PSA Testing -To Screen Or Not to Screen-What the Experts are Saying

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men with 250,000 new cases every year. The disease can be detected by screening with a PSA blood test and a digital rectal exam. Some men with prostate cancer will go on to treatment and are at risk for complications including impotence or erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence or leaking urine.
The American Urologic Association has just released new guidelines for prostate cancer screening that I would like to share with you and hope that you can use this information to make a decision if prostate cancer screening is appropriate for you.

Guideline Statement 1: The Panel recommends against PSA screening in men under age 40 years. In this age group there is a low prevalence of clinically detectable prostate cancer, no evidence demonstrating benefit of screening and likely the same harms of screening as in other age groups.

Guideline Statement 2: The Panel does not recommend routine screening in men between ages 40 to 54 years at average risk, i.e., those men who do not have a family member with prostate cancer or men of African American race. For men younger than age 55 years at higher risk (e.g. positive family history or African American race), decisions regarding prostate cancer screening should be individualized.

Guideline Statement 3: For men ages 55 to 69 years the Panel recognizes that the decision to undergo PSA screening involves weighing the benefits of preventing prostate cancer mortality in 1 man for every 1,000 men screened over a decade against the known potential harms associated with screening and treatment. For this reason, the Panel strongly recommends shared decision-making between doctor and patient for men age 55 to 69 years that are considering PSA screening, and proceeding based on a man’s values and preferences. The greatest benefit of screening appears to be in men ages 55 to 69 years.

Guideline Statement 4: To reduce the harms of screening, a routine screening interval of two years or more may be preferred over annual screening in those men who have participated in shared decision-making and decided on screening. As compared to annual screening, it is expected that screening intervals of two years preserve the majority of the benefits and reduce overdiagnosis and false positives. Additionally, intervals for rescreening can be individualized by a baseline PSA level.

Guideline Statement 5: The Panel does not recommend routine PSA screening in men over age 70 years or any man with less than a 10 to 15 year life expectancy.
Some men over age 70 years who are in excellent health may benefit from prostate cancer screening.

Bottom Line: I think not to screen men at all is probably not a good idea. However, in selected men, the decision not to screen is probably a good one. I do believe that men need to have a discussion with their doctors and decide on a case by case basis whether or not to screen for prostate cancer using the PSA test.

Screening For Prostate Cancer-New Guidelines and One Doctor’s Advice

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non–skin cancer among U.S. men. It can be life-threatening, and many men have cancer without knowing it. For those reasons, doctors sometimes look for prostate cancer in healthy men (screen for cancer) by measuring blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein secreted by the prostate gland. High PSA levels can be caused by cancer and may lead a doctor to take a sample of prostate tissue to see whether cancer is present (biopsy). Most prostate cancer grows very slowly, however, and many men with prostate cancer die of other causes. Neither PSA testing nor prostate biopsy tells doctors with certainty which cases of prostate cancer are threatening and which require treatment. As a result, many men with slow-growing cancer have biopsies and treatment after PSA testing that they would not have needed if doctors had never tested them.

The value of the PSA test has recently come into question, however, with several studies suggesting it causes men more harm than good — spotting too many slow-growing tumors that, especially in older patients, may never lead to serious illness or death. In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential government-appointed panel, advised against any routine use of the PSA test for prostate cancer in all men.

Since most urologists consider the Task Force’s guidelines and global ban on PSA testing far too stringent For that reason, a group of experts at the recent 2013 American Urologic Association’s annual meeting in San Diego recently recommended against annual testing and prostate biopsies at certain PSA levels, usually a level greater than 4.0ng\ml. It is possible that using the PSA test differently (for example, by testing less often) would still be useful but reduce the harms of unnecessary treatment such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction that come from more frequent testing.

What are the new AUA recommendations? There are several ways of using the PSA test to help men make the diagnosis of prostate cancer while reducing the harms of testing. The first way is to stop screening after age 70 years because men older than 70 years tend to have higher PSA levels without having prostate cancer, or if they have cancer, it is usually the slow-growing variety and does not result in a cause of older men’s mortality. Another way to use the new guidelines included measuring PSA levels less frequently such as every two years in men whose levels are normal especially when the initial PSA levels are less than 1.0ng\ml. Finally, the doctor caring for older men might recommend that they have higher levels of PSA before recommending a biopsy and possible unnecessary treatment.

