Skip the PSA Test for Prostate Cancer?

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This article refers to the "implantation of radioactive seeds" as a treatment for prostate cancer, but this is an ancient and dangerous practice that has been discontinued and should be banned. This practice was the earliest form of Brachytherapy, but it leaves the patient radioactive for months and it was found that these "seeds" could move around in the body. There are even reports of them ending-up in, or near the heart!! Modern Brachytherapy treatment uses a programmed robotic machine to deliver a high-powered isotope directly into the tumor via catheters implanted by surgeons. This treatment is the gold-standard for prostate cancer with little or no side-effects and higher cure rates than radical prostectomy.

Ivan Morse 12:07PM January 24, 2012

WHAT SHOULD MY DOC BE DOING

IAN O DWYER 1:58PM March 08, 2011

i have no prostate,removed in 1997.my psa test is 67.what is wrong and what do i do now.????? how can i have a 67 with no prostate,what is hte test measuring????also i had a bad case of diahrea at the time of the test...

bob s. of NY 10:15AM February 21, 2011

My first increased PSA was in the early 1990's; when I was denied life insurance because it was 5.6. I am now 77 years old and the cancer is active; I'm in treatment (with Dr. Scholz) and am comfortable with the decision not to have any treatment at all for almost 20 years before starting hormone therapy. Imagine how many term life premiums that insurance company didn't get because they thought I was going to die soon!

DF of CA 4:45PM September 16, 2010

My PSA reading was 4.0 and two different Urologists recommended a radical
prostectomy -all was well until about 5 years later when my PSA started
rising again, urologists recommended radiation therapy. The radiation did not stop the PSA rise. Finally I had a lung operation for
suspected small cell carcinoma - which turned out to me metastatic prostate
cancer- was performed. I was under the care or Dr Mark Scholz by this time. I feel very well now and undergoing the Provenge treatment in
Dr Schulz's office. It is a great feeling to know I am being treated by
true Prostate Cancer Specialists versus treatment by typical urologists.

Bernie Marvin of AZ 2:47PM September 16, 2010

My case is similar to Tom's except that I was diagnosed at an even earlier age (43). I also had the surgery and fortunately, I have no incontinence problems but some ED issues. I use Cialis and so far, all is well. I am now 53 and look forward to a much longer life.
The only reason I was tested at such a younger age was because my father had the same surgery just two years before when he was 65. I was shocked that I even had an elevated level, although just barely. After a biopsy showed medium aggressive cells, I opted for surgery and have not regretted it since. I have a brother who will be 40 next year and I will push him for getting tested as well. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, you should be tested at an earlier age, at least to establish your baseline. In my case, I believe it did save my life.

Joe Miller of NJ 9:43AM September 16, 2010

Even more confirmation that PSA screening has harmed far more men that it has helped. The vast majority of men who have been told that PSA screening "saved their lives" were in fact harmed by unnecessary treatment(s) for a cancer that would never have caused symptoms in their lifetime. This has been confirmed repeatedly and even the american cancer society abandoned their recommendation for routine PSA screening because of these harms.

Dr Dan of WA 5:50AM September 16, 2010

At about age 55 I had a PSA test with an elevated reading. Subsequent tests (Including ultrasound, which showed a very large mass) indicated advanced prostate cancer near the terminal stages. I was sent to a specialist who then determined that it was in fact not cancer but an advanced BHP infection which would have shortly proved fatal. The antibiotic Cipro (Nasty stuff!) was prescribed and all was well. The point here is that the initial PSA test probably saved my life.
I think the PSA test is like the "chicken soup" cure...........Can't hurt.

T. Miller of CA 11:14PM September 15, 2010

It is a blood test that will establish a base line PSA for you. Not all prostate cancer is slow growing and may kill you at an early age if not treated. I know from personal experience as a routine PSA test showed an elevated PSA when I was 57 years old (I am now 70). A biopsy found cancer and the lab report showed a medium aggressive cancer (Gleason scale). I had the prostate removed as I didn't trust or want the side effects from the radiation or radioactive seeds or hormone therapy. If it is determined that you have prostate cancer my advice is do your homework and find the best surgeon you can find. I found that there is a wide range in the qualifications of the surgeons who specialize in prostate surgery. I have to use Viagra and Muse because of ED but they work and I would probably be dead now if I would have followed the advise of the authors of this article. GET A PSA test!!!
Tom Price

Tom of OH 9:29PM September 15, 2010

MEN, ignor this study and its bogus findings.
"Skip the PSA Test for Prostate Cancer?"
Only if you have a death wish.
The PSA test is a simple blood test and is the ONLY indicator available for the detection of the development
of prostate cancer at an early enough stage to be treated successfully.
Rectal examination is not a total waste of time but almost. The exam may detect an imperfection but only on the area avalable which in reality is less than 0.001% of the total prostate mass. Nobody can be given a clean bill of prostate health based on the rectal exam.
Early detection and treatment is vital where aggressive cancers are growing.
As a prostate cancer survivor of 11 year years now (diagnosed and treated at age 56) I urge you, please alert all men to take a PSA test at an early age, and then every year after in order to monitor their prostate health, there are no symptoms to indicate to men that there may be a cancerous problem with their prostate, if no testing is done the potential is that when a man complains to his doctor about his weight loss or other malady, the death sentence has already been passed due to the prostate cancer having metastasized to other parts of his body where usually it is untreatable.
Elevated or elevating PSA levels do NOT automatically mean a cancer is growing.
BHP is an infection of the prostate and will also produces higher PSA readings.
Cycling which can have a massaging effect on the prostate can also be the cause of elevated PSA levels.
So, first the PSA test, then depending on the readings and (usually) more importantly the relativity to the previous readings, where continuous or significant elevation is found, several biopsy samples would be taken in conjunction with ultrasound technology to sample the apparent problem areas.
Then, if a sample is found to be cancerous, a treatment based on the aggressiveness of the sample can be undertaken.
(The potential cancers are graded by their considered aggressiveness).
In my own case I had Brachytherapy, (the implantation of irradiated "seeds" in the prostate) in conjunction with external beam radiation.
I had paid for a PSA test ($25.00) as an additional item when I went for a full physical examination after not having seen a doctor for over ten years. It was the following year after the second PSA test that a biopsy was ordered after significantly elevated PSA levels were seen. I was told I was not a prospective candidate for brachytherapy because my cancer was very aggressive and too far advanced, however after selecting a new medical team that course of action was undertaken.
Without the PSA test and a wonderful medical team I would have died some years ago, being diagnosed early and thus enabling my treatment, priceless.
Dave Grant.