Why aren't PSA screenings recommended when they could save lives?

They also like to call themselves scientists!!! NOT ONCOLOGISTS !!! And these big Pharma paid scientists are setting guidelines for all cancers !!! Sounds like a cure to me !!!

The frustration and anger about a late-stage diagnosis is completely understandable, especially when feeling that earlier screening might have made a difference. PSA screening guidelines have evolved over the years as medical organizations have tried to balance the benefits of early detection with potential harms like overdiagnosis and overtreatment of slow-growing cancers that might never cause problems. Many doctors now recommend discussing the pros and cons of PSA testing with patients so they can make informed decisions together about what's right for their individual situation and risk factors.

Over treatment , bloodwork and biopsies is the only way to ding that info out !!!

Find

I completely agree that having that conversation with your doctor about PSA screening is so important - and it might also be worth asking about your family history or other risk factors that could help guide the decision.

Unfortunately the NCCN guidelines did not recommend talking with your PCP in 2022 !!! “ Quote from the 2022 NCCN guidelines, We do not recommend getting a PSA test “ Unquote “ !!! So my PCP did not until I went back 7x in 9 mos. Once done , Stage4 metastatic prostate cancer , And I promptly told him you just killed me and he put his head down knowing he did !!! I purposely still go there so he can watch what he did , until the end !!!

Tim, it’s 2026 in a few hours - what is your status today? I have advanced prostate cancer and have taken control of my own protocols. So far they’re working as my PSA has dropped 12% in 5 weeks. I’m in my 9th week now and have another PSA test scheduled next week.

I’m still the same !!! I have been taking Abiratetone, Prednisone, LUPRON, and drug that makes your bones stronger, I call it Skelegrow ( LOL ) for almost 3 years now !!! And I will stay on them as long as they work !!! Happy New Year !!!

Tim. I am on the same three drugs as you for the cancer after my prostectomy i developed neuropathy after 5 rounds of chemo. I am very tired daily from the Lupron and abiraterone but it’s keeping me alive. Testosterone deprivation is not an appealing thing for men My PSA is undetectable for about two years. I’m staying the course

Stay the course for as long as you can , no other options, at least that’s way I see it !!! Yes I get tired as well , and l to have no sex drive !! Neuropathy sux, I know and I was prescribed Lyrica , it can help !!! I went from scared to angry and now I’m really pissed off !!! My pot of water is warming !!!

Tim don’t know how old you are but this shitty journey happened over 2 years ago. Im 64 now and my wife is happy about my chemical castration. Guess I had a good run in the sex department previously. I just came back from Cancun with my 3 kids, their spouses and my 5 grandkids. My wife says we’re building memories. Nothing to be angry about. At least now they have great pharma to extend our lives. Shit happens. Just look at the St Judes commercials. What did infants or toddlers do to deserve cancer? Change what you can change. I was very depressed in the beginning but my outlook has changed. Thank G-d for these oncologists. Stay the course and be strong

Hello all, I’m 67 as of today. Celebrating by beginning my day with PSA and CA19-9 (pancreas cancer marker) blood draws. Hoping to see PSA with more downward movement. My plan is to avoid conventional treatments for my advanced prostate cancer. So far, so good!

In my situation I believe I have the right to be very angry !! Ignorance of my PCP for never talking about or ordering a PSA blood test !!! Such a simple thing to do cost me years off my life !!! What is my life worth ( Everything ) it’s the only one I will ever have !! What’s my PCP life’s worth ( Nothing at all ) !!! What’s the NCCN worth to millions of men over the years ( Nothing ) because they are all dead !!! Over a Stupid guideline ( We do not recommend PSA testing ) So many lives could have been saved , but the NCCN takes no responsibility for killing men unnecessarily!!! They are Guilty as hell and they know it !!! That’s why they covered up past guidelines for new ones !! I have the right to be very angry and so do millions of others ( oh, that’s right they are DEAD ) !!!

Quit yer sniveling

Tim, time and space do not permit sufficient comment, but I will summarize. After years of regular PSA testing, in 2012 I began reading articles that suggested prostate cancer screening was no longer advisable. The argument wast that screening did more harm than good and had little to no impact on on prostate cancer mortality. I asked my primary about this at my annual physical that year. He was ready for the question, giving me a ten minute presentation, with slides, making the case that harm of screening outweigh the benefits. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was following USPSTF guidelines. Trusting his “expertise,” I didn’t get screened then, or for 7 years thereafter. No doctor ever brought it up. A follow-up after passing a kidney stone, in which a young PA insisted on screening, resulted in a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. I began reading, and learned of the guidelines, which seemed to contradict everything we ever learned about catching cancer early. In the years following the 2012 USPSTF guidelines, the rate of metastatic prostate cancer diagnoses rose 4-5%/year. Tim, you and I are victims of that malpractice. The fact is, PSA is not a very good test and has led to some over diagnosis and over treatment. MRI helps, but even then, misdiagnoses are made. Better tests are available, but not widely used. I’ve learned enough that I could lecture on the subject. For now, we should pressure the medical establishment to do better. And, we should encourage Outcomes4Me to report research articles on some of the other screening technologies. I think, sometimes, I should have sued for malpractice to get attention focused on this, but have opted for this route. Meanwhile, I search for a forum in which to be heard.