It is hoped that the new recommendations by the American Urologic Association will result in more personalized health management where discussions will take place between doctor and patient and where the risk of having prostate cancer and the age of the man are balanced against the value of screening.
The new AUA guidelines are more nuanced. The group does recommend against the PSA test for men under age 40 or for those aged 40 to 54 at average risk for prostate cancer.

The AUA says, however, that men aged 55 to 69 should talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of PSA screening and make a decision based on their personal values and preferences.

Routine PSA screening is not recommended for men over age 70 or any man with less than a 10- to 15-year life expectancy.

The best evidence of benefit from PSA screening was among men aged 55 to 69 screened every two to four years. In this group, PSA testing was found to prevent one death a decade for every 1,000 men screened. The guidelines also said PSA screening could benefit men in other age groups who are at higher risk of prostate cancer due to factors such as race, i.e., African American men and men with family history of prostate cancer. These men should discuss their risk with a doctor and assess the benefits and potential harms of PSA testing.

Bottom Line: What do I recommend that you tell patients? I agree with the guidelines that men over age 70 probably do not need to be tested. Also men younger than age 50 do not need to be tested. The exception is African American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer. I would not test a man with multiple chronic conditions, which would decrease his life expectancy to less than 10 years. I would also suggest that men with very low PSA levels, i.e., less than 1.0ng\ml, be tested every two years.

Finally, the discussions between a patient and his doctor on the PSA test are extremely important. I suggest you ask the man if he gets a PSA test, would he submit to a prostate biopsy and if he has prostate cancer would he accept treatment for the condition? If the answer is no, then I would document this in the chart and not obtain the test.

PCA3 Test For Prostate Cancer-It’s The New Kid On the Prostate Cancer Block

Many American men have heard that a recent task force advised against PSA testing for ALL men. I have weighed in on this advice in a previous blog and suggest that all men over the age of 50 and all men at increased risk for prostate cancer which include African-American men and men with a close relative with prostate cancer have a discussion with their doctor about PSA testing.

Now there is a new test, PCA3 which is more sensitive than the standard PSA test and can be helpful 1) for men who have an elevated PSA make a decision regarding a biopsy, 2) for men who have had a negative biopsy but there is a suspicion that prostate cancer is present, or 3) for men with a positive biopsy for prostate cancer and to know how aggressive is the prostate cancer which may help suggest if treatment is indicated or if watchful waiting is the appropriate form of management.

The PCA3 test a gene-based test to aid in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The test consists of a urine sample collected after a digital rectal examination. The doctor will receive the results as a numerical value between 4-125. The higher the PCA3 score the more likely the biopsy will be positive. The lower the PCA3 score the more likely the biopsy will be positive. Keep in mind that the decision to perform a biopsy is also dependent on other factors such as your age, family history of prostate cancer, and the results of the digital rectal exam, prostate size and PSA value. If you and your doctor decide not to perform a biopsy, you may repeat the PCA3 test after 3-6 months. In the absence of prostate cancer, the PCA3 score will remain the same or vary only slightly over time. If the PCA3 increases significantly, a biopsy may be indicated.

Bottom Line: the digital rectal examination and the PSA test are still good screening tests for prostate cancer. The PCA3 test is a refinement of the other two tests and help make the diagnosis of prostate cancer and help decide upon the treatment or help with the monitoring of patients who decide to follow their cancer with watchful waiting.

Treatment of Prostate Cancer in Older Men-Warren Buffet’s Experience

No one knows the right answer for the management of prostate cancer in older men. I would like to share an article that appeared in a blog by my friend, Dr. Kevin Pho

A version of this column was published on April 24, 2012 in USA Today.

There has been a recent uptick of elderly men in my primary care clinic asking about prostate cancer, perhaps because they heard of Warren Buffett’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis and his proposed treatment.

Patients are wondering if they should also be screened. Other patients who already have been diagnosed are wondering if they should receive radiation treatment for their prostate cancer, as Buffett is planning to do. It is very important to remember that what’s right for Buffett may not be right for everyone else.

According to Buffett’s letter to shareholders, his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) had been “regularly checked for many years.” A sudden jump in his PSA level led to a prostate biopsy and cancer diagnosis. But should an 81-year-old man even be screened for prostate cancer?

The evidence says no. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of non-government clinicians providing data-based practice guidelines, recommends against prostate cancer screening for healthy men. Studies over the years, which have included participation of more than 300,000 men of various ages, have failed to show prostate cancer screening saves lives.

“If there is significant benefit, it should have been apparent by now, and it is not,” said Virginia Moyer, chair of the task force.

