Quiz: Should I Get Screened for Prostate Cancer?

Some men have risk factors that can raise their chances of getting prostate cancer, including older age, race/ethnicity, family history, and inherited gene changes.

For example, prostate cancer develops more often in African American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races. And when it does develop in these men, they tend to be younger.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men have a chance to make an informed and shared decision with their health care provider about whether to be screened for prostate cancer. The decision should be made after getting information about the possible benefits, risks, and uncertainties of prostate cancer screening.

Shared decision-making is a process where decisions about your care are made with you, rather than someone making the decisions for you. The process involves sharing information back and forth.

Shared decision-making can help you consider the benefits, risks, and uncertainties of prostate cancer screening. The Prostate Cancer Screening Decision Aid is a tool that can help you prepare for this conversation.

Even after a decision about screening has been made, the discussion about the pros and cons of screening should be repeated as new information about the benefits and risks of testing becomes available. Further discussions are also needed to consider changes in your general health, preferences, and values.

Screening for prostate cancer typically starts with a blood test called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is a protein made by cells in the prostate gland (both normal cells and cancer cells). The chance of having prostate cancer goes up as the PSA level goes up.

But the PSA test results cannot tell for sure if a man does or doesn’t have prostate cancer. This is because other factors can raise the PSA level. If your PSA level is high, you might need more tests to look for prostate cancer.