Myth 9

We are amazed at the number of men who confuse a Colonoscopy with a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) “The Finger”. We first highly recommend you know what your Prostate is and know the test is a simple Blood Test and a “finger wave”.

Fact: Some prostate cancer experts recommend against regular PSA testing, but not necessarily because of the test itself — which is just a simple blood test. PSA screening certainly isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t pose any actual danger to your health. The real hazard is anxiety and sometimes faulty decision-making when it comes to interpreting and acting on PSA results. According to the American Cancer Society, PSA levels usually go above 4 when prostate cancer develops. However, a PSA level between 4 and 10 results in a prostate cancer diagnosis only about 25 percent of the time. These recommendations are under review and are up for discussion.

Causes of a high PSA can range from things like bicycling to ejaculation. As a result, some men are given invasive biopsies that aren’t needed. Or, if they do have cancer, they may be treated aggressively for slow-growing tumors that might never have caused any issues.

Which is not to say that PSA tests aren’t valuable or that they can’t save lives. In the years since they’ve been widely used, prostate cancer diagnoses have gone up — but “the death rate is going down.” This is at least in part because PSA tests lead to more investigation, which can find cancer early when it’s more receptive to treatment. Talk with your doctor about whether — and how often — you should be screened for prostate cancer.