Getting A PSA Test To Check For Prostate Cancer?

Cancer

Getting A PSA Test To Check For Prostate Cancer?

By
Dana Sparks

May 23, 2012

A top panel of medical experts, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, issued a decision this week in a long-debated men’s health controversy. The panel concluded that no man of any age should routinely be screened for prostate cancer using the popular prostate-specific antigen test (PSA).

Cancer screening tests — including the PSA test — can be a good idea. Prostate cancer screening can help identify cancer early on, when treatment is most effective. And a normal PSA test, combined with a digital rectal exam, can help reassure you that it's unlikely you have prostate cancer. But getting a PSA test for prostate cancer may not be necessary for some men, especially men 75 and older.

For more information from Mayo Clinic click here.