Prostate Conditions Education Council Recognizes the New U.S. Preventative Services Task Force Draft Recommendation for Prostate Cancer Screening
Centennial, CO, April 11, 2017 (Newswire.com) - The Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) – a national organization committed to men’s health and a leader in prostate cancer early detection – acknowledges the newly released draft recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) changing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening to a level “C” for prostate cancer recognizing that the benefits outweigh the harms for men 55-69 years of age.
PCEC’s council of experts believes that men should receive a baseline PSA blood test at age 40 to determine risk stratification, based on this assessment, PCEC recommends that men establish a testing follow up schedule with their doctor. For at-risk men, including men who are African-American, have a family history of prostate cancer, family history of breast cancer or the BRCA gene, and those who have been exposed to certain chemicals like fireman and veterans, as well as men over the age of 65 further assessment, is required. For men with a baseline PSA greater than 1.5ng/ml they should be monitored and evaluated by an Urologist.
“We are pleased that the USPSTF has again improved its recommendation for prostate cancer screening,” said Dr. E. David Crawford, Head of the Urologic Oncology Department at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and Founder/Chairman of the PCEC, “this supports the life-saving work we have been doing for nearly three decades.”
“Risk stratification and personalized medicine should be a key component of early detection,” stated Wendy Poage, President of PCEC, “We have stressed the importance of prostate cancer markers in identifying men who should be biopsied and treated and developed an online tool to help patients understand these tests www.ProstateMarkers.org.”
Committed to encouraging men to take a more proactive role in protecting their health, PCEC has coordinated hundreds of sites across the country to offer free or low cost prostate health assessments during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week and year round.
About Prostate Conditions Education Council
A national organization committed to men’s health, the Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) is the nation’s leading resource for information on prostate health. The PCEC is dedicated to saving lives through awareness and the education of men, the women in their lives, as well as the medical community about prostate cancer prevalence, the importance of new marker utilization, and available treatment options, as well as other men’s health issues. The Council – comprised of a consortium of leading physicians, health educators, scientists and prostate cancer advocates. More information is available at www.prostateconditions.org.
Media Contact:
Wendy Poage
303-316-4685
wendy.poage@prostateconditions.org
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Source: Prostate Conditions Education Council