Prostate Exam in Elizabethtown, KY
Baptist Health Hardin: Screening for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer screenings such as blood tests and digital rectal exams can help detect cancer early on. Learn more about getting a prostate exam.
Prostate Exam in Elizabethtown, KY HealthTalks Transcript
Wesley Moore, DO, Family Medicine:
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Usually around 55 years old, we start trying to have discussions with men about this cancer and if it’s something they’re at risk for. Or, they could bring it up to their physician at any time in their life.
One of the biggest risk factors for prostate cancer is being a male. Some ethnicities are more at risk. African Americans have a significantly higher risk than others. Also, having a family history of prostate cancer is a big risk factor. Symptoms you may have would be more frequency with urination, trouble going to the bathroom, feeling like you’re not emptying your bladder all the way, or it’s just not your normal flow.
Types of screenings for prostate cancer are: There’s a blood test. It tests for PSA, which is the prostate-specific antigen. It’s something that the gland secretes, and it’s closely related to there being a higher risk, if it’s elevated. Also, there’s DRE, that’s the digital rectal exam. If the PSA is high, we would do the exam to see what’s going on. Early detection is very important in prostate cancer. The earlier we know the symptoms and know that there’s something that could be wrong, the earlier we can get something fixed, be able to prepare and treat those cancers, and maybe eliminate them. If prostate cancer is caught early, it’s a very treatable cancer.
