The Lowdown on Prostate Specific Antigen Testing
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If your doctor suspects that you are at risk of getting prostate cancer, one of the first tests he or she will direct you to take is prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing. Before you walk into the clinic to get this test, read on to find out more about what's involved in it, and what the results could tell you.
Prostate specific antigen is a protein that is made in the prostate gland. This substance is present in all men in minimal levels. Once it has exceeded the normal level, however, it may indicate the presence of cancer.
The level of prostate-specific antigen in the body is detected by having a blood test specifically geared to discover the PSA count. Cancer cells may be localized (growing in a limited location) or metastatic (malignant and spreading to other tissues). Metastatic tumors are quite common in advanced cancer stages.
It does not mean, however, that men with higher-than-normal levels of PSA certainly have cancer. PSA levels may also increase as a result of sexual activity (ejaculation), an injury, a digital rectal exam, swelling of the prostate gland (prostatitis). It is therefore important to regulate your activities carefully before the blood test, and to tell your doctor if you have experienced an injury or an illness that may be relevant to your PSA levels.
Also, the amount of PSA produced by the glands naturally increases as the prostate becomes larger - and prostate enlargement is normal for men in their middle ages, or older. An enlarged prostate is no indication of cancer, nor is it a portent that a person is prone to develop prostate cancer. It is simply uncomfortable and quite treatable, especially if detected early.
Understandably, cancer of the prostate occurs most often to elderly men. However, men as young as 30 years old have been known to fall victim to prostate cancer. The kind of cancer that besets younger men is often of a more aggressive type than the slow cancer that is common among the elderly. This is why it is important that early signs of cancer be detected and treated immediately, especially for younger men.
Prostate specific antigen testing is the most accurate means of early detection of prostate cancer. It may seem like little more than a blood test, but it is vital to knowing the state of your physical health.