MONDAY, Sept. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A new survey finds the majority of American men believe the first step in prostate cancer screening is an invasive rectal exam by their doctor. That's not true, but mistaken beliefs like these could keep men from getting screened until prostate cancer is discovered far too late, the American Cancer Society (ACS) warns.
“What’s most concerning is that while prostate cancer is highly survivable, it's still the second leading cause of cancer death in men,” said Dr. Karen Knudsen , CEO for the ACS and the ACS Cancer Action Network. “This is because once prostate cancer advances and spreads beyond the prostate, it becomes much more difficult to treat and survival rates significantly decrease.
" This year, almost 300,000 U.S. men will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer and over 35,000 will die from the disease, the ACS noted.
It's a major killer, but about two-thirds of men in the higher-risk age group of 55 to 69 report no screening at all for the disease. Why? To help find out, the ACS and the Harris Poll surveyed about 1,200 U.S.
men ages 45 and older in August about their knowledge of prostate cancer screening. Misconceptions were common. Three in every five men (60%) surveyed mistakenly believed that a doctor-conducted rectal exam was the first step in screening for prostate cancer.
That number rose to 69% among Hispanic men. However, prostate cancer screening actually begins with a noninvasive blood test that gauges levels .