Frequently Asked Questions About Prostate Cancer

1. What is the purpose of screening?
2. How many screening tests are there?

 THE PSA TEST (with Answers)

1. Can the PSA test tell me if I have prostate cancer?
2. Can the PSA test indicate cancers long before symptoms develop?
3. What could an elevated PSA and a bump on my prostate mean?
4. What can the PSA blood test tell me?
5. If I am not expected to live more than 10 years because of other health issues, should I bother with the test?
6. At what age should I consider having my first test?
7. Is there one specific test that will tell me for sure, if I have prostate cancer?
8. Should I have a PSA test if I’m over 75?
9. Before I get tested, do I have to take any pills or laxative? Any preparations of any kind?          
10. Does the PSA test hurt?
11. How long does it take?
12. Will I have any after-effects from the PSA test like pain or nausea?
13. How much will it cost me?
14. When will I get the results?
15. What is a “base line” PSA test?
16. What is the best thing that might happen to me if I have a PSA blood test?
17. What is the worst thing that might happen to me if I have a PSA blood test?
18. What’s the worst thing that could happen if I choose not to have a PSA test?
19. Is screening for men who already have symptoms of prostate cancer?
20. If I choose to be tested, who will perform the screening?
21. What happens next if the test indicates I might have cancer?
22. Is the PSA test a routine part of a standard battery of tests that I might have?
23. What percent of men have a PSA screening each year?
24. What is the average age of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer?

 THE PROSTATE GLAND  (with  Answers)

1. How big is my prostate and where is it?
2. What’s the function of the prostate?
3. Do I need my prostate to make babies?
4. Do I need my prostate to be potent (to get an erection)?
5. What is PSA?

 PROBLEMS OF PROSTATE CANCER  (with Answers)

1. How many men in the U.S. will die of prostate cancer in 2009?
2. How serious a problem is prostate cancer in the US?
3. How many men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year?
4. How many men are screened for prostate cancer each year?
5. How many men have been diagnosed with prostate cancer because of screening?
6. What is the chance of my dying of prostate cancer?
7. How many men will have prostate cancer sometime during their life?
8. How many men died of prostate cancer in 1997?
9. How many died in 2007?
10. What caused the drop in the number of deaths?

 WHAT ARE THE ODDS?  (with  Answers)

1. Who is at risk for prostate cancer?
2. What’s my chance of getting prostate cancer according to my age?
3. What percent of men over 50 who are tested will have an elevated PSA?
4. Of those 10-15%, how many will be diagnosed with prostate cancer?
5. Does the PSA test save relatively few lives?
6. Might finding cancer early save my life?
7. What percent of prostate cancer deaths are caused by finding the cancer too late?
8. What are the odds that the PSA test might save my life?
9. What’s the chance that my treatment was not necessary?
10. More than 70% of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over 65. True or false?

 SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS  (with Answers)

1. What are the possible side effects of treatments?
2. If I’m diagnosed with PC, and choose to be treated, how likely am I to have some or all of these side effects?

 UNNECESSARY TREATMENTS  (with Answers)

1. What is an “unnecessary treatment?”
2. Why do so many men who have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer agree to be treated, when the treatment is probably not needed?
3. Does the PSA test lead to risky and unnecessary treatments for large numbers of men?
4. When told they have been diagnosed with a low grade cancer that is unlikely to kill them and does not require immediate treatment, what percent of men delay treatment?
5. What does "over diagnosis” mean?
6. Is this true? Most cancers grow slowly and are not life-threatening.
7. Is this true?

 TREATMENT DECISIONS  (with Answers)

1. Is it true the majority of cancers will not cause health problems therefore do not need treatment?
2. Who makes the decision as to whether I will be treated?
3. Who makes the decision as to the type of treatment?
4. How will I know which treatment would be best for me?
5. What can happen if the biopsy finds cancer and I choose to have no treatment?

 SLOW GROWING AND FAST GROWING CANCERS (with Answers)

1. What percent of cancers are fast growing and could kill a man within a year?
2. Is it true that many cancers are so slow-growing they may not require treatment at all, ever?
3. Is it true that at least 50% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the US have a low-grade form of cancer that experts say does not need immediate treatment and may never need treatment?
4. What percent of deaths are caused by fast-growing cancers?
5. Can doctors distinguish between cancers that would be deadly without treatment, from cancers that would not?

 HOW AND WHEN WILL I KNOW IF I HAVE PROSTATE CANCER? (with Answers)

1. If the PSA test is only an indicator, how will I know if I have prostate cancer?
2. What are my options if I’m diagnosed with PC?

 BIOPSY, THE ONLY PROOF OF CANCER (with Answers)

1. What is a biopsy?
2. What is the purpose of a biopsy?
3. Who would recommend or advise me to have a biopsy?
4. Does a biopsy hurt?
5. How long does a biopsy take?
6. How much will a biopsy cost me?
7. How would I know positively that I have prostate cancer?
8. How many biopsies are negative (no cancer found)?
9. If a biopsy finds cancer in my prostate, what should I do?

 WHAT’S IT LIKE TO GET PROSTATE CANCER? (with Answers)

1. How does prostate cancer affect the body?
2. Other than physical effects, what other affects might there be?
3. What is it like to die of prostate cancer?

 WHAT THE NATION’S HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS SAY ABOUT THE PSA TEST (with Answers)

• American Urological Association.
• The American Cancer Society. 
• American Cancer Society and US Food and Drug Administration.
• The National Comprehensive Cancer Care Network.
• The American Academy of Family Physicians.
• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
• Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC)