PSA Awareness and the ACA

For a few decades the routine annual measurement of PSA was common. Then along came the USPTF and the use of faulty studies on PSA to justify assigning PSA measurements a low grade, namely being considered as useless. One may reasonably see this as a means to get rid of the old men as fast as one can. Really.

Now in today's NY Times a NY physician reiterates what I had written a few years ago, before the USPTF nonsense. The author states:

But men should not wait for a government agency to tell them what’s best. My own strongest recommendation is that men insist on a baseline PSA test while in their 40s. From this baseline, a personalized screening regimen that considers risk factors and other indicators can be developed. Men must understand that screening does not commit them to further testing or treatment, even if abnormalities are found. Screening, followed up with today’s sophisticated tools, simply provides information that helps them and their doctors make sound decisions — which could prolong their lives, or leave them reassured that they have little to fear from an indolent tumor.

Yes, men should not pay attention to the rantings of morbidly obese GS9 whose sole purpose is to "reduce costs". 

PSA testing is complex. It requires a history, and the baseline must reflect prostate size as well. However death from PCa is rather painful as it moves into the bones and your spine collapses.

Perhaps this added awareness may help some men. One should also contrast this to the response to the USPTF attempt to curtail breast exams. Men should become more aware, and more responsive.