New Public Awareness Campaign from Advanced Urology Institute
During September’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Advanced Urology Institute (AUI) wants to stress an important point—0.75.
If your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level increases by more than 0.75 in one year, it could be prostate cancer.
“Your PSA number is important, and so is the rate at which it changes,” said Dr. Scott Sellinger, an Advanced Prostate Cancer specialist at AUI. “There are men with a PSA of 20 who don’t have prostate cancer and men with a PSA of 2 who do.”
High levels of PSA do not always mean cancer and normal levels of PSA do not guarantee cancer is not present.
“What’s crucial for men is having a baseline. Know your normal PSA level and have it tested annually to alert you to any unusual changes. Finding and treating prostate cancer early, when treatment might be more effective, saves lives,” said Dr. Sellinger.
Both noncancerous and cancerous prostate cells make PSA, but cancerous cells tend to produce more: the PSA blood test measures and screens for this. A PSA test, along with a digital rectal exam, remains the best way to detect prostate cancer.
If it’s been over a year since your last PSA test or you’ve never had your PSA level tested, now is the time to get it done.
