Health Tips

Today's post is a continuation of yesterday's one on prostate cancer. Missed it? Read it here! PSA in relation to the prostate stands for Prostate Specific Antigen. As the name suggests, PSA is a substance that is largely secreted by the prostate. It is a cancer marker often used as a preliminary test for prostate cancer. You might have heard about it during your annual health checkups. Testing for PSA is done using your blood. But before you decide to undergo this test, here are 3 things you should know: 1. PSA is not recommended as a screening test. PSA is not recommended as a screening test as its false positive rate can be as high as 75%! In other words, 3 out of 4 men with a high PSA reading do not have prostate cancer. False positives will cause you to be unduly worried and undertake further unnecessary medical investigations. 2. High PSA levels DO NOT automatically mean that you have prostate cancer. Various conditions other than prostate cancer can cause high PSA levels. These include benign prostate hyperplasia, prostatitis or urinary tract infections, and sexual intercourse. Even palpation during digital rectal examination by your doctor may cause elevated PSA too.

DECIPHERING MEDICAL JARGON Prostatitis: -itis inflammation. Inflammation of the prostate

3. More information is required to make an informed medical opinion and diagnosis. PSA test results should be interpreted together with other information, such as physical examination, ultrasonography, and biopsy results.

DECIPHERING MEDICAL JARGON Biopsy: medical procedure to obtain tissue for testing

  Therefore, we highly encourage you to approach your doctor first to have a personalised medical consultation and opinion, rather than head directly to the nearest medical laboratory for a blood test. Too busy to do so? Approach our doctors on the Doc2Us app now for a quick consultation!

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This post was sponsored by Scott's Shavers.