Preventing Advanced Prostate Cancer
For male patients and prostate cancer there are two tests that are commonly used by physicians for screening, even if they demonstrate no signs of prostate cancer. The first of these is the physical exam of the prostate gland. The exam is performed by inserting a gloved finger and feeling the gland for any signs of abnormalities, for example an enlarged, a hardened gland, or the presence of any nodules on the gland. Any of these findings suggest the possibility of prostate cancer. The second test is a blood test that measures the amount of prostate specific antigen in the blood. Since cancer of the prostate typically increase the quantity of antigen, an elevated amount may be the result of prostate cancer.
Most doctors agree that an abnormal result from either or both of these tests needs to be followed by a referral to a specialist and diagnostic testing to figure out whether the abnormal results are due to prostate cancer or to some other factor. The biopsy is the diagnostic test most commonly recommended by doctors. If the patient does have cancer the failure to refer the patient to a specialist and to order diagnostic testing could allow the cancer to grow and spread becoming advanced prostate cancer. This could, in turn, decrease the types of treatments available and the chance for a cure. If this happened to you or a family member a cancer lawyer or, in case the family member died of the prostate cancer, a wrongful death attorney may be able to be of assistance.