Oh, I hear you loud and clear TD H !!! If you look at the new NCCN guidelines you will see nothing regarding not getting a PSA test!!! They erased ALL their guidelines from 2022 and b4 ( at least they think they did ) Now saying that you should talk to your PCP about getting tested!!! Not the 2022 guidelines that read QUOTE “ We do not recommend getting a PSA test “ UNQUOTE !! What kind of BS is that ??? It’s to cover their asses from getting sued!!! Those guidelines have thousands of doctors following them to a tee !! And those guidelines have killed many American men throughout the years !!! But they take no responsibility at all for all the people they hurt so badly ( FAMILY ) and all the men they are responsible for killing !!! And YES they Killed Them All !!! And they know it !!! It’s just SICK !!!

Noting the steady rise in advanced cases of prostate cancer following 2012 USPSTF guidelines not to screen, the USPSTF revised their recommendations so that screening was a “shared decision.” Thus doctors abdicated responsibility for any harm that might come from screening or not screening. It was a legalistic dodge to exculpate themselves from malpractice suits, effectively putting the burden of screening on patients. Studies show primary care physicians are not particularly well informed on the subject compared to urologists, which was true in my case. Though my primary in 2012 could offer statistics on prostate cancer’s relatively low mortality rate, he cited no statistics on the prevalence of aggressive cancers at diagnosis (10-20%). In effect, the 2012 guidelines suggested that to avoid harm to 80% through over diagnosis and over treatment, it was tolerable to accept the harm and premature death of 20%. That is unethical, because there was an alternative: screen all men over 50 regularly, using the best available tests. It is worthwhile, in my view to investigate the “Why” of the 2012 guidelines, for they’ve done much harm. Look, catching cancer early is still the best practice. That requires using better tests than PSA. Consideration of patients’ wellbeing should outweigh every other consideration.

I'm in the same boat, I'm 73. Five years ago, I requested a PSA and was 1.7. My internist went with the no need to test anymore and I slacked on asking. Because of another issue, I saw a Urologist and he rechecked and is was 9.8. Gleason 8, 9 and bunch of 7's. Now I need AGGRESSIVE therapy when I could have caught it early if it weren't for these stupid guidelines every GP and some Urologists still follow. I would join a class action suit in a heartbeat.

Hi, Thomas S, at least you requested a PSA test and got one !! I didn’t even know what a PSA test was !! Found out from PCP he didn’t give any of his male patients a PSA test , said it was not recommended!!! Per guidelines!!! Agreed it would have been nice to get a 2nd one sooner. Unfortunately once tested and it came out ok , age comes into play. My next door neighbor who went to my PCP found out he had prostate cancer and was told by our PCP no treatment is necessary because of his age 81 and that he would die from old age b4 the cancer would kill him !!!! He died of prostate cancer at the age of 88 !!! Joe Biden wasn’t getting PSA tested because of his age and will die from prostate cancer !!! President and Vice President of the USA for 12 years not getting tested , Drs don’t care who they kill and guidelines are bullshit !!!

Darren OBrien, I’ve been waiting for someone like you !!! As Doc Holliday said I’m Your Huckleberry, try me !!!

Community Agent , the anger is NOT directed at a late stage diagnosis; it’s directed at heinous federal guidelines that recommended no screening, when we all know that catching cancer early gives the best chance of optimal treatment. The guidelines sacrificed the health and lifespan of the 10-20% with aggressive cancer in order to avoid over diagnosis and over treatment of the other 80-90%. In that, they will also have spent on the minority as they will have by over treating the majority.

TD H , Correct sir !!! To find out so late because my PCP followed those guidelines to a tee !!! Hell , I said b4 I didn’t even know what a PSA test was !! That’s just pathetic and so unjustified!!! If If I remember correctly PSA testing was around since the 1970’s !!! Cant even imagine how many millions of men died just in the USA alone !!! As far as using a PSA test , the only thing available, what’s the worse thing , you get biopsies of your prostate ( BIG DEAL ) , had 2 of them and I’ve had worse tests than a biopsy !!! Insurance companies just didn’t want to pay , so men with prostate cancer died !!! TD you are correct, it’s not what we have , It’s what wasn’t done to find out , a simple blood test could have saved so many lives, including mine !!!!!

Today, there are better tests than PSA. Those tests reduce false positive and false negatives with higher predictive values, while better identifying more aggressive cancers. See: Stockholm 3, Episwitch PSE, MPS2, ISO PSA, 4K. Using any one of these would further reduce the number of MRIs and biopsies. PSA is not cancer specific; they are. PSA is uber cheap and increases the indication for a biopsy, which doctors consider the “Gold Standard “ for prostate cancer diagnosis.

Timothy Hufnagle, mine is just as bad as yours If not worse. You dont hear me running around lika a toddler on a temper tantrum. And go ahead and try that Im your huckleberry bullshit in person punkin. Im YOUR Huckleberry cupcake. Ill be more than happy to discuss it in person.

Apparently lots of testosterone still, Tim and Darren. We should all take it down a notch. Us eunuchs need to stick together … :)