Prostate cancer is the number two cancer risk for men.  Because prostate cancer is such a prominent risk for men, many doctors urge getting regular prostate exams and testing after the age of 40.  There are a number of methods used to identify prostate cancer in its earliest stages when it is more easily treatable.

DRE

A digital rectal exam should be a part of any man’s yearly physical.  This exam allows the doctor to judge the health of the prostate, evaluate any enlargement that may be happening and to check for nodes that could be cancerous growths on your prostate.

Screening

If you doctor feels that you have a higher than average risk for developing prostate cancer then he or she may recommend cancer screening.  There are a number of factors that increase the chances of developing prostate cancer.  African-American men are the most susceptible.  Chances of prostate cancer also increase as you get older or if you have had prostate cancer in the past.
A screening test can help to catch cancer before it produces any symptoms and before it spreads.  Often by the time a patient experiences symptoms the cancer has already grown and spread to other organs.  However, just because your doctor recommends screening doesn’t mean that he or she necessarily thinks that you have cancer, only that you may be at higher risk for it.

What is PSA?

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is the type of screening most often used to help catch early-stage prostate cancer.  The prostate-specific antigen is a protein that is made by the prostate.  Most men have a fairly low PSA level.  When PSA levels rise it can be a red flag that there is a tumor affecting the prostate.  However a high PSA level does not necessarily mean cancer, it can also indicated a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate.  PSA screening does not indicate cancer but can let your doctor know if further testing is needed.

Further Testing

If PSA screening shows elevated levels of prostate-specific antigens but there are no other signs of cancer then the doctor may simply recommend regular DREs and PSA screenings to monitor the prostate for changes.  However, if PSA levels continue to rise or if the doctor detects a growth during a digital rectal exam then there is cause for further testing.  These test can help discover if there is indeed a cancerous growth or if it is a non-cancerous issue with the prostate.
Testing to determine and diagnose cancer can vary.  The doctor may want to test to rule out non-cancerous causes first, such as doing a urine test to eliminate the possibility of a urinary tract infection.  Transrectal ultrasound, x-rays or cytoscopy can be used to get an image of the prostate to eliminate the possibility of non-cancerous enlargement.
If cancer is suspected the doctor will want to do a biopsy.  A tissue sample will be taken from the prostate using a needle.  It can then be examined under the microscope to look for abnormal cell growth (cancer).