What Is A PSA Test - And How Important Is It?

When someone first starts researching prostate cancer, he will eventually ask what is a PSA test, and how does it work? And, how important is it?

Both are very good questions.

And, they are both important to ask, too.

But first off, to answer the question "what is a PSA test" -- it is a test that measures the levels of prostate specific antigen (i.e. PSA) in your blood. It is a simple blood test, and the results do not take very long to get back at all.

As for the second question about how important it is -- that is a bit controversial.

It used to be that your PSA test numbers were considered a pretty good indicator that you had prostate cancer or not.

In other words, if you had a lot of PSA in your blood, you were almost assumed to have it (or some kind of prostate problem). The only snag is, a lot of things can affect your PSA levels. Even something as simple as riding your bike a lot might affect those numbers or having sex the night before the test.

In reality it is not a very accurate indicator of prostate cancer.

Yes, it is one benchmark to look at (and you should get it tested).

But, do not take those numbers as "gospel" that you do or don't have the disease or any other prostate problems one way or the other.

To sum up:

The question, "what is a PSA test" is important, but more important is not to overly rely on the results to determine your prostate health.

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