Prostate cancer is still one of the leading cancers among
men, and it is projected that roughly one in every six
American men will be diagnosed with this type of cancer
within their lifetime.
Add to that the fact that these statistics may not account
for those that have not been diagnosed, and you have a full
fledged "epidemic", if you look at it from a percentage of
population standpoint. In fact, many people reading this
probably know someone that has been diagnosed with this
cancer, or may have even had a brush with it themselves.
Aside from the fact that it is a leading cancer form in
men, it also is considered in males to be a second leading
cause of death. It's no wonder that prostate cancer is at
the forefront of men's health and prevention in medical
research when it comes to prevention, detection and
treatment.
Researchers have been hard at work to come up with
alternative testing to the still most popular form of
testing, the PSA test. PSA stands for Prostate Specific
Antigen, which is an enzyme that is released by this
male-specific gland, which tends to be released in much
higher amounts when the gland is inflamed or enlarged, or
is fighting cancer.
It is a test combined with a digital rectal exam, that many
men find uncomfortable for obvious reasons, and may want to
naturally avoid after they reach the age of fifty years
old. This is the age when doctors recommend their male
patients start getting this test, since after fifty years
old the risk of getting this cancer increases significantly.
The PSA test itself is actually a simple blood test, and
has been criticized for sometimes being unreliable and
creating false positives and false negatives, hence the
search for better screening methods. The screening method
that is being worked on currently is one that may be more
spot-on than the current mode of detection via rectal exam
combined with the PSA test.
It is the new buzzword in the scientific community for a
variety of diseases and cancer in the world of detection :
genetic testing. Genetic testing has proven to be a very
promising method of finding cancer markers in individuals
because it can be more detailed in it's individual
assessment, and finding genes responsible for cancers and
other diseases is pretty much a fool proof method of
detecting likelihood of cancer or actual cancer itself.
While genetic testing can definitely help either to rule
out prostate cancer or to give the doctor and patient a
pretty good idea if further prevention or treatment should
take place, it cannot as of yet be used in and of itself as
a test, but instead is a stepping stone to determining the
validity of PSA screenings and digital rectal exams.
It's basically giving a more complete answer as to whether
tests that are done are actually an accurate predictor of
whether a patient has it, and whether treatment should be
commenced. Many doctors and patients feel that with a more
complete and definitive answer in testing, they feel more
comfortable with diagnosis and prevention testing, and more
confident that they are getting the correct results. This
renewed confidence could lead more men to take part in
prevention and detection screening.
Currently the largest studies in genetic testing for
prostate cancer are being carried out in Sweden, and are
looking promising, but as of yet they are not conclusive
and the method needs more defining and sharpening.
One thing is for sure, that genetic testing is proving to
be an up and coming tool in the definitive and more
accurate detection of many different kinds of cancers,
including breast cancer in women. With continued research
and refining, genetic testing may prove to be of great
benefit for men in the prevention of prostate cancer
advancement.
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Danna Schneider has contributed to and edits the popular
male sexual health website
http://www.maleenhancementmagazine.com/prosolution-pill-revi
ew/ dedicated to natural male enhancement. She also
manages the online herbal male enhancement news magazine
and alternative health portal called
http://www.maleenhancementmagazine.com .
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