The guidelines of other organizations, which are not as stringent as those suggested by the task force, also question Buffett’s routine prostate cancer screening. For instance, the American Cancer Society and American Urological Association both recommend that doctors discuss the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening with men whose additional life expectancy exceeds 10 years. Even by that measure, screening Buffett — who can expect to live another eight years, based on actuarial data from the Social Security Administration — is questionable.

According to his letter, Buffett was diagnosed with Stage 1 prostate cancer, meaning the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate. The prognosis is generally excellent for this early-stage cancer, and for many men, just monitoring the cancer to ensure it doesn’t spread is proper. More aggressive treatments are available, including surgery and radiation therapy, which Buffett plans to undergo. The problem with these options is that the treatment may be worse than the disease.

The fact is, 75% of men over the age of 80 have cancer cells in their prostate, but in elderly men cancer grows so slowly that the men are much more likely to die of something else.

Moreover, for all men, prostate tests are not sophisticated enough to determine which of these cancers are dangerous and which are not. Without knowing, most men opt for treatment. But for every 1,000 men treated for prostate cancer, five will die of complications from surgery. Side effects of both SURGERY and radiation can include impotence, incontinence and frequent urination — all for a disease that, at Stage 1, has less than a 1% chance of causing death in the next 10 years.

The annual cost of PSA testing contributes $3 billion annually to health care spending, much of it paid for by Medicare and the Veterans Administration, without significant health benefits. In fact, Richard J. Ablin, the scientist who discovered PSA, calls its widespread use a “public health disaster.” Buffett’s high profile cancer coverage should have been an opportunity to educate the country that, for many, more conservative options would not only save them from harmful, unnecessary treatments, but also potentially reduce health costs.

Instead, some may view Buffett’s decision to screen for prostate cancer and aggressively treat it as the right thing to do. I’m not second-guessing the approach taken by Buffett and his medical team. And I also understand that some men would rather know their prostate cancer status and accept the risks of too much testing. but we should realize that Buffett’s prostate cancer path isn’t necessarily the right road for every man.

Kevin Pho is an internal medicine physician and on the Board of Contributors at USA Today. He is founder and editor of KevinMD.com, also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Warren Buffet And Prostate Cancer Screening

I have been asked multiple times today about Warren Buffet’s diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The questions include: Why was Mr. Buffet even screened for prostate cancer? and Why would Mr. Buffet be treated for prostate cancer with radiation therapy.

Mr. Buffett has disclosed that he will undergo radiation treatment for the cancer, but he is at greater risk for harm from the treatment than from the cancer itself. Long-term side effects of radiation treatment include erectile dysfunction, frequent urination, bleeding and rarely urinary incontinence.
Let’s look at the facts: The risks of screening are greater for an 80-year-old than a 60-year-old. If a healthy 82-year-old has a life expectancy to 94, and he is informed of the potential risks and benefits, then screening might be appropriate.
The longer a man lives, the more likely it is that he will develop prostate cancer. Autopsy studies among men in their 50s (who died of unrelated causes) showed that 10 percent had prostate cancer but didn’t know it. By the time men reach their 80s, autopsies show that nearly all of men will have prostate cancer. Thus older men are likely to die with prostate cancer and not from prostate cancer.

And in older men, even when cancer is found as a result of a P.S.A. test, the cancer typically is so slow-growing that it will never cause harm, and the man will die of another cause. There is no evidence that P.S.A. testing of men 75 or older saves lives, but the test increases the risk of harm from invasive biopsies and treatments that can cause pain, impotence and loss of urine.

So what to do? If you are over age 75, have no urinary symptoms, have multiple co-morbid conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, or hypertension, you may discuss the situation with your doctor and decide not to have the PSA test. Also, if you find out that you have prostate cancer but would not undergo treatment such as surgery or radiation, then you probably don’t need to do a PSA test.

Bottom Line: This is a situation where a discussion with your doctor is important. A thought out decision is really the best decision. For more information, please go to my website, http://www.neilbaum.com

Screen Tests Are Not Just For Male Movies Stars

Getting the right screening test at the right time is one of the most important things a man can do for his health. Screenings find diseases early, before you have symptoms, when they’re easier to treat. Early colon cancer can be nipped in the bud. Finding diabetes early may help prevent complications such as vision loss and impotence. The tests you need are based on your age and your risk factors.

Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in American men after skin cancer. It tends to be a slow-growing cancer, but there are also aggressive, fast-growing types of prostate cancer. Screening tests can find the disease early, sometimes before symptoms develop, when treatments are most effective.
Screenings for healthy men may include both a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. The American Cancer Society advises men to talk with a doctor about the risks and limitations of PSA screening as well as its possible benefits. Discussions should begin at:
• 50 for average-risk men
• 45 for men at high risk. This includes African-Americans.
• 40 for men with a strong family history of prostate cancer
The American Urological Association recommends a first-time PSA test at age 40, with follow-ups per doctor’s orders.

Testicular Cancer
This uncommon cancer develops in a man’s testicles, the reproductive glands that produce sperm. Most cases occur between ages 20 and 54. The American Cancer Society recommends that all men have a testicular exam when they see a doctor for a routine physical. Men at higher risk (a family history or an undescended testicle) should talk with a doctor about additional screening. I suggest that most men learn how to do a self-examination. You can gently feeling for hard lumps, smooth bumps, or changes in size or shape of the testes. If you find an abnormality, contact your doctor. For more information on testis self-examination, please go to my website: http://www.neilbaum.com/testes-self-examination-tse.html

Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer. Men have a slightly higher risk of developing it than women. The majority of colon cancers slowly develop from colon polyps: growths on the inner surface of the colon. After cancer develops it can invade or spread to other parts of the body. The way to prevent colon cancer is to find and remove colon polyps before they turn cancerous.
Screening begins at age 50 in average-risk adults. A colonoscopy is a common test for detecting polyps and colorectal cancer. A doctor views the entire colon using a flexible tube and a camera. Polyps can be removed at the time of the test. A similar alternative is a flexible sigmoidoscopy that examines only the lower part of the colon. Some patients opt for a virtual colonoscopy — a CT scan — or double contrast barium enema — a special X-ray — although if polyps are detected, an actual colonoscopy is needed to remove them.

Skin Cancer
The most dangerous form of skin cancer is melanoma (shown here). It begins in specialized cells called melanocytes that produce skin color. Older men are twice as likely to develop melanoma as women of the same age. Men are also 2-3 times more likely to get non-melanoma basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers than women are. Your risk increases as lifetime exposure to sun and/or tanning beds accumulates; sunburns accelerate risk.
The American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Dermatology recommend regular skin self-exams to check for any changes in marks on your skin including shape, color, and size. A skin exam by a dermatologist or other health professional should be part of a routine cancer checkup. Treatments for skin cancer are more effective and less disfiguring when it’s found early.

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Your risk for high blood pressure increases with age. It’s also related to your weight and lifestyle. High blood pressure can lead to severe complications without any prior symptoms, including an aneurysm — dangerous ballooning of an artery. But it can be treated. When it is, you may reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. The bottom line: Know your blood pressure. If it’s high, work with your doctor to manage it.
Blood pressure readings give two numbers. The first (systolic) is the pressure in your arteries when the heart beats. The second (diastolic) is the pressure between beats. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher, and in between those two is prehypertension — a major milestone on the road to high blood pressure. How often blood pressure should be checked depends on how high it is and what other risk factors you have.

Cholesterol Levels
A high level of LDL cholesterol in the blood causes sticky plaque to build up in the walls of your arteries (seen here in orange). This increases your risk of heart disease. Atherosclerosis — hardening and narrowing of the arteries — can progress without symptoms for many years. Over time it can lead to heart attack and stroke. Lifestyle changes and medications can reduce this “bad” cholesterol and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.
The fasting blood lipid panel is a blood test that tells you your levels of total cholesterol, LDL “bad” cholesterol, HDL “good” cholesterol, and triglycerides (blood fat). The results tell you and your doctor a lot about what you need to do to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Men 20 years and older should have a new panel done at least every five years. Starting at 35, men need regular cholesterol testing.

Type 2 Diabetes
One-third of Americans with diabetes don’t know they have it. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness from damage to the blood vessels of the retina (shown here), nerve damage, and impotence. This doesn’t have to happen. Especially when found early, diabetes can be controlled and complications can be avoided with diet, exercise, weight loss, and medications.
A fasting plasma glucose test is most often used to screen for diabetes. More and more doctors are turning to the A1C test, which tells how well your body has controlled blood sugar over time. Healthy adults should have the test every three years starting at age 45. If you have a higher risk, including high cholesterol or blood pressure, you may start testing earlier and more frequently.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It’s in the blood and other body secretions of infected individuals, even when there are no symptoms. It spreads from one person to another when these secretions come in contact with the vagina, anal area, mouth, eyes, or a break in the skin. There is still no cure or vaccine. Modern treatments can keep HIV infection from becoming AIDS, but these medications can have serious side effects.
HIV-infected individuals can remain symptom-free for many years. The only way to know they are infected is with a series of blood tests. The first test is called ELISA or EIA. It looks for antibodies to HIV in the blood. It’s possible not to be infected and still show positive on the test. So a second test called a Western blot assay is done for confirmation. If you were recently infected, you could still have a negative test result. Repeat testing is recommended. If you think you may have been exposed to HIV, ask your doctor about the tests.
Most newly infected individuals test positive by two months after infection. But up to 5% are still negative after six months. Safe sex — abstinence or always using latex barriers such as a condom or a dental dam — is necessary to avoid getting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. If you have HIV and are pregnant, talk with your doctor about what needs to be done to reduce the risk of HIV infection in your unborn child. Drug users should not share needles.

Glaucoma
This group of eye diseases gradually damages the optic nerve and may lead to blindness — and significant, irreversible vision loss can occur before people with glaucoma notice any symptoms. Screening tests look for abnormally high pressure within the eye, to catch and treat the condition before damage to the optic nerve.
Glaucoma Screening
Eye tests for glaucoma are based on age and personal risk:
• Under 40: Every 2-4 years
• 40-54: Every 1-3 years
• 55-64: Every 1-2 years
• 65 up: Every 6-12 months
Talk with a doctor about earlier, more frequent glaucoma screening, if you fall in a high-risk group: African-Americans, those with a family history of glaucoma, previous eye injury, or use of steroid medications.

Bottom Line: There’s a saying New Orleans that if ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well that doesn’t apply to maintaining your car and it certainly doesn’t apply to your health and well-being. Men need to have screening tests in order to detect disease states early when they are treatable and curable.

Prostate cancer test promising- A Simple urinalysis might lead to more-precise diagnoses

Prostate cancer test promising
Urinalysis might lead to more-precise diagnoses.

Researchers said Thursday they are closer to developing a urine test that can better detect which prostate cancers are aggressive and potentially life-threatening.
Such a test would be welcome. More than half of prostate cancers are slow growing and unlikely to kill, and experts say watchful waiting is the best option for many patients — especially if doctors were better able predict their course.
Currently, biopsies — in which several small tissue samples are taken from different parts of the prostate — are used to try to identify large, aggressive tumors.
The hope is that an accurate urine test might in some cases replace the need for biopsy, while easing fears in men who opt to delay or forgo treatment.
The study included 401 men, about 70 from San Antonio, who were picked because doctors thought their cancers were low-risk and good candidates for watchful waiting. Of those, the urine test found about 10 percent had more aggressive disease, making them candidates for surgery — results that were confirmed by biopsy.
Prostate biopsies are invasive and don’t always pick up all of the cancer. Post-digital-rectal exam urine collection is much less invasive. If a urine-based diagnostic test could be developed that could predict aggressive disease or disease progression as well as or better than a biopsy, that would be ideal.
The urine tests, PCA3 and T2-ERG, together provide a kind of genetic profile of the cancer. Added to the current PSA test, a digital rectal exam and factors such as age, race and family history, they could help doctors make more accurate predictions if the results are confirmed in the larger study.

Bottom Line: Ultimately, doctors would like to be able to have these tests and be able to confirm the man has a low-risk cancer which means less treatment, less complications, less side effects, and longer survival. Instead of seeing the patient every six months and doing a biopsy every two years, your doctor might tell men with low risk cancers: “You have a low-risk cancer, see you in five years.”

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Prostate-cancer-test-promising-2969055.php#ixzz1lbdmooJc

MOVEMBER – THE MONTH FOR MEN’S HEALTH

Moustache Season is finally upon us and just in time for Mo Bros everywhere to get their annual health check up. Lets face the facts, most men are known to be more indifferent towards their health, and studies suggest that 24% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women. Maintaining a good diet, smart lifestyle choices, and getting regular medical check-ups and screening tests can dramatically influence your health. Regardless of age or background, stay on top of your health by following these very important steps:

HAVE AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL
Find a doctor and make a yearly appointment each Movember for a general health check. Getting annual checkups, preventative screening tests, and immunizations are among the most important things you can do to stay healthy. By regularly visiting your doctor, you can greatly minimize your risk level for a number of conditions, from high blood pressure to diabetes to cancer. What better way could there be to celebrate Movember than calling your doctor to schedule a check-up?

KNOW YOUR FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY
Start a discussion with your relatives about health issues that have affected your family. Men with a family history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, so know your family history.

