๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ค๐ถ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ต. ๐๐ข๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
In the first installment of The Peopleโs Tribuneโs Prostate Cancer Awareness Series, we looked at the possible warning signs of prostate cancer and an important reality, early prostate cancer often causes no symptoms at all. That leads naturally to one of the most common tools used to investigate prostate health, the PSA blood test.
For many men, however, getting the test is the easy part. Understanding the number that comes back can be much more confusing. Is 2 good? Is 4 bad? Does a PSA of 7 mean cancer? And at what point should a man become concerned?
The first thing to understand is that there is no single PSA number that can tell a man whether he has or does not have prostate cancer. PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein produced by prostate cells. The test measures how much of it is present in the blood, usually expressed as nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL.
What is considered normal?
Historically, a PSA below 4 ng/mL was often considered normal and anything above 4 prompted closer attention. Today, doctors know it is not that simple.
Many doctors still use 4 ng/mL as an important reference point, while others may begin looking more closely at levels of 2.5 or 3, particularly in younger or higher-risk men. Age can also be taken into account because PSA levels tend to rise as men get older.
Most men without prostate cancer have a PSA below 4. But a PSA below 4 does not guarantee that cancer is absent. The American Cancer Society notes that about 15 percent of men with PSA levels below 4 who undergo a biopsy are found to have prostate cancer.
This is why a doctor should interpret the result rather than a man simply comparing his number with something he found online.
What about PSA between 4 and 10?
Doctors sometimes describe PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL as the borderline range. According to the American Cancer Society, men within this range have roughly a one in four chance of having prostate cancer. Once PSA rises above 10, the likelihood of prostate cancer is greater than 50 percent.
Those figures are important, but they also show why an elevated PSA is not a cancer diagnosis. Even among men with PSA between 4 and 10, most will not ultimately be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The number is a signal that deserves further evaluation, not a verdict.
Plenty of things can raise PSA
Cancer is only one reason PSA can rise. Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, which is the non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate that becomes common with age, can increase PSA. Prostatitis, which is inflammation or infection of the prostate, can also cause an increase.
Recent ejaculation and vigorous exercise, particularly cycling, can temporarily influence PSA. Procedures involving the prostate can raise it as well. The National Cancer Institute advises that activities capable of temporarily raising PSA may need to be avoided for about two days before testing.
Certain medications can have the opposite effect. Drugs such as finasteride and dutasteride, which are commonly used to treat an enlarged prostate, can lower PSA. A doctor therefore needs to know what medications a patient is taking when interpreting the result.
One number is not always the whole story
An unexpectedly elevated PSA may lead to another PSA test rather than immediately to a biopsy. The National Cancer Institute notes that a doctor may recommend repeating the test in approximately six to eight weeks to determine whether the elevation persists.
Doctors may also consider previous PSA results, age, family history, prostate examination findings and other risk factors. Additional blood or urine tests can sometimes help estimate risk, while an MRI can be used to look for suspicious areas in the prostate before deciding whether a biopsy is necessary.
Ultimately, a PSA test cannot confirm prostate cancer. If the findings remain concerning, a biopsy, in which samples of prostate tissue are examined under a microscope, is used to determine whether cancer cells are present.
When should you start asking about PSA?
There is no one screening schedule for every man. The American Cancer Society recommends discussing prostate cancer screening with a healthcare provider from age 50 for men at average risk. It recommends beginning that conversation at 45 for Black men and men with a father or brother diagnosed before age 65, and at 40 for men with more than one close relative diagnosed at an early age.
For men in St. Maarten, particularly Black men and those with a family history of the disease, that conversation matters.
The takeaway from your PSA result should therefore not simply be, โIs my number above four?โ The better questions are: What does this number mean for me? Has it changed? What could be affecting it? And based on my age, history and risk, do I need further testing?
A high PSA deserves attention, not panic. A low PSA should not create false confidence. What matters most is understanding the result with your doctor and deciding what, if anything, should happen next.
Click here for more awareness via our previous previous coverage:
https://www.thepeoplestribunesxm.com/articles/prostate-cancer-can-be-silent-know-the-signs-and-know-when-to-check
https://www.thepeoplestribunesxm.com/articles/september-puts-prostate-cancer-back-in-focus-as-caribbean-death-toll-remains-high
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