due to the early detection of the disease and suitable treatment however mild its chances of survival are.

Negative psychological traumas such as constant agitation concerning cancer could affect the PSA test results. These results have uncertainty and are not a hundred percent reliable. The screening procedure may harm the patient and bring about certain effects such as pain, fever, bleeding, infections and urinary difficulties. The treatment procedures such as biopsies could also lead to the patient experiencing some of these effects and are thus advised to consult medical advice as soon as they occur.

The screen detection and the treatment process of the tumor have caused most if not all effects experienced by most patients, they are too persistent and unprecedented thus may cause an early death.

Most men will experience effects more than the benefits brought about by the screening as well as the treatment process. There's a chance of over treating or over diagnosis of cancerous growth this means that the men will experience adverse effects due to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease which would have probably remained asymptomatic their entire lives.

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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