Since routine PSA testing for men started in the 1980s, the five year survival rate for prostate cancer has jumped from 75 to 99 percent.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), there will be more than 215,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in the U.S. this year. The organization also reports that one in six men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. There are more than 2 million survivors living today in the U.S.
Critics of PSA screening say it can lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary testing. But supporters say the benefits outweigh the risks.
Predisposing factors can increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, including age, family history of the disease and race. More than 70 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are over the age of 65, so it is important for men to start having regular prostate exams beginning as early as age 50.
Men with a family history of the disease and African American men are at the highest risk and should begin having regular prostate exams at age 40.
Regular screenings are very important because they can detect the disease before symptoms develop.
