Men with prostate cancer often survive 15 years or longer after learning they have the disease, but prostate cancer remains one of the five most common cancers and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death among men. Today, fewer people are being screened for the disease, and many are unaware of new treatment approaches that can extend life.
In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) made a controversial recommendation to abandon routine screening for all men using a blood test that measures levels of a protein called prostate specific antigen, or PSA. Despite a reversal of this recommendation in 2018, a disturbing trend has emerged – more men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer after the disease has progressed into the more dangerous advanced stage, and the once-declining prostate cancer death rate has stalled.
