Prostate cancer screening comes closer.
It is estimated that there were 26,368 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Australia last year. According to Cancer Australia, a male has a 1 in 6 (or 18%) risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer by the age of 85.
Many men and their partners are puzzled by the fact that while there’s screening for bowel, breast and cervical cancer, there’s no official screening programme for prostate cancer. That’s because there hasn’t been a reliable test for the prostate as blood in the poo, mammography or cervical smears. The blood test that’s done for prostate cancer – the PSA or prostate specific antigen – is not actually a test for cancer. It goes up when the prostate is enlarged or inflamed and with cancer while it usually is high, that’s not always the case. So, by itself it’s problematic and in the past has usually led to a biopsy and sometimes surgery when they might not have been needed.
All that has changed significantly with the recognition that in expert hands, an MRI scan of the prostate for men with a raised or rising PSA test can tell you with much more accuracy what’s going on. PSA testing followed by MRI when needed, has cut the need for biopsies by up to 50%, which means many men don’t have to subject themselves to an invasive test. When the biopsy is needed, the surgeon knows exactly where to go and the seriousness of the cancer, if it is present can be better assessed. This has cut the need for radical surgery because men can be monitored with both PSA tests and repeat MRI’s if appropriate.
The bottom line is that while costly, it means that the reliability of the process is much higher and offers peace of mind to both doctors and men.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has recently released recommendations along these lines and is encouraging GPs to offer testing to men from the age of 40 on. There are still issues around out of pocket costs and availability of MRI prostate scanning in regional and rural areas, although Medicare Benefits are available if the man meets certain criteria.
Use your Tonic TV to remind patients about prostate cancer screening
If your practice has a Tonic TV, we can help you promote screening and other services.
You have access to 3 minutes every hour to promote your practice using either static slides or supplying us with videos of a 30 or 60 second duration.
A slide appears on screen for 15 seconds and can promote important information such as:
- Operating hours
- Services offered such as screening
- Local health updates
- Seasonal vaccination reminders
- New staff
- Special events and clinics
We can create the slides for you. Simply contact us with the information you’d like to share on screens, and we will design slides to promote your practice.
Further information
Prostate Cancer – Cancer Council: https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/prostate-cancer
Prostate Cancer – causes and symptoms – my Doctor https://mydr.com.au/cancer-care/prostate-cancer-causes-and-symptoms/#:~:text=Prostate%20cancer%20is%20the%20most,prostate%20cancer%20increases%20with%20age.