DON’T SMOKE!
If you do smoke, stop! Compared to non-smokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer. Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer death in men.

BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
If you are not already doing some form of exercise, start small and work up to a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. If you’re already there, set your sights on 60-minute days.

EAT A HEART HEALTHY DIET
Fill up with fruits, vegetables, whole grains; include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and eat foods low in saturated fats, trans-fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

STAY AT A HEALTHY WEIGHT
Balance calories from foods and beverages with calories you burn off by physical activities. Over two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese! The USDA and leading cancer researchers suggest that we all fill up on vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, and choose lean proteins like fish and legumes over fatty ones like red meat. Evidence suggests that about a third of the 571,950 cancer deaths expected to occur will be related to obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and thus could be prevented.

MANAGE YOUR STRESS
Stress, particularly long-term stress, can be the factor in the onset or worsening of ill health. Managing your stress is essential to your health & well being should be practiced daily.

DRINK ALCOHOL IN MODERATION
Alcohol can be part of a healthy balanced diet, but only if it’s in moderation, which means no more than a few, drinks a day. A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Alcohol consumption is ok, but should be kept to no more than two drinks per day for men, and one for women.

Ready to be proactive about your health but not sure where to start? Download Movember’s health poster for a checklist by age of what to ask your doctor about.

Do you know the facts? Check out the Movember site for more information on men’s health.

http://us.movember.com/mens-health/resources/

Making Movember Magical-Grow A Moustache For Movember

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer.


On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Movember is supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas,

Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often-ignored issue of men’s health. 



At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world. 





The Movember Effect: Awareness & Education, Survivorship, Research

The funds raised in the US support prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Together, the three channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in line with our strategic goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research. 



For more information on the programs we are funding please visit the following:
Prostate Cancer Foundation
LIVESTRONG, The Lance Armstrong Foundation
Awareness & Education
Global Action Plan





Movember – a global movement
Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1.1 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate with formal campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and Ireland. In addition, Movember is aware of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas supporting the campaign and men’s health cause across the globe, from Russia to Dubai, Hong Kong to Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai, and everywhere in between. No matter the country or city, Movember will continue to work to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, and to act on that knowledge, thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment. 

In 2010, over 64,500 US Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising $7.5 million USD.

Bottom Line: If you are a man, consider putting a sprout on your upper lip for the month of November and celebrate men’s health. If you are a woman and care about your man, have him put a tickler under his nose to create awareness for men’s health.

PSA Screening-Advice From A Doctor On the Front Line and In The Trenches

What are the symptoms of early prostate cancer? Answer: there are NO early symptoms of prostate cancer. At this time, the ONLY way to diagnose prostate cancer is the PSA test or prostate specific antigen blood test.
The PSA test, which measures the amount of PSA protein released into blood, is by far the best tool I have for detecting this dreaded disease. A high PSA reading is a clear red flag. Because this type of cancer is almost always asymptomatic at first, the PSA — to a much greater extent than the annual digital rectal exam — is my best way to find it.
With over 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer every year in the USA, and more than 30,000 deaths (this number is decreasing because of the PSA), prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American men.
Two large long-term European studies showed a 30 percent-50 percent reduction in death from prostate cancer as a result of PSA screening. Even though not all studies showed the same dramatic results, to cast aside this test — seemingly on a whim — is bad public policy that appears to treat life with little regard. And mortality rates don’t tell the whole story: without the PSA, prostate cancer would often be detected at an advanced stage, leading to more suffering for the patient.
PSA screening is the way most prostate cancers are diagnosed today. Without the test, many men will learn of their prostate cancer well after there is a chance to cure the cancer.
This month, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said there’s no evidence that routine PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing saves lives. For the vast majority of men, the panel said, it may cause more harm than good. And last Monday, a study by Dartmouth College cast fresh doubt on the value of mammograms in fighting breast cancer. I, as well as most of my colleagues, am outraged at the publicity given to a recent report that suggests that men should not be screen for prostate cancer.
Of course we will diagnose some indolent cancers and miss lethal ones, and perhaps some doctors and frightened patients will rush forward rather than proceeding with caution. But finding exactly how and when to react to a rising PSA is part of the art of medicine.
If we cast aside the PSA, fewer men will become impotent or suffer the discomfort of additional testing. But more men will die.

Bottom Line: So what is my recommendation and the bottom line? There certainly is a role for cancer screening including prostate cancer and breast cancer. This is a decision that each man needs to make with the advice of his\her doctor.