A PSA test is carried out to detect prostate cancer. PSA is short for prostate-specific antigen, which is a protein substance, an enzyme, which is naturally found in the body even in healthy men. A PSA test is taken through a blood test.
Important! PSA testing should only be booked if it is carried out regularly as it is only regular sampling that can lead to a reduced risk of suffering from disseminated prostate cancer. Before booking a PSA test, we recommend that you
Prostate cancer is one of our most common public diseases in Sweden (and in the world), but which before the age of 50 is a rare disease, except for relatives of men who have been affected unusually early. Men over the age of 75 who do not have any symptoms suggestive of prostate cancer may well have a small prostate cancer in and of themselves, but it is unlikely that it will develop into a serious disease during their lifetime.
Men between the ages of 50 and 75 may consider PSA testing even if they do not have any symptoms to suggest prostate cancer.
Pros and cons of doing a PSA test
There are both pros and cons to measuring PSA, where the advantages are, for example, that worry about getting cancer can be reduced or that a serious prostate cancer is detected before it has spread in an early stage, which increases the chance of being cured.
The disadvantages can be, for example, that you receive information about an elevated PSA value even though you do not have prostate cancer, which can lead to other sampling and examinations, or that you receive a cancer diagnosis even though the cancer is so small that you would never sick from it, which in itself can reduce the quality of life with the knowledge that you have cancer.
It is therefore important that you decide whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages before you order a PSA test, we therefore recommend that you read Vårdguiden's brochure that addresses these and that you can then make an informed choice about testing your PSA levels .
