Am I blue? YES!
Thanks to the mixed messages of the medical community and the governmental overseers, and the seemingly increasing number of prostate cancer organizations, the message about prostate cancer screening and men's health issues is just becoming noise in the background.
Thanks to the strong marketing efforts of those that run the Susan B. Komen Foundation, breast cancer awareness surrounds us on nearly daily basis - no matter what month it is. My hat's off to all involved for making the campaign so successful for so long. The question is, how can there be as strong of a unified campaign toward men's health issues in regard to prostate cancer? It's a tough fight.
Let's face it . . . the discussion of medical issues "below the waist" for men OR women, are never a good topic for cocktail parties. At least not for an extended discussion that may actually have an impact on the issue at hand. But facts are facts - prostate cancer in men has a higher annual diagnosis rate than breast cancer in women, and has a higher mortality rate than that of breast cancer patients. But this isn't about comparing numbers - it's about trying to save lives and the quality of life for men who face prostate cancer surgery and treatments.
We have The Prostate Cancer Foundation, ZERO, Blue Cure Foundation, Us TOO International, Pints for Prostates, Prostate.Net, Men's Health Network, The Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) . . . . just to name a few. Generally, the message that gets out to men from each of these organizations is the same. GET TESTED! However, just from the fact that it the message is coming from so many different organizations it has become fragmented and diluted. There isn't a single voice, brand or name that one can hear or see and know that the issue is prostate cancer. This is just one thing that needs to change - a single organization/face to speak for all of the hard working and dedicated prostate cancer groups so that the message can be strong and unified.
Now, making things even more difficult in this arena, we have the government and medical community, like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), urging men to avoid using the PSA blood test for prostate cancer screening. Sure, we all know the PSA test can be flawed and does present numerous false positives. But does the medical community rely TOTALLY on this test for diagnosis? No, they don't. It is only the FIRST STEP in the investigation of a diagnosis. Perhaps instead of getting rid of the PSA test, better guidelines in providing information to men in preparation for the test are needed - or better yet a more accurate test.
The PSA test can show an elevation of the prostate specific antigen if the patient has recently dealt with an illness that resulted in an infection, or if he has had intercourse or masterbated in the previous 48 to 72 hours. Heck, even simply having BPH elevates the PSA. Does every doctor ask these questions of their patient? I would hope so. Do the doctors or their staff inform the patient to abstain from sex for a few days before the blood test to assure that these factors are taken out of the picture in an effort to better increase the accuracy of the blood work? I would guess the answer is an overwhelming "no".
How many of you reading this had your cancer initially found by means of the PSA test? I can imagine the percentage is nearly 100%. Now why is that? Generally it's the only test that is being used for early detection, but it's not the only means by which a diagnosis is made - it's just the first step.
My diagnosis at age 47 came after a PSA blood test came back at a "somewhat elevated" - 62.7 ng/ml. You could call that a bit over what would be considered "normal" for someone at that age. It was only though additional visits with a urologist, then a biopsy, that the word cancer was ever presented to my wife and I. Following RLP surgery at Sloan-Kettering, the pathology report stated that I had an aggressive and advanced stage 3Tb cancer - bordering on stage 4 with the finding of cancer in one of the lymph nodes removed during my procedure. (you've heard this before . . . a "few" times)
Is the PSA test flawed? Yes. Does the PSA blood test save lives? My wife and three sons say "Yes", as do my parents, in-laws and countless friends.
What do you say? Better yet, who are you going to tell?
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