New reports are finding that advanced prostate cancer cases are on the rise in the U.S. Studies have found that they've increased by a shocking 72% over the past 10 years.
Men ages 55 to 69 had the highest spike, with a startling 92% increase in cases in just a decade. Medical experts are concerned over this trend because men benefit more from early screening and early detection, but clearly are not going through the process as often as they should be.
Another reason, experts say, is that prostate cancer may be more aggressive by nature today than it was 10 years ago. But the latest data compiled also shows that men are not getting screened as often as they used to, either. A simple blood screening that searches for the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can provide early detection and peace of mind, or a rigorous treatment plan, if the disease is discovered, that can eradicate the disease before it spreads and advances.
Furthering this point is a recent study that was conducted which followed men who were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2013, as compared to those diagnosed in 2004. The PSA scores for men diagnosed more recently were twice as high as those who diagnosed a decade ago. The study culled data from over 800,000 men and was published in Nature.com.
Experts say that you should discuss a prostate cancer screening with your doctor starting in your mid-thirties. They say that you should begin getting screened at age 40 and then again every five years thereafter.
There are different risk types that are specific to situations and lifestyles. Doctors can deem whether or not you have an average risk or an advanced risk level. Those who have been assigned an advanced risk status will require more frequent screenings than others.
Prostate cancer, like many other types of cancer, is highly treatable in the early stages.
According to Cancer.org: "The stage of your cancer is one of the most important factors in choosing the best way to treat it. Prostate cancer is staged based on the extent of the cancer (using T, N, and M categories) and the PSA level and Gleason score at the time of diagnosis."
Early detection is the key to reducing mortality rates. As this study reveals, men who avoid screenings fail to gain the advantage of early detection, resulting in harder to treat advanced cases that have a much higher mortality rate.