61 / 92
BUILDING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2016 61
resembled my own, with a few differences in opinion here
and there. They are only guidelines and give direction but
they don’t have to be followed to the letter as sometimes
unique situations arise and different decisions made in the
interests and desires of the patient.
THE NEWPROSTATE SCREENING GUIDELINES
One of the important changes recommended is the
abandonment of the DRE (finger up the bum test) in
asymptomatic men as part of a routine general check-
up. I can almost feel the wave of anal muscle relaxation
wafting through the male community as a result of this
announcement.
From my perspective, it won’t be the end of that test for
me as there are instances that it will be required in certain
circumstances such as the follow up of abnormal PSA
blood test levels or when there is evidence of the prostate
gland blocking up the water works. I think the DRE may
have scared quite a few blokes away from getting a general
check-up and I hope a big plus about this announcement is
that more blokes now turn up for the necessary check-up.
Men’s health is not just prostate health after all.
The benefits and the possible harms of the PSA test
should be discussed. When should PSA blood testing
commence and how frequently should it be done? Prostate
cancer is largely an age related disease and hence the risk
increases as you get older. As part of a general check-up in
someone without a family history of prostate cancer, it is
now recommended that PSA testing commences at age 50
and then every two years until the age of 69. From 70 it can
be continued or ceased after the pros and cons of testing
are discussed as by this age the treatments may be worse
than the disease. This is because if prostate cancer develops
after 70 it may take a further 7 to 10 years to bump you off.
If there is family history of prostate cancer then the
starting year depends on the strength of the family history.
If your father or brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer
then they recommend PSA screening to begin at 45 and
continue every 2 years until 69. If you have a father and two
or more brothers with prostate cancer then it can start as
early as 40 years of age and similarly continues every two
years until 69 and then reviewed. They also don’t believe
that the PSA velocity or comparing how quickly the PSA level
increases over a series of PSA levels is of any benefit.
LANDSCAPE AUDIO