Dr. Sandra Fryhofer - Your Health Matters - Test Scores - Prostate Cancer & PSA Test

One in six men will be diagnosed with it.

Fewer than 3% will die from prostate cancer. But the only cancer that kills more men every year is of the lungs.

The PSA -- that’s prostate specific antigen blood test – may detect cancer early, but the test isn’t perfect. High levels can mean an enlarged prostate, not cancer. And cancer can be present even when the PSA is low.

Some two-thirds of men diagnosed using PSA testing never have symptoms and could be harmed by aggressive treatment. That’s why the American College of Physicians says talk to your doctor about the pros and cons before testing.

Your Health Matters with Dr. Sandra Fryhofer is a weekly series offering useful and timely information on health and well-being.

Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, MACP, FRCP is a board certified doctor of internal medicine in Atlanta and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. She is on staff at Piedmont Hospital.