If the initial test has a high or suspicious reading the urologist will have a follow-up PSA test administered. The urologist should perform a number of other tests including sonorgram, prostatic palpation, transrectal ultrasonography and sextant biopsies for definitive diagnosis. Usually time is not of the essence so go slowly before making any final decisions. Now lets talk about the situation wherein cancer of the prostate has been established through the PSA test and follow-up examinations with a urologist. Incidentally, statistics indicate that over 180,000 men will be found to have prostate cancer this year and 5 out of 6 of them will survive.
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among U.S. men.
It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. males. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death amongst males claiming about 90,000 lives a year. One of the criteria used to establish which risk group a patient belongs in is established through medical family history information. Diet and smoking are 2 other criteria used to establish the risk group for a patient. American blacks are considered to be in a higher risk category.