Should you get tested for prostate cancer?
Towards personalized prostate cancer screening
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Over half (56.4%) of prostate cancers found by screening are low-risk and would never become dangerous.
Most people assume if cancer is found, it’s something that needs immediate treatment — but here, more than half are harmless 'time bombs' that will never explode.
Practical Takeaways
If you're 45, get your PSA tested once — if it’s under 1, you may never need another test. If it’s over 3, talk to your doctor about future screening frequency.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Over half (56.4%) of prostate cancers found by screening are low-risk and would never become dangerous.
Most people assume if cancer is found, it’s something that needs immediate treatment — but here, more than half are harmless 'time bombs' that will never explode.
Practical Takeaways
If you're 45, get your PSA tested once — if it’s under 1, you may never need another test. If it’s over 3, talk to your doctor about future screening frequency.
Publication
Journal
Advances in Laboratory Medicine
Year
2020
Authors
X. Filella
Related Content
Claims (3)
Some cancers found during routine screening might never hurt you — they grow so slowly that you’d die of something else before they ever became a problem.
Getting tested for prostate cancer with the PSA test finds a lot of slow-growing cancers that would never hurt you—way more than in men who don’t get tested.
Doctors say you shouldn't automatically get tested for prostate cancer — instead, you and your doctor should talk about your personal health, how long you're likely to live, and what matters most to you before deciding.