Doctors across the US are arguing with the U.S. Preventive Task Force recommendations to prevent healthy men of all ages to have their PSA’s checked, stating that PSA(prostate specific antigen) screening helps diagnosis early stages of prostate cancer. The physicians do understand that early detection of prostate cancer can often lead to unnecessary surgeries and radiation treatment, which can cause life-altering side effects, even though they don’t always extend the life of the patient. They also believe that if the physicians used up-to-date guidelines and techniques, the task force’s concerns would be minimized.
Dr. Scott Eggner, urologic oncologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center stated “In general, I think it’s a bad idea to encourage all young healthy men to stop getting tested. PSA screening definitely saves lives.”
CPC agrees with the physicians. PSA screening along with a digital rectal exam is the best option available to detect prostate cancer.