What To Know About 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.

The prostate tumor is detected by carrying out various tests that should show its presence. The Digital-Rectal exam which is carried out by the doctor who inserts a finger in gloves which has been lubricated into the rectum. The doctor should be able to estimate the size of the prostate glands and tell if there's the presence of any abnormal features or lumps on the glands.

The degree of the prostate specific antigens which are also produced by the prostate in the blood are measured by the Prostate Specific Antigen test. This test examines the PSA levels and measures its relation to the cancer. They are higher in men with the tumor present in their glands. The PSA levels risk increasing due to certain issues such as medical processes and medications and in other situations age and race could affect them too.

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 main purpose of the screening is to reduce the deaths of the patients as well as the metastasization of the disease. Prostate tumor patients have three possible occurrences. Some of them may die despite the early detection and adequate treatment, some of them will survive even with no prior screening procedures and some of them survive with the early detection and proper adequate treatment however, there's a lesser chance of survival in this case.

However the screening procedure may harm the patient in some cases. The PSA test mostly produces a fifty-fifty results that are not certain it may be true or false. These results are mostly brought up due to negative psychological situations such as constant worrying about cancer. Men who undergo biopsy may experience pain, fever, infections, urinary difficulties and bleeding and are required to consult medical help and require constant follow up. The long-term effect of the PSA screening is yet to be fully discovered. Although certain studies carried out have shown that the cancer's mortality reduction rates after the screens are very small.

The effects of the screen detected cancerous growth and the treatment process have been experienced by most men, they occur early and are too persistent and may expose the patient to a little or no risk to a premature death.

Effects of the screen tests and also treatment process are experienced more than the benefits by the patients. Patients risk over treatment or over diagnosis of cancer due to the screening and treatment of a disease that would have remained asymptomatic all their lives. They risk going through health deteriorating effects.

There is the need to examine the equilibrium between the pros and con's of the screen tests and treatment procedures. They should predetermine what it would do to them, if it would worsen the situation due to its devastating effects or prevent their deaths which has very low chances of occurring.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment

top