Prostate Cancer evokes the same emotion in a man as breast cancer would in a woman. Prostate Cancer is one of the commonest cancers amongst men globally. Interestingly, prostate cancer is actually a spectrum of disease and not all men diagnosed with prostate cancer require treatment. The detection of early prostate cancer includes detecting both slow-growing and aggressive or fast-growing prostate cancer and the key is to diagnose the cancer early-on when patient is asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic.
So when do we investigate? All men over 45 years of age should routinely undergo some basic cancer screening recommendations. Faecal occult blood test, a digital rectal examination (DRE), a serum PSA(Prostate Specific Antigen) testing, if one is a chronic smoker then certain tests like a low dose CT scan of the chest is recommended after consultation with your doctor. If you have a significant family history of cancer which includes cancer in your brother, sister, parents or children; then one should visit an oncologist or a genetic counsellor for detailed discussion and appropriate investigations.
